OVO Energy, an independent energy supplier that provides gas and electricity services to residential and business customers, announced the acquisition of the UK Public Electric Vehicle (EV) Charging Aggregator Startup Bonnet.
Bonnet provides a platform that combines nationwide public EV charge point operators on one app, helping drivers locate, use, and pay without switching between different cards or logins.
According to the company, it currently manages over 80% of the UK’s EV charging points on its app, with over 27,000 charges across 7,000 locations.
“Using innovative technology, they’re (Bonnet) connecting EV drivers to the best charging networks available and turning every charge point into an accessible and simple charger that any driver can use. By combining Bonnet’s cutting-edge app and OVO’s experience and scale, we will encourage more people to adopt electric vehicles and transition to a greener lifestyle,” said Mat Moakes, Chief Commercial Officer, OVO.
“By being part of OVO, as one of the UK’s leading energy companies, we can now fully double-down on our ambitions for growth and seize new opportunities to help EV drivers, building into the entire driver journey – whether at home or away,” said Patrick Reich, CEO and Co-Founder of Bonnet.
Bonnet had recently closed a $5.5 million backing from investors including Lightspeed, GV and 20VC. Ex-Tesla president Jon McNeill, co-founder of TIER Lawrence Leuschner, founder of Deliveroo Will Shu, and Zapp founders Joe Falter and Navid Hadzaad have also invested in the company.
According to Mercom’s recently released 9M And Q3 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage & Smart Grid, in 9M 2023, there were eight Smart Grid M&A transactions compared to 18 in 9M 2022.
Earlier this year, Siemens, a German-based multinational conglomerate that is also involved in the transmission and generation of power, signed an agreement to acquire the electric vehicle (EV) division of Mumbai-based Mass-Tech Controls at an estimated cost of ₹380 million (~$5 million).
