ROCSYS, a provider of robotic solutions for electric vehicle (EV) charging, announced that it had raised $36 million in a Series A funding round led by SEB Greentech Venture Capital, the round also includes participation from Graduate Entrepreneur, the European Investment Bank, and returning investor Forward.One.
The funding will enable ROCSYS to expand its product portfolio, grow its team, and scale up its operations in Europe and North America. The company will also use the funds to accelerate developing and deploying its autonomous charging solutions for passenger cars, trucks and buses.
“There’s too much friction in the EV charging process today, creating needless barriers to sustainable transportation,” said Rocsys Co-founder and CEO Crijn Bouman. “That’s why we created a technology-agnostic solution that converts any charger into a fully automated experience, maximizing the return on investment and sustainability impact of already-installed charging infrastructure.
ROCSYS was founded in 2019 by a team of robotics and EV experts who saw the opportunity to improve EV charging efficiency, safety and convenience. The company offers a plug-and-play solution that consists of a robotic arm, a vision system, and a software platform that can be integrated with any existing or new charging station.
EV adoption among consumers and enterprises is reaching new heights following almost $500 billion in funding made available through the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act and similar programs worldwide, said the company.
This market growth also prompts more than $1 trillion in EV-related investments from automakers over the next decade. And with funding streams like the U.S.’s National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program requiring charging operators to maintain certain uptime standards, autonomous charging plays an important role in guaranteeing electric vehicle supply equipment reliability by alleviating wear and tear according to the company.
ROCSYS claims to be the first company to offer a fully automated charging solution that can handle any connector and charge port type. The company says its solution can reduce charging time by up to 30%, increase (charging) infrastructure utilization by up to 50%, and eliminate human errors and injuries.
According to Mercom’s Q1 2023 Funding and M&A Report for Storage and Smart Grid. There was a 66% decrease in QoQ for Smart Grid VC funding in Q1 2023, with $280 million raised in 14 deals compared to $846 million in 15 deals in Q4 2022. YoY, financing in Q1 2023 was 14% lower compared to Q1 2022, when $327 million was raised in 13 deals.
