Veteran EV charging scaleup powers up on $72 million raise

Twelve-year-old Melbourne EV charging business Jet Charge has raised $72 million after a year-long funding hunt, securing Mirova, an affiliate of global asset manager Natixis, as its lead investor.

Existing backers the Clean Energy Finance Corporation (CEFC), RACV (the Royal Automobile Club of Victoria) and Kilara Capital also hit the EFT button once again. Mirova’s equity stake came via its Mirova Energy Transition Fund 6 (MET6).

The capital is allocated to developing proprietary technologies for the company’s EV charging infrastructure as well as its “Charging as a Service”, which offers access for a monthly fee.

In 2022, the business was selected for LaunchVic’s 30×30 program, leadership development course for founders and their executive teams with scaleup companies showing potential to reach unicorn status: a $1 billion valuation by 2030.

The hardware and software platform has delivered 20,000 chargers and accessories in regional and metropolitan areas and recently expanded into New Zealand.

Its product range includes PayMate, a credit card payment system for EV charging. For example, Jet Charge installed 46 EV charging stations across the City of Adelaide, including 22 fitted with contactless using PayMate.

The business has revenue in excess of $40 million annually and employs around 170 people. It white labels its chargers from Kempower in Finland.

Jet Charge was founded in 2012 by Tim Washington and Ellen Liang.

“This strategic capital will accelerate the rapid deployment of Charging as a Service, bolstered by the continued development of our in-house technologies, including CORE, our advanced on-site energy management system, and Illuminate, our flagship asset management platform,” Liang said.

“CaaS removes the cost and complexity of operating an EV charging network, eliminating many of the upfront capital barriers by seamlessly bridging the digital and physical worlds to deliver a reliable EV charging network”.

Ben Gust from Virescent Ventures, fund manager for the CEFC investments, said Jet Charge is a market leader in EV charging and infrastructure as the sector continues to grow.

“This capital raise is an endorsement of the JET Charge team and the critical role that electric vehicles have in Australia’s clean energy transition,” he said.