http://www.greencarreports.com/news/1103796_chargepoint-evgo-electric-car-charging-networks-get-more-investment
It’s shaping up to be a good week for electric-car charging infrastructure. Two separate national charging networks just announced additional investments that will help them expand their operations. Both ChargePoint and NRG EVgo secured their new funding independently.
ChargePoint announced yesterday that it had secured and additional $50 million in a funding round led by Linse Capital. The company says it has now raised $164 million, with Rho Ventures, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, BMW iVentures, and Siemens also contributing funding. ChargePoint claims to have around 28,000 charging locations in North America, and last year began expanding into the residential market by working with apartment buildings and condominiums.
It also announced the elevation of current board member Bruce
Chizen to chairman of the board. Chizen is a former CEO of Adobe, and currently serves on the boards of Oracle, Synopsys, Ancestry.com, and several non-profit organizations as well.
Separately, the EVgo charging network announced today that it had secured a significant investment from Vision Ridge Partners.The deal effectively separates EVgo from utility company NRG, which has owned and operated it until now.Upon closing, EVgo will become a standalone company, with its own board of directors. Along with continued funding from former parent company NRG, EVgo says it now has an additional $100 million at its disposal to expand charging infrastructure.
The network currently operates 665 DC fast-charging stations, clustered in 50 metropolitan markets around the country.
In addition to the new private investment, both ChargePoint and EVgo recently received grants from the state of California to construct additional charging infrastructure along highways. Along with EV Connect and Recargo, they will help install 61 DC fast-charging stations at 41 sites along major north-south highway corridors.
The new installations will form California’s portion of the West Coast Electric Highway, which already includes charging stations along north-south highway corridors in Oregon and Washington.
