EV Charging Startup CHARGE+ZONE Raises $54 Mn In Funding Round Led By BlueOrchard

EV charging startup CHARGE+ZONE on Monday (March 20) said it has raised $54 Mn in its Series A1 funding round, which was a mix of equity and debt, led by global impact investment manager BlueOrchard Finance.

The round, which also saw participation from existing and new institutional investors, included debt funding of $8 Mn from BlueOrchard Finance. However, the startup didn’t disclose the name of the other investors who participated in the funding round.

The fresh funds will help CHARGE+ZONE immediately roll out 286 charging stations, the Vadodara-based startup said in a statement.

“In the current phase, we aim to build 3,000 high-speed DC charging stations by 2025 and expand our network to enable emobility across the fleet and personal EV segment including EV cars, buses, and trucks,” said Kartikey Hariyani, founder and CEO of CHARGE+ZONE. “The current Series A1 raise is part of the planned capex investment of $300 Mn, as we foresee crucial growth for the four-wheeler e-mobility segment over the next 4-5 years.” 

The immediate roll-out of over 250 charging stations would serve 1,130 ebuses and etrucks as well as over 1,250 ecar fleets, claimed the startup.

Founded in 2018 by Hariyani, CHARGE+ZONE is a tech-driven EV charging networks startup that provides high-speed charging networks for ebuses, etrucks, and ecars. It specialises in B2B and B2C charging services on both dedicated and opportunity-based charging, using smart-grid networks. Currently, the startup claims to have over 3,000 charging points across more than 1,500 EV charging stations in operation or under construction in 37 Indian cities. 

It aims to reach 1 Mn charging points by 2030. CHARGE+ZONE said that it will increasingly integrate solar and wind power with its charging stations, wherever feasible as per the policies of the states.

Further, CHARGE+ZONE aims to raise $75 Mn-$100 Mn in equity as part of its Series A2 funding round during 2023-2024. The startup, which has partnerships with companies like Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Eicher, Tata Motors, Marriott, Hyatt, Landmark Group, among others, last raised $10 Mn in a bridge funding round led by Venture Catalysts in December 2021.

CHARGE+ZONE raised around $13 Mn between 2020 and 2022. It competes with the likes of BOLT, Statiq, and Magenta Mobility, along with international EV charging solution providers like ABB. 

With the growing number of EVs in India, the country’s EV charging ecosystem is also growing. Though there is still a major gap in the number of EVs and charging stations, the entry of a large number of private players, especially startups, in the market has led to an increase in the number of charging stations. Range anxiety continues to be a concern among aspiring EV buyers and a dense network of charging stations can be a major incentivising factor for people to adopt EVs.

As per the government’s latest data, India currently has 21.7 Lakh registered EVs and the total number of public charging stations stands at 6,586 across India.