Brisbane startup EVOS raises $5 million to solve the ‘biggest’ issue with EV charging

An Australian startup has promised to ramp up production of equipment to solve “the biggest problem” with electric vehicles, after securing a $5 million investment.

EVOS, a venture created by three former Tritium executives, is expected to bolster its engineering team with the investment, just weeks before the company launches its first electric car charger designed for consumers.

The investment comes as Australians buy more electric vehicles, with the technology representing 7.7% of all new car sales in May, up from 3.8% throughout 2022.

Co-founder Marcelo Salgado said EVOS had secured $5 million from existing backers, following a $1.7 million raise in 2021.

He said the new funds would be used to boost its employee base of 22 staff members, and to build electric vehicle charging equipment for fleets and households, which the company had identified as a significant challenge in Australia.

“One of the biggest problems we saw with electric vehicles wasn’t range anxiety or size of battery or choice of vehicles, the biggest problem was energy,” Salgado told AAP.

“If we’re going to transition fleets to electric, whether for small businesses or large businesses, you’re going to have an energy problem when you start installing charging stations at your workplace, or getting employees to charge their vehicles at home.”

EVOS launched its first locally made vehicle charger, the Fleet Home 22, in late 2021.

The company plans to launch its second — a model designed for individuals rather than companies — on July 19.

The chargers are designed to power up electric vehicles faster than a wall plug, with the first model providing an average car with a range of up to 120km in an hour, as well as controlling charging times to make use of solar or off-peak electricity.

EVOS chief technology officer Chris Crossman said he hoped offering a readily available charging solution would help more drivers adopt the technology.

“Some of the barriers to EV adoption have gone down and we’re seeing pick-up in sales locally, yet the issue holding EVs back from being the logical and only next vehicle purchase for many people here is the availability of charging infrastructure suited to their requirements,” he said.

“It’s a challenge we’re looking to address with each solution we bring to market.”

EVOS is one of a growing number of Australian firms targeting the electric vehicle market, including equipment manufacturing giant Tritium, and charging providers Jolt, Evie Networks and Chargefox.

This article was first published by AAP.