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Zouk Capital backs on-sreet EV charging company char.gy

Zouk Capital has made a GBP6.4 million investment into char.gy, an on-street EV charge point operator and eMSP (eMobility Service Provider), which is rolling out on-street residential electric vehicle charging points in the UK.

char.gy was launched in 2016 with the goal of solving residential electric vehicle charging for people without off-street parking. char.gy is the most convenient way for drivers to charge an electric vehicle on their street as it utilises existing street infrastructure and an existing grid connection to provide two key solutions. This is either a lamppost smart charge point that fits onto an existing lamppost or a satellite bollard smart charge point for greater placement flexibility (but still connecting into a nearby lamppost). char.gy also has a standalone bollard. Wrapped around all these EV chargers is char.gy’s reliable, interoperable and easy to use software solution. 

The company has almost 1,000 EV chargers across the UK having worked with numerous councils including Southwark, Coventry, Merton, Buckinghamshire, Redbridge, Harrow, Haringey and Brent with new installations about to get underway in Croydon and Leicester as well as a pipeline of opportunities with private sector hosts. 

“Driving an electric vehicle without off-street parking is still a real challenge for those looking to make the shift,” says Richard Stobart, CEO and founder of char.gy. “We envisage a world where every lamppost is also a charge point. Wouldn’t that make things simpler? We think so, and this is why we want to roll out char.gy to all corners of the UK and tackle new markets abroad. We are delighted Zouk Capital and CIIF will be supporting char.gy on this journey and we look forward to working with them to rapidly scale the business to improve access to EV charge points to every household without a driveway.”  
 
George Ridd, Partner at Zouk Capital, adds: “CIIF’s central objective is to scale open-access, public EV charging networks for the UK’s EV drivers and all its investments reflect this goal. char.gy is already successfully providing access to EV chargepoints for thousands of EV owners, who do not have off street parking at home. This funding round from CIIF will help boost this key part of the overall EV charging solution for the UK. This investment is just the beginning of CIIF’s relationship with char.gy as we will be putting millions into rolling out a fully funded solution for their products to allow this part of the EV charging market to move beyond central government subsidy funding. We are excited to be working with Richard and his team to help rapidly scale char.gy’s offering.” 
 
Matthew Vickerstaff, Deputy Chief Executive Officer and Head of Project Finance, Infrastructure and Projects Authority, says: “Creating a radical step change in the delivery of the UK’s infrastructure remains one of Government’s top priorities.  This next investment once again demonstrates the effectiveness of our partnership with the private sector to bring reliable and sustainable solutions for everyone across the UK.”  
 
Zouk is the manager of the Charging Infrastructure Investment Fund (CIIF), the dedicated fund established by the UK Government in 2019 and backed by HM Treasury to help develop public charging infrastructure points for electric vehicles throughout the UK. The fund has already exceeded its original target of GBP400 million and a final close is expected later this year. 

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