Alternative investment manager, Ingenious, announced on Wednesday that it had Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service has invested £750,000 in Elmtronics, a company specialising in electric vehicle (EV) charging points.
The company said that the funding forms part of a £1.5m investment alongside the North East Venture Fund, which is supported by the European Regional Development Fund and managed by Mercia. It added that the new investment will be used to ‘step up’ the roll-out of Elmtronics’ charging points across the UK.
The latest round of investment also follows the UK government ban on the sale of new petrol and diesel cars from 2030, and will enable Elmtronics to increase its operational presence in underserved UK regions. The extra funds will also go towards doubling the company’s workforce and enhancing its ‘Hubsta’ software, which is installed on charging points, and allows customers to track their electricity usage and pay for charging services.
Elmtronics was established in 2016 by former electricians Dan Martin and Anthony Piggott. Based in Consett and with offices in Bristol, Manchester and London, the firm supplies and installs public charging stations as well as those for homes and businesses. Its clients include Nike, the NHS, National Grid, FedEx, Taylor Wimpey and a number of city councils.
Speaking on the latest round of investment, Neil Forster, Chief Executive Officer at Ingenious, commented: “We have been following the progress of Elmtronics for some time and are delighted to back a company that aligns strongly with our investment strategy as it is well placed in an under-served market, made all the more relevant by last week’s news of Government action to promote the use of electric vehicles. We are very much looking forward to working closely with Dan and his team.”
Dan Martin, Chief Executive Officer, Elmtronics,added:“The latest Government announcement is another big step forward on the ‘road to net zero’. However, despite the growing popularity of EVs with consumers and fleet users, a lack of charging points continues to deter many from making the switch. This funding will allow us to step up our activity to help build the all-important infrastructure. We hope to make Elmtronics a key player in the roll-out.”
The Ingenious statement added that this latest funding round represents the eighth lot of investment designated by the Infrastructure Ventures EIS Service in the last two years. The company said that previous rounds of backing went to Igloo Vision, a Shropshire-based immersive software and technology company; Shoreline, the intelligent field operations management software start-up; TeraView, pioneer and leader in terahertz technology and solutions; 3D Repo, the cloud-based digital platform design pioneers; Winnow, the technology company behind Winnow Vision, the artificial intelligence tool helping chefs cut food waste in half; Over-C, an analytics company focused on operational performance in the workforce management market and Reactive Technologies, a technology platform facilitating the transition to a low carbon future.
