TeraWatt Infrastructure, a company powering electric vehicle (EV) fleets with the most reliable network of charging centres, has secured more than $1 billion of institutional capital. This is to support the buildout of its fleet-focused charging centres and operations in the USA.
Funds managed by Vision Ridge Partners have invested in TeraWatt alongside existing investors Keyframe Capital and Cyrus Capital. Both of these companies have also increased their commitments to Terawatt.
The company expects to use the over $1 billion committed to accelerate its next phase of development and expansion. This is focused on the buildout of a growing portfolio of charging centres and adding talent to the team to support this work.
This is an exciting announcement as America moves towards an electric future in mobility. It’s crucial in helping the transition to electric vehicles, especially in the fleet world that has been a powerful force in leading the move to zero-emission emobility.
Yesterday, we reported on EY’s Electric Vehicle Country Readiness Index of countries throughout the world. This showed the US remains in seventh position, despite recent regulatory action.
It explained that despite a robust original equipment manufacturer (OEM) presence, including Ford, General Motors and Tesla, and strong backing from US President Biden’s administration, the US remains in seventh overall. This is the same position on the Index as last year.
Randy Miller, EY Global Advanced Manufacturing & Mobility Leader, said: “While more work needs to be done in driving consumer demand in the US, I believe the country is moving in the right direction when it comes to EVs.
“The federal government is putting around US$10 billion into EV battery supply chains and charging infrastructure, and the manufacturing sector is seriously gearing itself up for EV production, with 13 battery plants due to be built across the country by 2025.”
The report outlined this situation is mainly due to poor demand. Less than four percent of new car registrations in the US are electric vehicles. The EY Mobility Consumer Index shows just 29 percent of US consumers are looking to buy an EV as their next vehicle.
This is the lowest of all the countries in the global survey. Hopefully, with more infrastructure becoming available, like at these charging centres, it will help consumer outlook and speed up the transition in the US.
Paul Luce, Vision Ridge Partners managing director, said: “The future of electrified transport is at a critical inflection point, whereby solutions for large-scale EV charging infrastructure must be established to meet the increasing demand for electrification of all fleets.
“We are thrilled to support TeraWatt, a distinctive platform with transformational permanent solutions for organisations seeking to continue operating their fleets while decreasing their carbon footprint.
“We look forward to working with Neha and the entire TeraWatt team to achieve our shared goal of decarbonising road transport as we seek to generate strong returns for our investors.”
Launched out of stealth in May 2021, TeraWatt is accelerating the decarbonisation of transport. Its purpose is to build a platform that combines an EV charging-focused property portfolio, asset financing capabilities, project development and charging and energy management expertise.
The company acquires properties in locations strategically relevant to fleets and develops the energy and charging infrastructure necessary to operate at scale. TeraWatt’s Charging Centres provide reservable and reliable space as well as high-power charging levels at optimal locations for commercial electric vehicle fleets.
Benjamin Birnbaum, partner at Keyframe Capital and one of TeraWatt’s founders, said: “The Keyframe team began building TeraWatt in 2018, recognising then that the demand for fleet charging hubs would rapidly outpace supply, which is now a commonly understood challenge.
“While we’re proud of TeraWatt’s current scale and all that Neha and the team have achieved so far, it barely scratches the surface as global investments in electric vehicle charging are expected to approach $1 trillion by 2040.
“We’re delighted to welcome Vision Ridge to the investor team and believe this injection of capital positions TeraWatt to be the backbone of this emerging industry.”
TeraWatt works with fleets across light, medium and heavy-duty vehicles, using a property portfolio that spans core metro areas, logistics hubs and key highway corridors.
The company develops and owns charging centres, bringing these online with in-house expertise and experience, enabling fleets to avoid capital expenditure and focus on their own operations.
Neha Palmer, TeraWatt co-founder and CEO, said: “Fleets are electrifying faster than ever, and we have been hard at work planning, building charging centres, and scaling up to make this transition easier for fleets.
“We are thrilled to receive this additional capital commitment from Keyframe Capital and Cyrus Capital, along with new support from Vision Ridge, which is well-recognised for its track record of investing in and growing EV charging platforms.
“We look forward to continuing to build on our market position, leveraging their collective investment to move even faster in providing solutions for the rapidly growing category of EV charging.”
