British EV charging and energy firm Indra has secured more than £20 million in extra funding that it says will help it to develop its bidirectional charging technology.
The Malvern-based firm has completed a Series B funding round to secure new backing. The extra investment was led by Gulf Oil International, which has increased what is described as a “multi-million-pound stake” in Indra.
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Indra’s focus is on developing its own bidirectional charging system that will allow energy stored in an EV’s battery to power their home or sold back to the grid at times of high energy demand. The idea is that the EV battery can be charged when energy demand is lowest – ensuring the cheapest prices and maximum amount of renewable energy is used.
By then using that energy to feed the grid at times of peak demand, it could reduce the requirement for expensive and polluting fuels to be used to create energy. That could also cut costs for EV drivers, both in reducing the amount of grid energy they use, and by cutting the cost of it: at present the UK’s wholesale energy price is set by the most expensive form of energy used in its production.
Several firms are working on bidirectional charging – also known as vehicle-to-grid (V2X) – and it is tipped to play a key role in helping make the energy ecosystem more sustainable in future.
Indra is part of the UK Government’s V2X Innovational Programme.
Indra boss Adrian Moores, Indra’s CEO said: “This additional investment shows the depth of confidence in our ground-breaking technology as we continue to push boundaries and unlock the potential of EVs as portable energy sources for a sustainable, greener energy ecosystem.”
As well as the development of its V2X charging technology, Indra will also use the money to grow its customer base in the UK, and to accelerate development of its home EV charging platform.
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