FreeWire Raises $125 Million to Boost Supply of EV Chargers
FreewWire Technologies, an electric vehicle (EV) charger manufacturer, said it raised $125 million from investors, including BlackRock, to support the supply of its electric vehicle chargers.
FreeWire is based in Oakland, California. It makes chargers with built-in energy storage, which the company claims lower costs and makes it easier to integrate with current electric systems. According to the company, customers, such as petrol stations, will be able to regulate their electricity usage and send extra power back to the grid.
FreeWire, Chief Executive Arcady Sosinov said: "FreeWire is one of several companies working to increase access to fast electric-car charging, one of the main barriers to making the vehicles more mainstream. The $125 million investment brings FreeWire’s total financing in its roughly eight-year history to about $225 million and will be used to boost manufacturing capacity.
After introducing its first commercial product in late 2020, FreeWire has installed or supplied more than 300 battery-integrated chargers world. By 2025, it hopes to have 5,000 deployed.
FreeWire is now valued at around $525 million following the new financing. It includes a convertible note from BlackRock funds that will become equity based on certain conditions. It also has equity financing from a consortium led by current investors BP Ventures (BP PLC's startup investing arm) and Riverstone Holdings LLC, an energy-focused private equity firm.
ChargePoint Holdings Inc., Wallbox NV, EVgo Inc., and Tritium DCFC Ltd., among others, recently obtained cash and went public by joining with special-purpose acquisition companies or SPACs.
Such transactions have become popular alternatives to traditional initial public offerings, allowing clean-energy companies to raise money, although many have had commercial setbacks and seen their stock prices plummet.
Last year, FreeWire was on the verge of announcing its own SPAC deal worth around $1 billion before a market reversal derailed the deal, according to Mr Sosinov. In the following 18 months, he plans to take the company public through a standard IPO.
ABB Ltd., a Swiss company, has announced plans to spin off and publicly market its e-mobility charging business in the second quarter of this year.
FreeWire anticipates revenue of over $40 million this year and more than $100 million the following year.
