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AUSTRALIAN EV charger business JET Charge has received a $72 million investment boost from French sustainable investment group Mirova to upscale its charging infrastructure.

JET Charge founder and CEO Tim Washington said that JET Charge was founded on the belief that electrifying transport is key to achieving a sustainable future.

“This funding will enable us to build the scalable, accessible, and reliable infrastructure required to make EVs a practical choice for every Australian and New Zealander,” he said.

Mirova, an affiliate of Natixis Investment Managers, now joins other shareholders including the RACV, Clean Energy Finance Corporation and Australian equity fund Kilara Capital in supporting JET Charge.

JET Charge founder and CEO Tim Washington

The changing company has more than 20,000 EV chargers and accessories in the Australian marketplace and has recently entered the New Zealand market.

JET Charge said it will use its latest funding round to support the next stage of the region’s transition to electric vehicles and accelerate the deployment of EV infrastructure at scale.  

It said that transitioning to electric vehicles was a critical component of Australia’s strategy to reduce emissions and achieve its net-zero targets by 2050. 

“Businesses are required to adopt EVs to align with their sustainability goals and address emissions reporting mandates, in line with the introduction of mandatory climate-related financial disclosures for large businesses and financial institutions from 2025,” it said.

“A well-prepared EV infrastructure will play a pivotal role in supporting this transformation, both for individual users and corporate fleets.” 

Australia sold almost 100,000 new EVs in 2024 and 2023’s EV deliveries more than doubled the previous year’s figures, increasing EV market share to 8.45 per cent, up from 3.81 per cent in 2022, JET Charge said.

“The Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) projects that by 2040, EVs could comprise up to 72 per cent of road transport under its Green Energy Exports scenario.”

JET Charge was founded in 2012 by Tim Washington and Ellen Liang. 

Ms Liang said: “This strategic capital will accelerate the rapid deployment of Charging as a Service, bolstered by the continued development of our in-house technologies, including CORE, our advanced on-site energy management system, and Illuminate, our flagship asset management platform.”

“CaaS removes the cost and complexity of operating an EV charging network, eliminating many of the upfront capital barriers by seamlessly bridging the digital and physical worlds to deliver a reliable EV charging network.” 

Mirova is the management company that aims to advance electrification in transport and to enhance EV charging infrastructure.  

Mirova has been in the energy transition infrastructure sector for 20 years and has financed more than 1000 projects across 48 countries. Mirova and its affiliates had €31.9 billion ($A53b) in assets under management, of which €3.7 billion ($A6b) for energy transition infrastructure investments as of September 30, 2024.  

The head of Mirova’s Singapore division, investment director Nicolas Hayon, said: “EV infrastructure is key to the decarbonisation of transportation and net zero pathway. 

“We are proud to support companies like JET Charge, playing an instrumental role in developing and accelerating essential charging infrastructure across Australia and New Zealand.”

By Neil Dowling

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