Electric vehicle ownership has soared in recent years as people around the world have taken up more eco-friendly methods of getting around. Today, with more than 5.6 million EVs on the road, it raises the question as to how they’ll all be charged and whether the electric power grid is up for the task. This is what energy company Resilient Power is looking to answer with its fast-charging solutions. The Atlanta-based company just announced a $5 million round of seed funding led by Energy Transition Ventures.
The round also included an investment from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund, the e-commerce giant’s commitment to reaching net zero carbon by 2040. A significant element of this initiative includes plans to deploy a fleet of 100,000 electric delivery vehicles by 2030.
“Resilient Power is building products that accelerate the deployment of EV charging systems everywhere we deliver packages to customers, and its technology could help bolster our infrastructure to support our vehicles and drivers,” Kara Hurst, Amazon’s VP and head of worldwide sustainability, said in a statement.
Transportation accounted for 29 percent of greenhouse gas emissions in 2019, as measured by the EPA. A slowdown in human activity during the pandemic reduced carbon dioxide emissions by around six to seven percent, according to research from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Despite the decline, 2020’s total concentration of CO2 was still higher than in 2019 by 2.5 parts per million.
Resilient Power is equipping areas across the country with tech that works to remedy this ongoing climate situation. The company develops solid-state transformer-based charging systems. Designed to be a flexible high efficiency power router, one of Resilient Power’s stations can connect to 24 electric vehicles at once and enables low-cost fast charging at one-tenth the installation time. The company aims to improve grid efficiency and reliability with its product. The charging systems can connect AC or DC sources to a medium voltage line on the power grid, removing the need for distribution grid upgrades.
“The future of clean energy brings a massive shift in the way we distribute and store power. As we speak, our electrical grid is undergoing a massive transformation. As transportation transitions to electric, we must consider how to deploy charging stations at mass scale without jeopardizing the grid,” Tom Keister, Resilient Power’s CEO, said in a statement. “Our partnership with the Amazon Climate Pledge Fund will allow us to build the infrastructure our customers need to support and accelerate EV adoption, and then later expand our technology to other renewables, storage and microgrid markets.”
The company has so far been granted four U.S. patents with three more pending for its product. With the seed funding, Resilient Power is investing in a pilot program with large fleet owners for its EV charging solution. It’s also expanding its sales and marketing teams with the goal of commercializing its platform.
