Spain’s charging solutions supplier Wallbox closed a €33 million financing round led by new investors Cathay Innovation and Wind Ventures. Existing investors such as Iberdrola and Seaya Ventures were also on board.
Wallbox expects the new capital to inject strategic growth initiatives such as opening new offices worldwide, expanding production and R&D facilities, and hiring more than 400 new employees.
Chief Executive Officer Enric Asunción also mentioned the company wanted to “continue developing new technologies and break into new segments.”
In concrete terms, the Barcelona-based company just announced its expansion across the Atlantic. Wallbox released the Pulsar Plus, the company’s first home EV charger for North America. European EV drivers had seen an upgrade to the charger already in 2019, now offering smart load management between the car and home as reported.
This V2G capability is also in testing in the UK. Wallbox had teamed up with the Electric Nation initiative in autumn last year. The trial uses their Quasar bidirectional charger with a maximum 7.4 kW charging capacity, which is unusually low for a DC charging connection. The trial marked the charger’s official premiere, which also features V2H (Vehicle to Home) capacities.
This is just the private segment. When announcing the new financing, Wallbox also mentioned expanding their public charging solutions following the acquisition of the Electromaps. The digital platform includes charging stations in Southern Europe and enables around 100,000 users to access and pay at 120,000 charging points by cell phone.
The company said a “significant portion of the funds” will go to secure greater market share globally and foster product development. The latter is where Supernova comes in, a fast public charger. It features a charging speed of up to 65 kW with more powerful devices to follow later. Wallbox expects production to start in the second quarter of 2021 and sales will begin first in Europe, followed by North America and other countries.
“Wallbox is rapidly gaining momentum, and this investment will only help us expedite the global transition towards e-mobility,” said Wallbox’s Chief Financial Officer Jordi Lainz.
The investment is both Cathay Innovation’s and Wind Ventures’ first in an EV charging business and will form part of their existing portfolio of smart energy solution startups.
