Québec-based Recharge Véhicule Électrique (RVE) has received over $7 million as it looks to develop and deploy its electric vehicle home charging solutions.
Fondaction, Investissement Québec, and Export Development Canada (EDC) each contributed $2 million, while a grant of $1.8 million from the Québec Ministry of Economy, Innovation, and Energy rounded out the rest of the transaction. This was RVE’s first external funding round, which it is classifying as a Series A round, according to RVE spokesperson Frédéric Boucher.
RVE said its offerings align with the Québec government’s new Electric Vehicle Charging Strategy, which aims to increase access to home charging and adapt 35 percent of parking spaces in multi-unit buildings for charging stations by 2030.
President and co-founder of RVE, David Corbeil, said that the funding will help RVE free up 4,000 megawatts of power from the electrical grid, and allow electric vehicle charging to be moved to off-peak hours.
Founded in 2015 by siblings David and Marie-Pier Corbeil, RVE says it aims to help electric vehicle owners across Canada and the United States the ability to charge their vehicles at home on a daily basis by optimizing their energy consumption with its Demand Charge Controller (DCC).
RVE says its DCC product line optimizes the management of a home’s electrical capacity when using charging stations and electric vehicles. The Laval-based company also supports multi-unit residential buildings, where its platform can attribute electricity use to the owner’s electricity meter for simplified billing.
After receiving the Canadian patent for DCC in 2020, RVE launched murbly.com, a platform that aims to provide resources, tools, and consultation to help condo buildings adapt for electric vehicle charging.
The funding comes shortly after EDC released its annual cleantech report that found Canada reached a four-year record for cleantech investment in 2022. Yet, the report also noted the country faces difficulty converting startups to scaleups, and the country still has room to increase its cleantech competitiveness on a global scale, particularly as it relates to tech development, funding, and at-scale demonstrations.
“EDC is proud to support RVE and their vision to empower single and multi-family homes in North America with access to sustainable EV charging solutions,” EDC senior vice president Guillermo Freire said in a statement. “This joint investment through EDC’s Investment Matching Program highlights the importance of supporting small and medium sized businesses, such as RVE, to grow their business and compete in international markets, while delivering cutting-edge innovations.”
UPDATE (11/09/23): This story was updated to note additional information shared by a RVE spokesperson.
Feature image courtesy RVE via LinkedIn
