Montreal-based heavy-duty vehicle electrification and connected mobility startup Effenco Development has closed $10 million CAD in financing.
The round, which closed July 31, was led by an existing private investor, which Effenco refused to disclose. Other participants in the financing included the Business Development Bank of Canada (BDC), the Center of Excellence in Energy Efficiency, Investissement Québec, and David Arsenault, who is the founder and president of Effenco.
“Economic development and the fight against climate change go hand in hand.
The funding will allow Effenco to add 25 members to its team and open an office in Kongsberg, Norway, to increase its sales reach in the European market. Effenco classified the round as Series A financing, however, the startup raised a $12 million Series A round in 2018.
Effenco did not respond to questions about its attempt to re-classify the original Series A or whether it considers this $10 million an extension of the 2018 round, prior to publication. The startup also refused to disclose to BetaKit its total funding raised to date.
“The fundraising of 2018 was to scale up our manufacturing capacity. This fundraising is really to fuel our global market expansion,” the company said in a statement sent to BetaKit. “This two-step fundraising process was already contemplated, as we knew then that we would eventually require equity financing to support our growth.”
Effenco has developed an electric hybrid “active stop-start” technology, which is designed to improve energy efficiency on heavy trucks and reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 30 percent. The startup’s current technology electrifies the propulsion and on-board equipment of vocational heavy-duty trucks, using an ultracapacitor-based technology.
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“The economic recovery will take place through sustainable development. Now more than ever, it is necessary to make choices that combine the economy and the environment,” said Arsenault. “This financial support demonstrates the confidence our investors have in our technology and our growth plan. Economic development and the fight against climate change go hand in hand, and our announcement today confirms this.”
Effenco uses its database collected over millions of hours of vehicle operation and uses it to feed proprietary algorithms that ensure its electrification systems are delivering strong performance across a wide range of vehicles.
Effenco was founded in 2006 and has operations in Canada, the United States, and Europe, with a recently completed deployment in France.
“Effenco’s technology is tried and tested in Canada, as well as in other parts of the world, as evidenced by its most recent deployment in France, with success,” said Benoit Forcier, director of BDC’s cleantech practice. “David and his team’s contribution to the adoption of best environmental practices in the transportation industry is reaching new heights today.”
Image source Effenco via Facebook.