Volvo Cars has acquired a stake in San Francisco based electric car charging company FreeWire technologies via the Volvo Cars Tech Fund. The investment in FreeWire reinforces its overall commitment to supporting a widespread transition to electric mobility together with other partners. The car manufacturer has also indicated that it does not intend to own the charging or service stations.
Freewire provides flexible fast-charging technology for electric cars. It provides both stationary and mobile fast charging technology, allowing electric car charging to be deployed quickly and widely. FreeWire’s charging stations claims to remove the complications of electrical upgrades to support the connection between charging stations and the main electrical grid. It uses low-voltage power, allowing operators to simply use existing power outlets. This means drivers can enjoy all the benefits of fast charging without teh operators needing to go through the hassle of establishing a high-voltage connection to the grid.
Volvo Cars has reported that every new car launched from 2019 will be electrified, and by 2025 the company aims for fully electric cars to make up 50 per cent of its overall global sales.
Arcady Sosinov, CEO of FreeWire said, “Having a car maker with both the legacy and future vision of Volvo is going to give us access to technology, testing, and new strategies that will really accelerate the growth of the company.”
Earlier this year, the Volvo Cars Tech Fund announced its first investment in Luminar Technologies, a leading start-up in the development of advanced sensor technology for use in autonomous vehicles, with whom Volvo Cars collaborates on the development and testing of its LiDAR sensing technology on Volvo cars.