CHARGEZONE, a Gujarat-based electric vehicle (EV) charging company, has secured US$ 54 million, as part of a Series A1 capital raise led by BlueOrchard, along with existing and new institutional investors, making this one of the largest rounds in equity and debt funding.

In this funding round, US$8 million is debt investment from an infrastructure strategy managed by Blue Orchard, a member of the Schroders Group. 

The funding arranged by BlueOrchard will finance an immediate roll-out of 286 charging stations serving 1,130 e-buses and e-trucks as well as over 1250 e-car fleets, in addition to new expansion targets by CHARGEZONE.  

Overall, this will help achieve environmental targets to reduce emissions from internal combustion engines of diesel and petrol vehicles by 5,351 tons per annum. Over the long term, the Series A1 funding for CHARGEZONE will contribute directly and indirectly to the creation of at least 500 jobs.

“As a part of our Series A1 fundraise of US$54m (Rs 450 crores) of equity and debt, we are excited to have BlueOrchard as a part of our journey to build the supercharging networks for EVs in India and other global markets. In the current phase, we aim to build 3000 high-speed DC charging stations by 2025 and expand our network to enable e-mobility across the fleet and personal EV segment including EV cars, buses, and trucks. The current Series A1 raise is part of the planned capex investment of US$300 million, as we foresee crucial growth for the 4W e-mobility segment over the next 4-5 years.” said Kartikey Hariyani, Founder & CEO, CHARGEZONE.

Aurelia Marti, Investment Manager, Infrastructure at BlueOrchard, said “We see a large and growing market for electric vehicles, driven by the need for more sustainable transportation. With its strong management team of industry and finance experts, CHARGEZONE is ideally positioned to capitalise on opportunities in the Indian e-bus market. We look forward to working with CHARGEZONE to advance the electrification of transportation in India and contribute to the country’s climate and environmental goals." 

An early mover in the EV space, CHARGEZONE has positioned itself among various OEMs/eMobility/Locational partnerships including Hyundai, Mahindra & Mahindra, AshokLeyland, VolvoEicher, Tata Motors, Marriott, Hyatt, Fortune, and  Landmark Group. 

As of March 2023, CHARGEZONE has more than 3,000+ charging points across more than 1,500 EV charging stations in operations or construction in 37 Indian cities and has covered more than 10,000 kms of highways, and aims to reach one million charging points by 2030. 

The company started off in 2019 with the commissioning of India’s first-ever EV charging hub for 50 electric buses in Ahmedabad, Gujarat in 2019, followed by India’s first solar-powered EV charging station in Patna in 2022.

CHARGEZONE will increasingly integrate solar and wind power generation for its  charging stations wherever feasible, as per the electricity regulations with respect to each of the state policies.

Additionally, CHARGEZONE plans to raise US$75-100 million in equity, as part of Series A2 during 2023-2024.