TeraWatt Infrastructure has secured over $1bn (€969m) of institutional capital to help grow its electric vehicle (EV) charging centre portfolio in the US.

The EV charging startup said it has received fresh capital from funds managed by Vision Ridge Partners and from existing investors Keyframe Capital and Cyrus Capital.

TeraWatt acquires properties in locations relevant to fleets and develops the energy and charging infrastructure necessary to operate at scale.

The capital is expected to be used to accelerate TeraWatt’s next phase of β€œdevelopment and expansion”, which is focused on the buildout of a growing portfolio of charging centres and adding talent to the team to support this work, the company said.

Neha Palmer, co-founder and CEO of TeraWatt Infrastructure, said: β€œFleets are electrifying faster than ever, and we have been hard at work planning, building charging centres, and scaling up to make this transition easier for fleets.

β€œWe are thrilled to receive this additional capital commitment from Keyframe Capital and Cyrus Capital, along with new support from Vision Ridge, which is well-recognised for its track record of investing in and growing EV charging platforms.”

Paul Luce, managing director at Vision Ridge Partners, said: β€œThe future of electrified transport is at a critical inflection point, whereby solutions for large-scale EV charging infrastructure must be established to meet the increasing demand for electrification of all fleets.

β€œWe are thrilled to support TeraWatt, a distinctive platform with transformational permanent solutions for organisations seeking to continue operating their fleets while decreasing their carbon footprint.”

Benjamin Birnbaum, partner at Keyframe Capital and TeraWatt co-founder, said: β€œThe Keyframe team began building TeraWatt in 2018, recognising then that the demand for fleet charging hubs would rapidly outpace supply, which is now a commonly understood challenge.

β€œWhile we’re proud of TeraWatt’s current scale and all that Neha and the team have achieved so far, it barely scratches the surface as global investments in electric vehicle charging are expected to approach $1trn by 2040.

β€œWe’re delighted to welcome Vision Ridge to the investor team and believe this injection of capital positions TeraWatt to be the backbone of this emerging industry.”

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