Copenhagen-based electric vehicle charging services platform Monta has raised €15 million in a Series A funding round. The investment will be used to help the company further solidify its position in five active markets as well as expand into two new European markets later this year. Since its founding in late 2020, Monta has now raised €20 million.
Like many an EV driver, Monta was born from co-founders, and EV drivers, Anders Pedersen and Casper Holzmann Rasmussen’s frustration with the lack of availability of universal charging points. And this is just in urban areas, for if one travels beyond city limits, the options thin even more.
Looking at the UK market alone, one that has pledged to ban the sale of new diesel and petrol cars from 2030, Parliament has projected that some 400,000 charge points will be needed to support the transition and longevity of electric vehicles.
Eight years might seem a long time off, I’ll remind you that a few short eight years ago the same country voted to leave the European Union. In other words, not that long ago. In the same amount of time, the UK will need to add 398,000 charge points, or roughly 45,000 per annum.
Now let’s add the seemingly unending maze of various tap and pay, apps, and/or RFID cards needed to pay at any one of these charge stations, that is to say if they’re even compatible with a drivers’ make and model, and somehow the burning of some dead dinosaurs seems a whole lot easier. But at what cost?’
Hoping to stem the tide, Monta offers a number of services designed to make the lives of both drivers and charge point providers all the more facile. Using open web standards, Monta’s charge point management system gives providers a method to manage charge point use, pricing, access, and transactions. On the driver side of the coin, Monta provides reservation, virtual queuing, and payment features all conveniently within one platform.
Ok, so that’s payment sorted, but what about that burning question of range? Well, Monta has thought of that too and is building a network that allows users access to public charge points, regardless of location.
“As an EV driver myself, I’ve experienced first-hand the pains of charging my car outside the bigger cities,” said Rasmussen. “At one place, the charge point is out of order, at another, you need to download a specific app. Monta streamlines the charging experience for EV drivers and by offering full control to charge point owners, we are effectively expanding a sustainable EV charging network globally.”
Monta’s $15 million Series A funding round was led by Creandum with Headline also providing a sizeable contribution.
“Monta is the ultimate companion to any electric vehicle. By focusing on open software standards, the team is building the operation system for anyone that seeks or provides EV charging. Solving the hurdles of public charging means accelerating EV adoption the Monta team has the deep product experience and ability to execute it at speed.,” concluded Headline’s Jonathan Becker.
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