Weev to install thousands of EV charging points in Northern Ireland with up to £50 million funding

Belfast-based EV charging points start-up Weev will begin the roll-out of thousands charging points as it secures up to £50 million in funding from Octopus Investments (part of Octopus Group). 

Which the UK Department for Transport claiming that Northern Ireland has only 20 public charge points per 100,000 people Weev can capitalise on the deficit and will begin rolling out its privately operated EV charging network over the next five years.

Dominic Kearns and Thomas O'Hagan founded Weev in 2022, it installs public chargers and end-to-end EV solutions for workplace and fleet. 

"In a world of rising energy prices, consumers and fleet operators are now thinking more seriously than ever before about switching to an EV to unlock significant cost savings and reduce their carbon footprint. We are helping to enable this switch by breaking down barriers such as range anxiety through access to convenient and reliable EV chargers," says Philip Rainey, CEO of Weev.

"This investment from Octopus enables a major expansion to the size and scope of the rollout we announced at launch last year. We can now increase our focus on providing more rapid and ultra-rapid charging hubs in response to growing demand from EV drivers. In total, the capital will enable us to install and maintain a network of thousands of EV charging points over the next five years using locally-based teams and expertise," he says. 

The deal is a first investment for Octopus Sustainable Infrastructure Fund. 

"OSIF is focused on investing growth capital into sustainable infrastructure businesses tackling climate change and supporting levelling-up ambitions across the UK. Weev is the perfect example of the next generation of infrastructure companies doing just that. By backing Weev, we see a great opportunity to deliver a positive impact to Northern Ireland's communities while meeting the financial objectives of the fund," says Lukasz Michalak, Investment Director, Sustainable Infrastructure, at Octopus.

"We have great confidence in the Weev team. Not only have they previously been in charge of various successful infrastructure businesses in Northern Ireland, but they also share our ethos of putting the customer first," he adds.