UK Energy giant OVO acquires EV charging app Bonnet

Today UK energy company OVO announced its acquisition of public EV charging consumer app Bonnet for an undisclosed sum.

Bonnet is one of the largest public charging consumer apps, with over 80 percent of the UK’s charge points – over 27,000 chargers at 7,000 locations — available on the app. EV drivers can locate, use and pay for public charge points without switching between different cards or logins.

The company was founded by Patrick Reich and Eliot Makabu, who both met and came up with the idea for Bonnet while studying electrical engineering together in London. Bonnet officially launched in 2021 with headquarters in London, UK, with operations across Europe. The company has recently raised £3.7m from investors and its community of drivers.

Through Bonnet’s app, EV drivers can easily access more than 400,000 chargers across the UK and Europe – removing the need for multiple cards and apps to use EV chargers of different companies.

Alongside easy access to hundreds of thousands of chargers across 11 countries and more than 40 charging networks, Bonnet users can see real-time data on charger availability through its app, ensuring no time is wasted travelling to in-use or damaged charge points.

The company has previously raised £8.6 million in funding, including over £700,000 in crowdfunding.

OVO’s intelligent charging add-on for EV home charging – Charge Anytime, has saved customers more than £3 million since it launched earlier this year, automatically optimising cars to charge when emissions and prices are low.

Mat Moakes, Chief Commercial Officer, OVO, said:

“Like Bonnet, we want to revolutionise the EV charging experience and take another step forward on our Path to Zero. Using innovative technology they’re connecting EV drivers to the best charging networks available and turning every charge point into an accessible and simple charger that any driver can use.

By combining Bonnet’s cutting-edge app and OVO’s experience and scale we will encourage more people to adopt electric vehicles and transition to a greener lifestyle.”

Patrick Reich, CEO and Co-Founder of Bonnet, said:

“This is an exhilarating moment for Bonnet and our team. We have long admired OVO and what they’ve been doing to make owning an EV as easy as possible.

At Bonnet, we share this mission, and since we launched in 2021, we’ve made charging publicly across the UK and Europe simpler and more reliable for our more than 150,000 engaged drivers and their families.

“Our driver community has always been at the heart of every move we’ve made – from product updates to our strategic direction - and we know partnering with OVO is going to unlock new opportunities, such as new features and integrations to people’s homes."

Lead image: Michael Fousert.