In their view, the biggest transition in the 100-year history of the auto industry will happen in the next 24 months, with most of the major automakers worldwide in some phase of EV development. The challenge to this transition arises from the lack of a vehicle-charging infrastructure.
According to 350Green's website, only one of six cars in urban cities is stored in a garage -- which makes home-charging out of the question. Cities, retailers and interstate road systems are going to have to build a new infrastructure of charge spots if EVs are going to go anywhere.
Unlike startup Coulomb, which seeks to sell the charging station to a "host," 350Green's business plan has the company itself owning and operating the equipment at the grocery stores, malls, and other places where people park on a regular basis. The startup installs and maintains the equipment, reducing some of the risk for the property owner, who would receive a five-percent revenue share after break-even. Coulomb has a bit of a head start, but it's still very early days in this market.
Rather than charging by the kilowatt-hour, 350Green charges by the time or session and specializes in 480-volt fast charging. Coulomb Technologies and Better Place also charge by time, adamant that they are not selling kilowatt-hours and trying to avoid looking like -- and being regulated like -- a utility.
The basic subscription from 350Green has the customer topping off with off-peak power from their station plazas, which could incorporate solar power as well as energy storage.
350Green is a partner in the eTec $99.8 million DOE grant to electrify the EV infrastructure in San Diego, Portland, Seattle, Phoenix/Tucson, and Nashville, and is "working closely with Nissan," according to the CEO. They aspire to build 358 charging stations over the next four years.
The startup is also looking for a total of $35 million in funding to finance this venture, $5 million in private equity and $30 million in tax equity.
Types of EV Charging Schemes