HeyCharge

HeyCharge - a German startup that democratizes access to charging stations for electric vehicles in apartment complexes, office buildings and other infrastructure.

History

2022: Raising $4.7 million, including from BMW

On January 13, 2022, HeyCharge announced the attraction of $4.7 million in investments. The lead investor in the round of financing was the venture capital division of BMW. Most developers in the startup are based in Kiev.

As noted in the HeyCharge, traditionally to activate chargers for electric vehicles requires an application or RFID card, as well as a proper connection to the Internet. However, most underground car parks, where approximately 80% of all electric vehicle charging usually occurs, do not have an Internet access point or the ability to install such boxes.

BMW invested in an electric vehicle charging developer with a development center in Kiev

Patented HeyCharge technology, SecureCharge, eliminates the need to connect to the Internet on the spot. All devices that support secure charging will communicate directly via Bluetooth with the HeyCharge or SDK application and ensure maximum system availability with minimal delay between the phone and the charger.

Instead of relying on an internet connection, the SecureCharge transmits cryptographic tokens through a mobile application to each charger, providing a secure and bidirectional channel for controlling user access and billing data.

To provide intelligent features, such as individual billing and remote maintenance, all data received from the charger will be synchronized with the server part as soon as the smartphone enters the network again. All time-critical actions will be performed immediately, allowing the application and chargers to communicate directly via Bluetooth with the HeyCharge or SDK application. This ensures maximum system availability while minimizing delays between the phone and the charger.^[1]

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