Amazon Climate Pledge Fund, Energy Transition Ventures, Others Invest in EV Fast-Charging Tech

As increasing electric vehicle (EV) growth pressures the electric power infrastructure and the need for EV fast-charging increases, Resilient Power announced the closing of a $5 million seed round.

The investment for the first-to-market provider of solid-state transformer-based EV fast charging technology was led by Energy Transition Ventures, with investment from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund and GS Futures, the corporate venture capital arm of GS Group from Korea. Resilient Power was previously funded through $3 million in contracts and grants, including from the U.S. Department of Energy, Savannah River National Laboratory, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL).

“Electrifying Amazon’s delivery fleets is a critical piece of ensuring our company meets the goals of The Climate Pledge and achieves net zero carbon emissions by 2040,” said Amazon Vice President and Head of Worldwide Sustainability Kara Hurst. “We plan to have 100,000 electric vehicles deployed on the roads by 2030, which is projected to save millions of metric tons of carbon per year. Resilient Power is building products that accelerate the deployment of EV charging systems everywhere we deliver packages to customers, and its technology could help bolster our infrastructure to support our vehicles and drivers.”

Resilient Power has developed a solid-state transformer, which combines a traditional step-down transformer, charger, power management, and bi-directional inverter in a single low-cost, flexible high efficiency power router. When installed as an EV fast charger, Resilient Power’s technology enables low-cost multi-megawatt medium voltage fast charging at one-tenth the installation time while simultaneously handling solar + storage, vehicle to grid (V2G), and microgrid capability in the same unit. The solid-state transformer is capable of directly connecting to up to 24 vehicles, and direct-current (DC) or alternating-current (AC) sources to a medium voltage line on the grid, eliminating the need for expensive distribution grid upgrades. The utility-grade equipment is well suited for the challenges associated with fleet electrification that need higher power ratings and a large number of vehicles and can integrate with prefabricated EV fast charging stations.

“EV fast charging just happens to be a great first product for this technology, in a market that is growing fast and needs the size, cost, and power advantages it brings.  But the real promise is using that same technology not just to charge a battery, but to natively enable charging + storage, microgrids, resiliency, and vehicle-to-grid with the same product,” says Neal Dikeman, Partner and Co-founder of Energy Transition Ventures. “Our grid is more than 100 years old; we're going to rewrite it. We are excited to work with The Amazon Climate Pledge Fund and the Resilient Power team as they work towards revolutionizing the grid.”

“The future of clean energy brings a massive shift in the way we distribute and store power. As we speak, our electrical grid is undergoing a massive transformation. As transportation transitions to electric, we must consider how to deploy charging stations at mass scale without jeopardizing the grid,” states Tom Keister, Chief Executive Officer of Resilient Power. “Our partnership with The Amazon Climate Pledge Fund will allow us to build the infrastructure our customers need to support and accelerate EV adoption, and then later expand our technology to other renewables, storage, and microgrid markets.”

In June 2020, Amazon announced The Climate Pledge Fund to support the development of sustainable and decarbonizing technologies and services that will enable Amazon and other companies to meet the goals set by The Climate Pledge. This dedicated investment program—with an initial $2 billion in funding—invests in visionary companies whose products and solutions will facilitate the transition to a low-carbon economy.

Energy Transition Ventures LLC is a venture capital fund manager headquartered in Houston, Texas, investing in early-stage startups that benefit from or drive the energy transition. For more information, visit www.energytransitionventures.com.

GS Futures is the US corporate venture arm of GS Group, focused on investing and collaborating with World-changing teams and innovations tackling Climate Change, Energy Transition and the Future of Commerce.

Resilient Power is a North American developer and manufacturer of innovative energy solutions that rewrite the electric grid. Its offices are in Atlanta, Georgia, with engineering in Austin, Texas.