Climate Impact Capital sees EV infrastructure as the solution of choice for intelligent grids and is pleased to announce an investment into OpConnect, alongside Reinventure Capital and Black Founders Matter.
OpConnect is a Minority Owned Small Business taking on big names like ChargePoint, ABB, and Shell (which purchased Greenlots). The team has developed a lean model that has enabled EV service providers to quickly integrate their EV charging networks with advanced payment processing and customer care tools.
Mobility and energy are undergoing a massive transformation as transportation moves toward an electric future. The investment will enable expansion of OpConnect’s team and enhancement of its “real-time,” hardware agnostic EV management and billing platform to public and private fleet operators.
The company plans to expand its private-labeling offerings focusing on multi-family properties and communities. Headed by CEO Dexter Turner, OpConnect is leading innovation in the electric transportation, with seven EV charging and access control patents. “The Biden administration envisions an aggressive acceleration of the country’s move to vehicle electrification,” said Dexter Turner, which creates enormous opportunities for small business growth, EV owners and reduction of local and greenhouse gas pollution. Jessica Nigro, OpConnect BoD and General Manager at Daimler North America, agreed, “Industry cannot underestimate the influence of immediate federal and state policy in fostering the EV ecosystem.”
“Smart EV charging networks are a critical element of ensuring grid resiliency as we progress to a micro-grid centric utility model where consumers and building owners play a strong market role,” said Alex Rozenfeld, the Founder of Climate Impact Capital, “and as we saw during the near-collapse of the Texas ERCOT grid early in 2021, microgrids with EVs as a core will increasingly provide resilience and backup power in the coming decades as we see more climate change driven mega weather events.” With options like the Ford Lightning, Rivian R1S, and the VW ID.4, consumers may rapidly migrate to EVs.
About Climate Impact Capital
CIC invests in energy technology companies and supports global energy corporations through CIC’s Venture-as-a-Service program. CIC identifies resiliency opportunities to prepare our partners for a world challenged by climate change risk and resource scarcity. With a diverse team and a global partner network across oil and gas, power, and energy technology manufacturing, CIC is at the forefront of the energy transition.