Ample, which is a battery swapping start-up for electric cars, has announced that it has raised $30 million from Blackstone and Banco Santander which will help it launch its technology in Europe. Already, Ample was worth $890 million and this latest round could take it above $1 billion which would make it yet another unicorn in the electric mobility space.
A major part of the latest round of funding comes from the Blackstone group which has put in $25 million while Banco has put in $5 million. Overall, the start-up has raised $260 million to date.
Ample has a novel solution towards fixing the issue of range anxiety - as it doesn't depend on expensive fast-charging stations but it has these modular battery packs which can be quickly swapped out at dedicated stations. It already has a battery swapping deal with Uber in the Bay Area and now it plans on extending that deal to Europe bringing it to major capital cities like London, Amsterdam, Brussels, Berlin, Paris, Madrid, and Lisbon by 2025.
The battery swamping startup is now coming to Europe
"In order to deploy tens of thousands of vehicles in the near future, we will need to expand our production, deployment, and support functions," said Ample co-founder John De Souza.
"Geographically we will be expanding into Europe next year. The need for scale is being driven both by the market demand and also by the urgency of moving to EVs that was clearly highlighted at COP26," he added.
Ample also has a partnership with Sally, an EV rental company in New York that will also start deploying the startup's battery swapping service. It will be doing so in the cities of New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Chicago.
Ample also views its technology as an ideal solution for consumers, especially ones who don't have the right parking facilities to charge their vehicles.
