SparkCharge launches portable EV charging service

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SparkCharge launches portable EV charging service

Buffalo, New York based startup SparkCharge thinks it has the answer to not enough electric vehicle charging stations - bringing the charger directly to customers wherever they may be.

Josh Aviv, SparkCharge CEO, told Yahoo Finance Live that they created a way for electric vehicle owners to have their car charged whenever and wherever they want. With our mobile app, an EV owner can have range delivered to them anytime and anywhere they want, at home, at work, on the go. It opens up a new way of charging electric vehicles that makes life more convenient. The way that SparkCharge works is when customers use the company's mobile app to summon a SparkCharge service vehicle. The SparkCharge service vehicle comes with a portable charge system called the Roadie, which is a modular charging solution that is essentially a series of batteries stacked together to form a unit that can provide DC direct current fast charging on the spot.

Aviv says portable charging isn't just about convenience, but it's also helping to boost the nation's EV infrastructure and provide service to underserved communities.

Aviv said that there are a lot of communities that are sometimes left out, or what we like to call charging deserts, where low-income communities don't have access to EV charging and are barred from the green economy. It removes barriers for every community and every EV owner when we think about mobile charging. Aviv says 60% of customers use the Currently app to get range delivered to their homes, and 40% get it delivered to where they work. Use of the service as a jumpstart for stranded EV drivers is also available, but so far it has only been used infrequently.

SparkCharge operates in four markets at the moment — Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Jose, and Dallas — but the company hopes to be in 20 additional markets soon with a new fundraising round announced on Tuesday.

The SparkCharge Series A funding round of $23 million was led by Tale Venture Partners, Pendulum, and includes capital from entrepreneur and Shark Tank investor Mark Cuban, who had previously invested in the company after hearing Aviv s pitch on the TV show.

Cuban said that SparkCharge is thriving by offering a unique concierge service, while everyone else is pushing the same old, same old self serves. The reinvesting in them was an easy decision, because of the Currently app, which makes charging convenient and accessible to a booming industry.