Grant support will help propel Electric Vehicle Company post lockdown

Electric vehicle company Spark EV Technology from Suffolk is to benefit from a scheme aimed at accelerating innovation.

The business, based in Newmarket, will have access to up to £104,000 in grant funding and long-term support from industry experts to help it accelerate its AI-based journey prediction and map display software.

Spark is among the high-growth companies to successfully pitch to experienced angel investors through a co-investment fund backed by £4m from New Anglia LEP in partnership with Anglia Capital Group.

To date it has received £135,000 from New Anglia Capital’s co-investment fund– matched against £135,000 from Anglia Capital Group’s investors. The scheme is designed to stimulate entrepreneurship, encourage angel investment and promote economic growth across Suffolk and Norfolk.

Now the company has joined the Advance propulsion Centre’s 18-month Technology Developer Accelerator Programme), which will give it access to more funding and invaluable help in progressing its innovative software.

Spark is committed to using its intelligent electric vehicle software to help accelerate the take-up of EVs and transform the environment around us as we move to a low-carbon future.

By using journey data from electric vehicles combined with its machine learning algorithms, Spark’s software delivers journey predictions that are more than ten times more accurate than existing systems. This reduces range and time anxiety from drivers – identified as one of the biggest global obstacles to EV adoption.

Commenting on the news, the company’s CEO Justin Ott said: “Against the backdrop of the current COVID-19 crisis, it is really positive to see continued UK government investment in future propulsion technologies that will drive a low-carbon future. Focusing on emerging technologies such as Spark now will accelerate progress so that we are able to exploit our innovation once we move out of lockdown.

“We have already proven the benefits of our software through over 10,000km of real-world trials across a wide range of electric vehicle brands, terrains and driving styles with the likes of BP, Hyundai and Renault Nissan Mitsubishi Alliance.

“Joining the TDAP is the next step in our commercial journey, enabling us to access the resources we need to scale within the automotive supply chain and bring our product to mass-market adoption.”

For more details on how to approach New Anglia Capital for funding, please contact the New Anglia Growth Hub call 0300 333 6536 or email growthhub@newanglia.co.uk.