French startup UP&Charge bags €1.5M to develop induction charging stations for electric vehicles

Île-de-France-based UP&Charge, an electric charging provider, announced that it has secured €1.5M in a Seed funding round from Paris Business Angels, independent Business Angels, and partner banks, including BNP Paribas, Banque Populaire Rives de Paris, and Bpifrance.

“UP&CHARGE’s objective is to facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transport sector. With the finalisation of our product, our vision becomes reality, and the friction for electric vehicle users finally disappears!” says Gil Chicheportiche, President of UP&CHARGE.

Fund utilisation

The French company will use the funds to carry out the first installations of charging stations in preview at its customers’ premises in October.

This funding will be used in three areas:

• Software development to ensure adaptability to any vehicle and introduce new innovative functionalities
• Hardware enhancement to create a high-quality and practical induction charging station, and application improvement to meet customer needs
• Enhance the user experience while incorporating a data feedback system to drive the development of new innovative functionalities demanded by the market.

UP&CHARGE: Developing induction charging solution

Founded in 2021, UP&CHARGE is focused on developing induction charging stations for electric vehicles.

The company’s cable-free recharging solution is designed to be easily accessible and can be activated with a single click through a mobile application.

The French company aims to offer an affordable and user-friendly charging station that optimises energy transfer and is compatible with individuals with reduced mobility (such as those who are disabled, seniors, injured, or pregnant).

In less than 3 years, the company has gone from a 1kW charging station demonstrator to a 7kW charging station that will be deployed with the first customers during a POCS starting in October 2024. 

The pre-order phase for UP&CHARGE charging stations for businesses and local authorities is scheduled for Q4 2024.