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Greenlots Secures Strategic Investment from Leading Utility Coalition

; Date: July 25, 2017

Tags: Electric Car Charging »»»» Greenlots

Greenlots is a leading company in the electric car charging space. One big claim they continually make is of being the "Open Charging Leader", meaning that their charging network is implemented using open protocols versus the closed proprietary protocols used by other network operators. While the end customer doesn't care about this issue, it is important to network operations. By using open protocols, in theory, Greenlots has a wider choice of charging station providers compared to the networks using closed protocols.

Open charging leader receives Energy Impact Partners' first e-mobility investment, signaling global utility partner demand for an interoperable EV charging network

LOS ANGELES, July 25, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Today Greenlots, a global leader of open standards-based electric vehicle charging and energy management solutions, announced it has secured a significant investment from the world's leading coalition of utilities, Energy Impact Partners (EIP). Furthermore, two industry veterans will join the Greenlots Board of Directors: Kevin Fitzgerald, Chief Utility Officer at EIP, and Philip Jones, former Commissioner on the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC).

The move marks EIP's first e-mobility investment in this important growth segment. It positions Greenlots as the key enabling platform supporting the increasing commitment of the global utility industry to work collaboratively towards electrification of the transportation industry.

"Bringing utilities, car companies and other key stakeholders together is critical for a smart, efficient and secure roll-out of electric vehicles," said Hans Kobler, CEO and Managing Partner at EIP. "Greenlots' industry-leading open and truly interoperable platform, sector expertise and proven experience provide an ideal basis for making that happen."

With more than three decades of combined experience leading utility modernization initiatives, Kevin Fitzgerald and Philip Jones will leverage their regulatory and management experience in this next phase of growth for both EIP and Greenlots.

  • Kevin Fitzgerald, Chief Utility Officer at EIP, will become Chairman of the Greenlots Board. At EIP Fitzgerald facilitates the sharing of best practices and technology among the firm's network of utilities. Prior to this, he served as Executive Vice President and General Counsel of Pepco Holdings (PHI), where he led the development and execution of PHI's award-winning blueprint for the Utility of the Future. Mr. Fitzgerald was also the Chairman of the EEI Innovation and Technology Committee.
  • Philip Jones, former Commissioner on the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC), will also join as a board member. Jones recently completed a 12-year tenure with the WUTC, during which he also served as President of the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners (NARUC). A leading voice in grid security and reliability, he will be a strong advocate for safely integrating electric vehicles into the smart grid.

Greenlots' utility partners include North American transportation electrification leaders Avista Utilities, Southern Company, Southern California Edison, and BC Hydro. Helping utilities manage complex energy demands with its cloud-based SKY technology platform and truly hardware-agnostic software, Greenlots works to ensure that charging investments are strategic, equitable and future-proof to avoid stranded assets and to support electric vehicle growth. With world-class automotive electric vehicle fleet partners BMW, Ford, Nissan, and Kia Motors, Greenlots is uniquely positioned to scale electric vehicle charging networks to meet global demand.

"Utilities are in the best position to predict, manage, and balance electricity demand as electric vehicle adoption increases," said Brett Hauser, CEO of Greenlots. "With the support of our board and strategic investors, Greenlots is delivering on the promise of an electric mobility future."

About Energy Impact Partners

Energy Impact Partners is a collaborative strategic investment firm that invests in companies optimizing energy consumption and improving sustainable energy generation. Through close collaboration with its strategic investor base, EIP seeks to bring the best companies, buying power and vision in the industry to bear on the emerging energy landscape. EIP's utility partners include Southern Company, National Grid, Xcel Energy, Ameren, Great Plains Energy, Fortis Inc., AGL, Avista, Madison Gas and Electric Co., TEPCO, PTT Public Company Limited, OGE Energy Corp. and Transcanada. For more information, visit (www.energyimpactpartners.com) www.energyimpactpartners.com.

About Greenlots

Greenlots is a global provider of open standards-based electric vehicle charging and energy management solutions. Its award-winning SKY Smart Charging™ platform bridges electric mobility, demand side management and behind-the-meter energy storage markets for the built environment. Greenlots operates the largest open fast charging network in North America, and provides utilities the ability to remotely control grid loads through smart charging, demand response and behind-the-meter energy storage initiatives. Headquartered in Los Angeles, the Greenlots network spans 13 countries. Visit (www.greenlots.com) www.greenlots.com for more information or follow us on Twitter @greenlots.

SOURCE Greenlots

David Herron
David Herron is a writer and software engineer focusing on the wise use of technology. He is especially interested in clean energy technologies like solar power, wind power, and electric cars. David worked for nearly 30 years in Silicon Valley on software ranging from electronic mail systems, to video streaming, to the Java programming language, and has published several books on Node.js programming and electric vehicles.