Brisbane-based Tritium has partnered with Californian electric vehicle charging network Loop, filling what it says is a gap in the Los Angeles Miracle Mile.
Tritium, which is backed by the St Baker Energy Innovation Fund, is an EV charging solution provider that has a number of DC fast charging solutions used by networks from Europe’s Ionity to the UK’s Gridserve network.
It cut a deal with the US army recently which will see it engage in a cohort program to develop EV charging solutions to enable the department to transition to electric vehicles, and it also inked a partnership with EvGateway in March that will see its DC fast chargers roll out to 27 locations across the sunshine state.
The partnership has been kicked off with the first installation at Los Angeles, at 6404 Wilshire Blvd., which Loop says is “a centrepiece commercial office building along the famous Miracle Mile neighbourhood.” It will then extend into Arizona, New York, and New Jersey also.
The expanding footprint of Tritium precedes the execution of its plan to list publicly on the US tech-focussed NASDAQ, via a merger with a special purpose acquisition company otherwise known as a SPAQ. SPAQS have become a common way for tech companies whose value is perceived in projected potential rather than past profits.
It is notably common in the world of electric vehicles – big-name EV startups such as Fisker, Lucid Motors, Nikola, as well as EV ecosystem providers, developers and manufacturers such as solid-state battery focussed Quantumscape, and Proterra.
But the success of EV startups can be a tumultuous trail – think Nikola Corp whose CEO Trevor Milton was laid bare after accusations of “intricate fraud” saturated the EV media.
More recently Lordstown Motors, a startup that bought GM’s Lordstown assembly plant with big plans for electric utes, lost both its CEO and CFO on the same day. Shares took a dive but have now bounced back as quickly amid news that an internal investigation has been launched into claims that short-seller Hindenberg Research misled investors.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.