Electric vehicle charging specialist Trojan Energy has appointed three new directors to help power its growth ambitions after securing a fresh £26 million funding injection last month.
Chris Waples joins as non-executive chairman with 35 years of global experience in the infrastructure sector with high-profile businesses including John Laing, where he was executive director of asset management. Mr Waples is currently a non-executive director at several organisations including: BBGI Global Infrastructure Fund; European solar and battery storage developer Cero Generation; waste to energy business South Clyde Energy Recovery; and MGT Teeside, a large-scale renewable power plant.
Newly-appointed non-executive director Terry Hart was part of the founding team of CityFibre where he was chief financial officer for more than nine years. A senior advisor to Octopus Investments in relation to its portfolio of investments in the fibre optic infrastructure sector, Mr Hart is also a board advisor to Voneus, a Macquarie-backed rural fibre operator.
READ MORE: Trojan secures £26m for 'clutter free' car charging tech
Keith Barclay of investment group BGF also joins as a non-executive director. He has been influential in a number of investments in Scotland during the past eight years including backing for Trojan Energy.
Trojan announced last month that it had closed the biggest funding round to date for its "clutter free" electric vehicle charging system.
The £26m equity injection was provided by BGF and the Scottish National Investment Bank. The Scottish National Investment Bank put in £18m of follow-on funding from its previous investments and the remaining £8m came from BGF, which was established in 2011 as the Business Growth Fund with a remit to support small and medium-sized businesses throughout the UK.
Speaking at that time, Mr Barclay said: “It’s great to be supporting Trojan Energy’s growth journey as they continue to roll out chargers and make the electric vehicle transition accessible for the millions of households without a driveway.
"The business has developed a high-quality product and the ‘clutter free’ element is a key differentiator. We look forward to working closely with [chief executive] Ian [Mackenzie] and the wider team to reach their ambitious goals and are excited to add another innovative company to BGF’s growing ‘climate tech’ portfolio.”
Set up in 2016 by four former oil and gas executives, Trojan Energy has developed a "flat and flush" charging system that takes up minimal pedestrian pavement space when in use, and none when it is not in use. Drivers carry a charging "lance" in their vehicles which is plugged into the pavement socket to begin charging.
Trojan's chargers are made in Aberdeen where it currently employs 68 people, with 600 points currently in operation in Oxfordshire and the London boroughs of Camden, Brent, and Barnet councils. More than 70 councils throughout the UK, including several in Scotland, are said to be considering adopting the Trojan technology.
"I am pleased to welcome Chris, Terry and Keith to the Trojan Energy board," Mr Mackenzie said of today's appointments.
"Together they bring a wealth of strategic and leadership experience to the company and each has a strong track record in helping build high-growth and high-performing companies. I look forward to working with them in the years ahead.”
An estimated nine million households across the UK do not have access to their own driveway in which to install an electric vehicle charger. This has been identified as a barrier to the uptake of EVs amid concerns about the availability of public charging points.
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