Inven Capital, the investment fund of the Czech utility group CEZ, is expanding its portfolio with the British start-up Ember, which takes a complex approach to ensuring emission-free intercity transport service. They combine ecological vehicles, on the development of which they actively cooperate with manufacturers, with their own charging infrastructure powered primarily by renewable resources and a unique tech platform, which optimises routes, charging and vehicle utilisation. In the investment round co-led by Inven Capital, Ember raised 11 million British pounds (approximately 12.8 million euros) from investors for further development.
Ember currently has five new charging hubs under parallel development, all modelled on their core hub blueprint. Ember’s Dundee hub can deliver charging speeds of 600 kilowatts (kW) to a single bus, with a large proportion of the power coming from the 4 megawatts (MW) of on-site wind turbines. Future hubs are co-located with renewables where possible, further reducing energy costs. Ember will also soon receive the first batch of new generation buses with a battery capacity of 563 kilowatt-hours (kWh) and a range of over 500 kilometres.
Everything is brought together in EmberOS, a proprietary tech platform that orchestrates the operations and allows them to scale growth more easily in the future – according to plans, they expect to double the number of trips over the coming year as the network expands.
“CEZ significantly supports the development of e-mobility in the Czech Republic,” said Tomáš Pleskač, member of the board of directors and director of the new energy division. “We currently operate over 670 charging stations across the country, participate in the electrification of public transport in cities and help companies with the introduction of e-mobility in their fleets. Logically, we are also interested in know-how from abroad. By entering Ember, Inven Capital builds on its previous successful investments in clean mobility. The electrification of transport is one of the key tasks of the near future and CEZ, as a major energy player, naturally wants to lead the way. Ember impressed us with its comprehensive solution, which gives it a strong foundation for future growth.”
“Ember proves that by cleverly combining electrification, digitisation and a strong pro-customer approach, it is possible to make people prefer greener public transport to travel by car,” stated Inven Capital director Petr Míkovec. “Given Europe’s decarbonisation ambitions, such an approach is a great inspiration for other companies as well. We are excited to be a part of Ember’s mission to revolutionize transportation.”
According to the founders, the Ember technology platform is built in such a way that it can be transferred to other countries with only minor modifications to the system. The electric buses in their current fleet have a range of around 300 kilometres and take just over two hours to recharge. They stop in smaller towns where public transport does not provide enough connections to larger cities.
