Go Eve DockChain. Image: Go Eve
Go Eve’s technology was developed by a team of researchers led by Prof Robert Shorten at UCD’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
Go Eve, a start-up co-developed by University College Dublin (UCD) researchers, has raised £750,000 from Innovate UK and other private investors to develop its next-generation electric vehicle (EV) charging technology.
The start-up’s patented sequential charging technology, ‘DockChain’, allows for multiple vehicles to be connected to a single DC fast charger. Depending on the site, sequential charging can reduce the need for electrical infrastructure and improve charge time, according to the company.
The fresh funding will enable Go Eve to develop new custom hardware, firmware and software that will give DockChain more reliable control over starting, stopping and restarting charging sessions without physically unplugging the EVs, the company said. Existing DockChain units will be upgraded once a new version is developed.
Go Eve spun out from UCD and Imperial College London in 2021 with John Goodbody, and Enterprise Ireland and NovaUCD business partner Hugh Sheehy at the helm. The company’s technology was originally developed by a team of researchers led by Prof Robert Shorten at UCD’s School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering.
“As fuel prices reach record highs and EV penetration across UK commercial fleets is projected to reach 30 to 50pc by 2030, fleet managers are reappraising the economics of electrification,” said Goodbody, the company’s marketing director.
“The ability to make better use of existing chargers, parking bays and available grid capacity will be increasingly important in managing this transition.
“Working with fleets has also taught us that vehicles don’t always behave exactly as expected at the charging connector. Some EVs need another attempt to start; others can be reluctant to restart charging after power flow is paused for grid or priority reasons. This project tackles those practical issues so we can make DockChain more reliable and more flexible.”
The 18-month project will also investigate how DockChain technology could support bi-directional charging and vehicle-to-grid services, which allow energy to be pushed back to the power grid from an EV battery.
The project is supported through Innovate UK’s Growth Catalyst investor partnerships programme. Development and testing will be led by Go Eve’s engineering team in Wolverhampton to deliver a new production-ready version of DockChain to their manufacturing partners in 2027.
The 2021 UCD Start-up of the Year raised £3m in a seed round with participation from The Pearl Family Office, Carter Gem, Automotive Ventures, Kero Development Partners and Cur8 Capital.
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