OBE Power secures new equity investment to expand its North American EV charging network

US charging network operator OBE Power has secured a major new equity investment from North Sky Capital. The investment complements OBE Power’s existing credit facility with Gresham House.

OBE Power will use the new capital to accelerate its expansion of its North American EV charging network, with a focus on multifamily, hospitality, healthcare, commercial and other destination-based properties.

“OBE Power’s business model is focused on deploying, owning, operating and managing EV charging infrastructure for property owners and institutional partners, allowing hosts to provide EV charging solutions without making significant capital investments or assuming operational complexity,” the company explains.

“We are proud to welcome North Sky Capital as a strategic partner, given its deep understanding of the renewable energy and sustainable infrastructure sectors,” said Luis Paul, cofounder and Managing Director of OBE Power. “With this strategic investment, OBE Power has secured the capital foundation required to support its ambitious expansion goals over the next three to five years.”

“North Sky Capital has evaluated the EV charging sector for several years, and we believe OBE Power presents a compelling and well-structured expansion opportunity in the market,” said Adam Bernstein, Managing Director of North Sky Capital.

Source: OBE Power

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Chinese rare earth groups and Anhui’s EV sector launch a joint magnet alliance

Five Chinese industry, research and government organizations signed a strategic cooperation agreement, launching the Anhui Rare Earth Industry Alliance. The signatories were the China Rare Earth Industry Association (CREIA), the Chinese Society of Rare Earths, the National Key Laboratory of Rare Earth Permanent Magnet Materials, the Baohe District government in Hefei and the Anhui New Energy and Intelligent Connected Vehicle Industry Development Association.

Sintered neodymium-iron-boron magnets give permanent-magnet traction motors their torque density. Schaeffler has developed a process at its Szombathely plant to recover those magnets from defective rotors and reuse them in new ones, drawing on manufacturing scrap rather than vehicles at the end of their lives.

Source: Rare Earth Exchanges

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Sumida introduces DC common-mode chokes rated up to 16 A for automotive power electronics

Sumida has introduced the CNFC6D33 and CNFC11D57, a pair of surface-mount DC common-mode chokes that suppress electromagnetic interference (EMI) on DC power lines. The company lists traction inverters, onboard chargers, automotive powertrain systems and automotive HVAC, including electric compressors and PTC heaters, among the applications, alongside industrial and consumer electronics.

The smaller CNFC6D33 measures 7.2 × 6.2 × 3.5 mm. Sumida's product listing rates its versions at 1.5 A and 4 A and gives minimum common-mode impedance at 100 MHz of 500 Ω to 1,970 Ω. Typical impedance reaches 2,500 Ω. DC resistance (DCR) is as low as 15 mΩ maximum.

The CNFC11D57 measures 12.3 × 11.3 × 6.0 mm and comes in three impedance configurations spanning 240 Ω to 1,000 Ω minimum common-mode impedance at 100 MHz. The listing rates its versions at 10 A and 16 A, and DCR is as low as 3 mΩ maximum.

Both parts operate from -40° C to +150° C, including self-heating. Sumida's product announcement also lists an 80 V Hi-Pot test voltage.

A common-mode choke's windings impede noise currents that flow in the same direction on both conductors of a line. The DC supply current flows out on one conductor and back on the other, so its magnetic fields cancel in the core and it sees little more than the windings' DC resistance.

Sumida says both parts are RoHS-listed, have provisional AEC-Q200 compliance and are available through its global distribution network. Custom windings are offered for OEM applications. The company's August product announcement had described the chokes as in pilot production.

"The increasing use of power electronics in vehicles has created new sources of high-frequency electrical noise," said Carl G. LeJambre III, Sumida's Vice President of Sales. "Switching converters, inverters, and onboard chargers can generate unwanted common-mode currents that can interfere with other electronic systems if not adequately controlled."

Source: Sumida

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VEV secures investment to accelerate European expansion of its fleet electrification services

Commercial fleet electrification firm VEV has secured an unspecified amount of new investment in a funding round led by Jolt Capital, with Finland’s state-owned investment company Tesi joining as a co-investor.

VEV will use the new funds to support its expansion into new European markets including France, Germany and the Netherlands.

VEV offers a comprehensive package of fleet electrification services, including fleet strategy, charging and energy infrastructure, energy supply and operational services. The company currently serves some 6,000 commercial EVs across Europe, including more than 5,000 in the UK.

VEV’s system is built around VEV IQ, an intelligent charging and energy management platform that provides fleet operators with real-time visibility and control of vehicles, chargers and on-site energy assets through a single system. The platform is operational at more than 600 sites serving the transport, logistics and waste sectors.

“Technology has transformed how consumers manage energy—commercial transport is now at a similar inflection point,” said Clara Audry, General Partner at Jolt Capital. “As fleets electrify, the challenge lies in intelligently managing the flow of energy across vehicles, depots and power networks. VEV is one of the few European platforms bringing those capabilities together, already powering more than 20% of the UK heavy-fleet energy market.”

“For fleet operators, the challenge is no longer simply choosing electric vehicles. It’s about integrating infrastructure, energy and operations in a way that is reliable, cost-effective and scalable,” said Mike Nakrani, CEO of VEV. “We see EVs as a critical part of the future energy system, where vehicles, charging infrastructure, onsite generation and battery storage work together to strengthen resilience, reduce costs and unlock greater value from electrification.”

Source: VEV

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BTC Power supports Summit Charging’s US expansion

Summit Charging is a “full-service EV charging station developer and operator” that was founded in 2026. The company currently holds NEVI grant awards for eight sites in Washington DC, Texas and California, representing 40 DC fast chargers and 56 charging ports, and is simultaneously developing four self-funded sites in California, and planning five additional sites in New York and Pennsylvania.

EV charging system manufacturer BTC Power has announced its role as a key technology partner with Summit Charging. The two companies have worked together on the technical specifications, Build America, Buy America (BABA) documentation, and site economics behind Summit’s expanding charging network.

Each Summit Charging location is planned to feature at least eight DC fast charging ports supporting both CCS and NACS connectors, along with restrooms and other customer amenities.

BTC Power says its support has helped Summit build stronger business cases for its NEVI applications. BTC Power’s All-In-One DC fast charging platform (available in 180 kW, 240 kW and 320 kW configurations) allows Summit to match charger output to the specific power requirements, traffic patterns and economics of each location. The companies are incorporating Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS) into site designs to help manage peak power demand and reduce demand-charge exposure.

“Summit Charging is demonstrating what is possible when you combine the right locations with the right charging technology and business model,” said Seung June Oh, Chief Revenue Officer at BTC Power. “They are identifying locations where people already park, shop, work and travel, and developing those locations into public EV charging destinations. We have been developing and deploying public EV charging technology in the US since 2012, and we understand the equipment, site requirements and operating challenges that come with building a reliable charging network.”

Rather than evaluating sites solely by traditional gas station or travel center criteria, Summit assesses each potential location individually, weighing parking, traffic, accessibility, electrical capacity, nearby competition, customer demographics and utility infrastructure before selecting equipment and configuration.

“BTC Power is more than a charger supplier to us. They understand what it takes to turn a location into a viable charging station—from equipment selection and technical requirements to the economics of the project,” said Bruce Lee, founder and President, Summit Charging. “Our experience shows that EV charging can be built in many different types of locations. If a business has the right parking, traffic, and customer demand, there may be an opportunity to add EV charging and create a new revenue stream. Having a technology partner with the experience and product range of BTC Power gives us the flexibility to develop each site based on what that location actually needs.”

Sources: Summit Charging, BTC Power

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Fleet fuel card provider The ai Corporation expands its relationship with Visa for fueling and EV charging payments

The ai Corporation has been providing fleet card issuance, processing and fraud management solutions to the fuel industry for over 28 years. Now the company has signed a long-term agreement with Visa to expand the integration of Visa Fleet 2.0 in Europe with The ai Corporation’s flagship card issuing and payment management platform, aiEazyFuel.

Visa’s Fleet 2.0 program helps technology partners to ensure that their solutions meet Visa’s standards for functionality, integration and security. ai’s enhanced partnership with Visa will fast-track the availability of its offerings to fuel retailers and fleet operators.

aiEazyFuel is a white-labelled card management and processing platform that’s designed to help fuel retailers, banks, EV, leasing and fleet companies simplify and future-proof their payment systems, either by replacing legacy payment infrastructure or by launching new payment offerings. The platform supports a range of issuing, acceptance, acquiring, switching, processing, risk and analytics functions, and is integrated with proprietary fraud management platform aiRiskNet to protect mobility payments.

aiEazyFuel offers a hybrid card option which incorporates the benefits of the Visa network. Clients’ cards that are issued and managed by the platform are accepted worldwide and can access a broad range of services, including EV charging.

Neil Halls, Head of Fleet, Mobility and Benefits at Visa Europe, said: “Innovation is reshaping the way fleet and mobility payments are managed. By combining ai’s expertise in the fuel, EV and mobility payments space with the capabilities of Visa Fleet 2.0, this collaboration will help bring greater choice and modern payment experiences to fleets and mobility providers.”

Piers Horak, The ai Corporation’s CEO, said: “By leveraging our flagship issuing and processing platform, aiEazyFuel, we are driving targeted penetration of Visa Fleet 2.0 across various segments of the fuel, EV and mobility payments market in Europe. This long-term agreement empowers our partners and future-proofs their operations, ensuring they stay ahead of the curve in a rapidly evolving industry.”

Source: The ai Corporation

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Versinetic’s CongaEEL and MinnoRay boards let two AC charger sockets share one controller

EV charger design consultancy Versinetic is launching two charge controller boards for manufacturers of AC chargers. CongaEEL is a power controller board and MinnoRay is a communications and controller board. Two CongaEEL boards can pair with a single controller to build a dual-socket charger, so each socket doesn’t need its own controller.

CongaEEL is intended for public and commercial AC charging. It puts the three-phase mains contactor, an onboard residual direct current detecting device (RDC-DD), current measurement and the ISO 15118 interface on a single board, which Versinetic describes as IEC 61851 compliant. The board stacks with either MinnoRay or MantaRay, the company’s other controller board.

MinnoRay is a compact board designed for cost-sensitive applications. It combines 10/100 Ethernet, an LTE Cat 1 bis modem, Wi-Fi and Bluetooth, and the company says it is OCPP 1.6 compliant. MinnoRay handles communications, while the CongaEEL board it pairs with handles power and safety functions, including the ISO 15118 interface for Plug and Charge.

A manufacturer can use the two boards to build a single- or dual-socket, three-phase AC charger from fewer separate components. According to Versinetic, that cuts the assembly, wiring and compliance testing a charger design would otherwise need to complete from scratch.

MinnoRay is available directly from Versinetic or under license for high-volume manufacturers that build it into their own charger designs.

“CongaEEL and MinnoRay let a manufacturer start from two boards that are already engineered to work together, so the integration work is done before the design even reaches the bench,” said Dunstan Power, Versinetic’s Managing Director.

“They want a connected, compliant charger without carrying the cost of features they don’t need. MinnoRay gives them that option alongside MantaRay, so the choice depends on the build, rather than what we happen to offer,” said Power.

Source: Versinetic

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