Global climate venture capital firms have led a $US15 million ($24 million) Series A funding round for Sydney-based electric vehicle fleet management software company BetterFleet.
The round has been led by US funds Aligned Climate Capital, Ecosystem Integrity Fund, and Remarkable Ventures Climate.
In an announcement issued from its US office on 18 March, BetterFleet said the new funding would help it expand its user base to more than 200 customers across the Asia-Pacific region, Europe and North America.
BetterFleet’s software platform creates a digital twin of fleet operators’ vehicles, energy infrastructure and routes. The technology then enables customers to optimise the selection of hard assets – charging stations, vehicles, interconnection equipment etc. – thereby avoiding significant overbuilding of infrastructure.
When a digital twin is integrated with live operations, fleet operators can see where systems are not performing optimally and prioritise remedies with minimal downtime.
BetterFleet claims that working with fleets of up to 20,000 vehicles across thousands of depots it has been able to help customers make savings in tens of millions of dollars. Users of the technology include the NSW and Victoria state governments and the City of Detroit.
BettterFleet chief executive Daniel Hilson said that as complex fleets are transitioned to new technologies overbuilding is common. At the same time, electric vehicles are more complicated to manage and require more sophisticated management software.
“Our goal is to enable more sustainable and productive fleets, allowing the transition to zero emissions solutions, saving our customers billions, while reducing emissions by millions of tonnes annually.” Hilson said.
Chief executive of Aligned Climate Capital, Peter Davidson, said: “BetterFleet is the best tool we have seen for fleets that are going electric. They are already working with some of the largest transit agencies around the world, and we’re excited for this new financing to accelerate their growth even further.”
Based in Sydney, BetterFleet also has offices in London, Ann Arbor, Michigan, in the US and Toronto in Canada.
Image: BetterFleet’s technology is used to manage Transport for NSW’s fleet of electric buses.