Profile - Stable Auto
Solving EV Charge point deployment / utilization strategy through the power of data
Data is often hailed as the new gold. Netflix’s utilization of data driven recommendation system accounts for 80% of streamed content and quantitative data analysis led to 93% customer retention rate1. Data has the potential to drive innovation, uncover hidden patterns, and create unique insights that can transform industries. In the realm of the EV charging business, this company stands out for its ability to harness the power of data to make charging infrastructure profitable: Stable Auto.
For vehicle manufacturers, the EV charging business poses a classic chicken and egg dilemma. The availability of charging infrastructure is crucial for customers to consider EV adoption seriously. However, the demand for EV charging stations largely depends on the number of electric vehicles on the road. This interdependence creates a challenging situation for OEMs, who must carefully strategize their charging station deployment plans.
Deploying charging points involves a delicate balance between science and art. Several factors come into play, including the fixed and variable costs of equipment and energy, property rental arrangements, return on investment (ROI) implications, and risk pooling (between franchisee or charging station provider) etc. Vehicle Manufacturers (like Tesla / Ford), EV charging businesses (like Blink / ChargePoint), and franchisee operators can all play a role in setting up charging infrastructure. Funding for these initiatives can come from federal grants, franchisees, or self-deployment.
The costs associated with setting up charging stations can vary significantly. In markets like India, where DC fast charging at 25kW capacity is sufficient, the investment may range from $15,000 or more to $150,000 or more in developed markets like the US and EU where 100 kW chargers are the norm. Given the relatively low EV penetration rates compared to the overall vehicle population, the success of these deployments becomes paramount.
If the fixed expense associated with charging can be managed, the variable expense is a second bigger obstacle in an energy volatile market. Demand charges (additional fees that utilities charge non-residential or commercial customers for maintaining constant supply of electricity) for public electric vehicle chargers, can be responsible for over 90% of their electricity costs2. All of these factors combined lead to the need for resourceful due diligence in deploying EV charge points.
This is where Stable Auto steps in, providing valuable assistance to all parties involved in making informed decisions about charging station deployment.
Stable Auto uses a wide variety of data points to power their machine learning models. Present data points utilized (but not limited to) are:
EV adoption rates across a location
Local Traffic Levels
Nearby amenities
Nearby EV chargers
Electricity Tariffs based on demand hours and non-peak hours
Area demographics pertaining to income etc.
Other datapoints that can be forecast to understand future utilization on a charge point deployment are:
EV sales forecast across given location
Average vehicle lifespan
Charging speeds required
Competition growth
EV charge demand growth
Based on these inputs, Return on Investment estimations are presented to the user to present different earnings predictions. Reports can be adjusted based on selected tariff and charge point capacity mix.
Stable reported raising series A funding in September of 20223:
“Stable, an EV charging data analysis platform, has now used its proprietary prediction software to analyze 70 million data points for prospective charging site locations across the U.S., and completed its Series A funding round. Lead investor Congruent Ventures is joined by Homecoming Capital and Ironspring Ventures this round, along with seed investors Trucks Venture Capital, Ubiquity Ventures, E14 Fund, Ahoy Capital, Upside Partnership, Qasar Younis and others–bringing total funds raised to $14 million.” - Business Wire
Publicly disclosed customers include Enel X way, MN8 energy, Generate Capital, 3Degrees, FPL and nationalgrid.
Stable didn’t originally start out as a proprietary data and insight engine for charge point deployments. In 2019 Techcrunch covered their partnership with Electrify America, crafted at solving robotic EV charging stations. This application required extensive use of computer vision and data science meant to deliver autonomous charging to autonomous commercial fleets of the future. From the article:
“Its data science algorithms take into account installation costs, available power, real estate costs as well as travel time for the given vehicle to go to the site and then get back on the road to service customers. Stable has figured out that when it comes to commercial fleets, chargers in a distributed network within cities are used more and have a lower cost of operation than one giant centralized charging hub.
Once a site is deployed, Stable’s software directs when, how long and at what speed the electric vehicle should charge.” - Techcrunch4
The EV charging business is undoubtedly complex, with multiple factors influencing the success of charging station deployments. Hardware is a complicated business which is why we think Stable pivoted to a pure SaaS business model.
Stable Auto's data-driven approach provides valuable insights into the various considerations required for making informed decisions. As the world transitions towards a greener future, understanding and navigating the intricacies of the EV charging business becomes increasingly crucial for all stakeholders involved. By leveraging the power of data, we can pave the way for a sustainable and accessible EV charging infrastructure that supports the widespread adoption of electric vehicles.
Have you seen similar offerings like Stable Auto? Do you think it’s a solid offering that’s critical to the EV ecosystem? Do you think it’s an offering meant for prospective retail operators who want to host a charging station or a larger entity like Discoms (Utility Companies) or Charging Station companies to utilize?
We are curious, comment below and look for similar companies innovating in the mobility space on our database!
Christopher, E. E. (2020, December 24). Why Both Quantitative and Qualitative Data Are Vital for Results-Driven Businesses | Entrepreneur. Entrepreneur. https://www.entrepreneur.com/science-technology/why-both-quantitative-and-qualitative-data-are-vital-for/361314
Stone, L. (2017, April 6). Rate-Design Best Practices for Public Electric-Vehicle Chargers - RMI. RMI. https://rmi.org/rate-design-best-practices-public-electric-vehicle-chargers/
Stable Surpasses 70 Million EV Charging Data Points Analyzed and Series A Round. (2022, September 14). Stable Surpasses 70 Million EV Charging Data Points Analyzed and Series a Round | Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220914005059/en/Stable-Surpasses-70-Million-EV-Charging-Data-Points-Analyzed-and-Series-A-Round
Korosec, K. (2019, August 1). An autonomous robot EV charger is coming to San Francisco. An Autonomous Robot EV Charger Is Coming to San Francisco | TechCrunch. https://techcrunch.com/2019/08/01/an-autonomous-robot-ev-charger-is-coming-to-san-francisco/