Munich based EV charging technology company HeyCharge has secured a €2.5 million grant from the European Innovation Council Accelerator, strengthening its position as a provider of charging solutions tailored for residential and workplace environments. The funding marks a significant milestone for the company as it scales its offline capable EV charging technology across Europe, addressing one of the most persistent barriers to electric vehicle adoption.
Tackling the hidden gap in EV charging access
While public charging infrastructure across Europe continues to expand, access to reliable charging at home and at work remains uneven. This is particularly true for people living in apartment buildings. Around 200 million Europeans live in multi unit residential buildings, many of which rely on underground or semi underground parking facilities. These spaces often suffer from weak mobile and Wi Fi connectivity, creating technical and cost challenges for conventional EV chargers.
Most traditional charging systems depend on continuous internet access for user authentication, billing, and system monitoring. In locations where connectivity is unreliable, this requirement leads to increased installation costs, additional cabling, specialised labour, and ongoing maintenance. These factors have slowed the rollout of charging infrastructure in precisely the locations where demand is growing fastest.
Offline charging designed for real world conditions
HeyCharge addresses this problem through its SecureCharge platform, which is built to operate fully offline. Instead of relying on constant internet connectivity, the system uses one time cryptographic tokens generated on the user’s smartphone to authenticate charging sessions. These tokens allow the charger to verify users and record transactions even in environments where no mobile or Wi Fi signal is available.
According to the company, eliminating the need for communications infrastructure can reduce installation costs by more than 40 per cent. This makes EV charging more economically viable for property owners, housing associations, and employers, while improving reliability for drivers.
Chris Cardé, founder and chief executive officer of HeyCharge, said that underground garages are one of the most overlooked obstacles to home charging adoption. He explained that removing the dependency on connectivity not only improves reliability but also removes a major cost driver, making charging accessible to a much broader population.
Support from investors and European institutions
The EIC Accelerator grant follows strong backing from private investors. HeyCharge has raised €6.3 million in private funding to date and counts BMW i Ventures, Statkraft Ventures, and Y Combinator among its supporters. The combination of venture backing and public funding reflects growing confidence in the company’s technical approach and its relevance to Europe’s energy transition goals.
Dr Robert Lasowski, co founder and chief business development officer, said the grant validates the company’s strategy and provides momentum to move from pilot deployments to broader commercial rollouts across multiple countries.
Scaling SecureCharge across Europe
The EIC funding will support the SecureCharge FLEX project, which focuses on accelerating product development, certification, and large scale pilot deployments. These pilots will take place in several European markets and are designed to demonstrate how offline charging can unlock installations in apartment buildings and workplaces that have previously been considered too complex or expensive.
By targeting residential garages and shared parking facilities, HeyCharge aims to close a critical gap between public charging availability and everyday charging needs. The company believes that widespread access to affordable home charging is essential for accelerating EV adoption, particularly in urban areas.
A step toward more inclusive electrification
As Europe pushes toward ambitious climate and transport electrification targets, solutions that address practical infrastructure constraints are becoming increasingly important. HeyCharge’s approach focuses less on headline public chargers and more on the everyday environments where vehicles are parked for hours at a time.
With new funding from the European Innovation Council and continued investor support, HeyCharge is positioning itself as a key enabler of accessible, reliable, and cost effective EV charging for apartment dwellers and employees across Europe.
