With increasing numbers of drivers making the switch to electric vehicles (EVs), ensuring access to reliable charging remains a hurdle. This is where EVmatch plugged into the market gap to build a bridge between drivers and property owners to tackle the lack of charging infrastructure.
EVmatch came to life in 2016 as an Eco-Entrepreneurship project for Bren students Heather Hochrein, Erin Williamson, Kelsey Johnson, Shannon Walker, and Claire Dooley. EVmatch set out to support the expansion of EV ownership by providing a solution for renters and multi-family housing residents unable to install private charging stations. The team developed an app-based sharing application that allows drivers to reserve charging stations far from home by paying fees to help the “host” offset operating costs.
In 2016, Heather and Shannon won the Eco-Entrepreneurship Venture Fellowship from the Bren School that propelled EVmatch’s pilot program in Los Angeles. Today, EVmatch continues to be at the forefront of widespread sustainable transportation across the United States. As part of their continuous stride towards a more equitable and cleaner future, the California Energy Commission has granted EVmatch over $700,000 to support the installation of 120 EV chargers in California apartment complexes and provide charging access for over 20,000 renters. Looking forward, market trends project rising growth in the sharing economy and a shift away from investing in private cars and homes for today’s generations. EVmatch’s business model adapts to this gap by increasing convenience and access to EV charging for people wherever they go.
Just one of the many Bren-born sustainable entrepreneurship projects, EVmatch is an outstanding example of how students apply the interdisciplinary knowledge and skills they learn at Bren to develop their business models into innovative, real-world environmental solutions across diverse industries.