Bicester-based tech start-up EZ-Charge has opened the door to huge international growth by signing a contract that will see its technology form the backbone of a new electric vehicle charging network in Malaysia.
The company has entered into a formal Memorandum of Understanding with Mobility Werk Group Sdn Bhd – the Malaysian subsidiary of the global corporation MW Group – for its advanced electric car charging units to be manufactured, installed and operated in-market, under licence.
The deal, which could be worth tens of millions, was signed in front of the Malaysian government’s Science, Technology and Innovation Minister, Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba, at an event to mark Malaysian Mobility Week.
And it is so prestigious it has already been referenced in Parliament by the Rt Hon Penny Mordaunt MP, the Minister of State for Trade Policy.
It will see EZ-Charge’s hardware and software, including revolutionary electricity load-sharing technology, become central to Malaysia’s rapidly-expanding EV ecosystem. This expansion has been identified as a priority by the Malaysian government as part of its National Automotive Policy (NAP) and carbon-cutting targets set at the COP26 summit last year.
Commenting on the deal, Dr Adham said the partnership would make EV charging stations available across Malaysia, creating a network that will support mass migration from internal combustion engine vehicles to all-electric cars, trucks and buses.
He said: “We intend to make the development of charging stations cheaper compared to overseas.”
“With localised manufacturing and technology development, we believe in developing this technology as well as providing talent in the end-to-end process of, design, testing, prototype, commissioning.”
The minister added that he hopes EV adoption would increase steadily as Malaysia moves towards low carbon mobility by 2050.
He continued: “Not only are we able to develop our own EV technology and components, we also want Malaysia to be a hub for EV supply components.
“In order to be a leader in EV component supply, we need international networking due to supply chain and network.
“This requires us to also deal with raw materials such as plastic, advanced materials and also techniques in the use of the battery life cycle.”
Meanwhile, MW Group Executive Chairman, Zulkefli Kasim, said his company had approached EZ-Charge as its technical partner after being impressed not only with its technology, but also the reliability of its chargers and the brand’s track record.
He said: “We identified EZ-Charge as our technical partner and believe our partnership will help us to realise the development of EV in the automotive industry in Malaysia.
“We were impressed that EZ-Charge is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Zeta Group – a company with more than 30 years of experience in smart electronic solutions innovation and has credibility in the development of renewable energy.”
EZ-Charge founder and CEO, Phil Shadbolt OBE, said: “We are absolutely delighted to be partnering in such a massive and prestigious project and one that will totally transform the viability, usability and sustainability of electric vehicles in Malaysia.
“It’s a country of more than 32 million people and so the benefits this project delivers could be huge, not only in terms of carbon reduction, but also in terms of things like local job creation, economic regeneration and skills training.”
He added: “From the point of view of our business, this deal has already brought us lots of international attention and other countries and governments are reaching out to us to replicate the Malaysian project in their own markets.”
