On March 7, 2023, we held at Talent Garden Fondazione Agnelli our event Tribe by ToTeM, organized together with the Club degli Investitori. It was an opportunity to present the Research on startups and the innovation system in Turin and to talk with Fabrizio Barillari, Senior BD & Interim General Manager of Electra Vehicles.

The company was founded in 2015 by Italian "energy storage" expert Fabrizio Martini after professional experience at NASA, where he developed a new battery system for spacecraft heading to Venus. The company provides artificial intelligence solutions to improve the range, durability and safety performance of batteries used in electric vehicles, electric fleets and companies that employ electric batteries..

Fabrizio Barillari is the contact person for their new Turin office, and is a manager with 20 years of experience in defining products and entry strategies in the automotive market. On the sidelines of the March event, he spoke to us about the future of mobility, the recent investment round raised by Electra Vehicles, and the role of Turin in their growth strategy.

Why is electric mobility important?

Electric mobility is a fast-growing trend. The main reason for its growing popularity is that electric vehicles allow us to reduce the use of fossil fuels that emit CO2 and contribute greatly to air pollution.

According to the Asian Development Bank (ADB), in the year 2015 alone, the transportation sector emitted about 18 percent of all man-made CO2 emissions. Electrification of transportation currently seems to be the most promising solution to this huge problem.

To have sufficient impact, it has been estimated that electric vehicle sales will need to account for 61% of total new vehicle sales globally by 2030. This is an ambitious challenge in which Electra Vehicles is an active participant.

What are the main barriers to adoption for the electric vehicle market?

To date, electric cars are not yet riding the wave of the mainstream market. In fact, most "non-owners" have never sat in an electric car, although the desire to try it is great.

According to Statzon, the main barriers to adopting electric mobility are twofold:

• Range anxiety: the fear of not being able to refuel remains a barrier to widespread adoption of EVs given that, at present, the best-performing EVs offer about 500 miles of driving range;
• Price: EVs are perceived as expensive, especially as people continue to associate the industry with brands such as Tesla, which positions itself as a luxury brand.

Which markets are moving fastest toward electric mobility?

The European market seems to be the one in the greatest ferment. It was already worth $80 billion in 2021, or about 28.5 percent in terms of market share. The region shows incredible growth in the market for electric vehicle sales and charging infrastructure. This growth can be attributed, at least in part, to the tax benefits and subsidies applied in many European countries.

Let's talk about Turin, the new European headquarters of Electra Vehicles...

Electra Vehicles wants to be a key player in this transition to electric mobility, and the opening of an office in Europe is an important step forward for the company.

The company decided to set up its European base right in Turin to have, from here, privileged access to the European electric vehicle market. This city has traditionally been a center of excellence in the Italian automotive industry. In the 1960s and 1970s, the Turin area saw the birth of many Italian automotive companies such as Fiat, Lancia and Alfa Romeo. Today it is still a center of excellence for the automotive industry and particularly for technological innovation in the field. In fact, the Politecnico di Torino is one of the leading research institutions in Europe and has a long tradition of research and development in the automotive industry.

Additionally, the opening of Electra Vehicles' headquarters in Turin was also motivated by the presence of a wide range of suppliers and companies specializing in electronics and mechatronics, which are essential for the production of high-quality electric vehicles.

How do you plan to deploy the funds from the latest $21 million investment round?

Electra Vehicles in February closed a $21 million round that will enable it to increase its positive impact on the electric mobility sector. The round was led by United Ventures, an Italian venture capital fund specializing in digital technologies, through the UV T-Growth fund, and also included participation from Stellantis Ventures and investors LIFTT, Club degli Investitori and BlackBerry Limited.

The new funds will be used to support the expansion of operations and to continue deploying innovative software technology. Expansion plans include targeted growth in European markets and expansion of the Turin office, as well as rapid growth of technical and sales teams to meet the growing demand for Electra's offerings.

Conclusions

The road to sustainable mobility is still a long way to go, but the closing of this investment round is an important step forward. Electra Vehicles shows us that smart and innovative solutions exist and can drive positive change..

In this regard, Guido Panizza, Head of Project Management at LIFTT, explained the main reason why Venture Capital wanted to invest in Electra Vehicles: "Electric mobility is now a compulsory technical choice, and it is becoming increasingly clear that battery management software will play a crucial role in the success of this technology. The solution proposed by Electra Vehicles represents a decisive step in optimizing the use of batteries in terms of both autonomy and service life. An innovative technical solution perfectly in line with LIFTT's mission, which will support Electra Vehicles in the start-up of activities in Italy, starting in Turin, a city that in the automotive field remains a global excellence“.