£750k · Other round · Energy · London, UK
Go Eve, the developer of DockChain, has secured Innovate UK backing and private investment for an 18-month project worth £750,000. According to the company's announcement, the work will improve the system's hardware, firmware and software, strengthen automatic charging start and restart reliability, explore vehicle-to-grid capabilities and prepare a production-ready version for manufacturing partners in 2027.
The £750k figure is the total value of the public-private project. Go Eve did not disclose how much comes from Innovate UK or private investors, so it should not be read as a standalone equity round or grant.
One fast charger, more usable fleet bays
DockChain is designed to connect one compatible DC fast charger to several parking spaces. Vehicles can remain plugged in while the system moves charging through the queue, reducing the need for a dedicated fast charger at every bay. That changes the deployment decision for fleets: capacity can be expanded through additional docks and software-controlled sequencing rather than by duplicating the most expensive charging hardware for each vehicle.
The commercial model extends beyond the physical connection. Go Eve publishes software tariffs priced per dock per month, with functions including queue control, alerts and fleet management. In practice, the hardware widens the number of vehicles that can share a charger, while the recurring software layer coordinates which vehicle charges next. The value to an operator therefore depends on reliable unattended hand-offs between vehicles. The funded work on automatic starts and restarts addresses a specific execution requirement, not an abstract product upgrade.
From deployments to production readiness
Go Eve says DockChain has been deployed in Europe and North America, with customers including Stellantis, Openreach, SAP and Detroit airport. Those references show the system being tested across fleets and sites with different operating patterns, but the new project is forward-looking: it is intended to create the next version and prepare it for manufacturing partners in 2027, not evidence that scaled production is already under way.
DockChain originated from work at University College Dublin and Imperial College London. Go Eve separately announced a £3m seed round in 2023. That earlier financing should remain distinct from the current £750k development project. The near-term milestone is whether the company can translate field experience into a manufacturable system whose charging transitions are dependable enough for fleet operators to leave vehicles connected and let the queue run automatically.
