Topics
late
AI
Amazon
Image Credits:Chris Watt Photography(opens in a new window)
Apps
Biotech & Health
clime
Image Credits:Chris Watt Photography(opens in a new window)
Cloud Computing
Commerce
Crypto
Ember’s electric bus.Image Credits: EmberImage Credits:Ember
Enterprise
EVs
Fintech
Inside Ember.Image Credits: EmberImage Credits:Ember
Fundraising
Gadgets
bet on
Ember charging hub in Dundee.Image Credits: EmberImage Credits:Ember
Government & Policy
ironware
Ember passenger app.Image Credits: EmberImage Credits:Ember
layoff
Media & Entertainment
Meta
Microsoft
Privacy
Robotics
protection
societal
blank space
inauguration
TikTok
transfer
speculation
More from TechCrunch
Events
Startup Battlefield
StrictlyVC
newssheet
Podcasts
video
Partner Content
TechCrunch Brand Studio
Crunchboard
meet Us
With fresh $14M in funding, Scottish startup takes ‘full-stack’ approach to intercity bus travel
A Scottish companionship building one of the U.K. ’s first all - electric intercity busbar networks has raise $ 14 million ( £ 11 million ) in a Series A stave as it looks to expand across the entire state .
Building any bus mesh from boodle — galvanic or otherwise — is n’t something anyone can evoke up overnight with a laptop computer and endless amount of coffee . A bus connection needs , well , omnibus — and lots of them . And that is whatKeith BradburyandPierce Glenniehave been doing since foundingEmberout of Edinburgh back in 2019 , starting initially with a unmarried fomite procure from one of the few manufacturer willing to take them severely .
“ In 2019 , we did n’t have a [ entanglement ] domain … we did n’t have anything , really , ” Bradbury told TechCrunch . “ We were draw close these companies and severalise them that we ’d like to buy ‘ one ’ galvanic tutor , because that ’s all we had money for . Obviously , when you say you require to buy one electric bus , no one take you in earnest . Some caller laughed in our faces . ”
One company that was willing to do business was China’sYutongand its U.K. distributorPelican , which sell Ember its first bus with little in the way of customizations beyond things like what material they wanted the seats made of . Ember preface its first bus routein tardy 2020 , connect Scotland ’s capital Edinburgh with the city of Dundee ( thebirthplace of Grand Theft Auto , FYI ) , and in the intervening years it has expanded to Glasgow , Stirling , Perth , and other smaller fossa layover within and between these city .
Today , Ember counts 24 jalopy in operation , though it has just taken reception of an extra 14 next - gen vehicle from Yutong , which sport an increase 563 kWh battery adequate to of powering 510 kilometre of travel on a single care — this compare to around 380 km for the previous generation bus .
“ Now we ’re up to 38 , we have the choice of really babble out about serious numbers with Yutong and starting to get vehicles work up to our specification , ” Bradbury tell . “ Our new generation vehicle did n’t actually exist 18 months ago . While it ’s not being progress just for Ember , the mathematical product development has had a spate of input from us — we were intimately imply with the design , with the barrage layout , and with the actual architecture of the vehicle . There were some things that we could n’t change , and there were some things that we could change , but we ’ve been able to really input into that unconscious process . ”
The company has so far raised a little N of$2.3 million in seed fundingfrom European mood tech investor , includingBlue Impact , Pale Blue Dot , Contrarian Ventures , Monzo co - founderTom Blomfield , and Gareth Williams ( co - founder of Edinburgh - establish unicornSkyscanner ) . And with its refreshful immediate payment injection , it ’s gearing up for elaboration across Scotland and the broader U.K. market .
Join us at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Exhibit at TechCrunch Sessions: AI
Ember ’s Series A round was direct byInven Capital,2150andAENU , with engagement from some of its be backers too .
The society is taking a “ full - stack ” approach to its fleet growing , with control over just about every scene of the fleet , from construct and charging substructure , to customer service , to all the underlying software that pulls everything together .
Full-stack
Both the old and newer versions of Ember ’s double-decker are powered by atomic number 3 - branding iron - phosphate ( LFP ) electric battery , which are cobalt - free and considered more environmentally friendly . However , in addition to greater electrical capacity , the latest interlingual rendition has much speedier charging at 600 kW — this 400 % increase mean that its autobus can be fully charged in less than an hour .
On top of that , the buses are bigger , with room for 53 rider versus 38 in the previous vehicles , while the baggage capacity has more than double over .
Internally , the autobus sport 5 G Wi - Fi and USB commit ports .
For now , Ember counts a undivided primary charging hub in Dundee , with 1,200 kW of charge capacity that is backed up by on - site hint turbines . However , with a fleet of young bus topology incoming and plans to expand its web farther abroad , the troupe is looking to bestow an additional 4 megawatt of charge capacity across more sites in Scotland this year .
“ Charging hub will be in a mixture of secret and public locating , and range in size , ” Bradbury said .
Ember practice a CCS ( combined commove organization ) EV charging organization , which supports both AC and DC charge through a single plug — this is a vernacular standard across Europe and elsewhere , have in mind that they technically are n’t for Ember ’s use only . In theory , Ember could help alleviate the perennial charging infrastructure job that plague the U.K. ( among most other rural area ) , though Bradbury forecast that it will probably involve most of them for its own operation .
“ Our day - to - Clarence Day use is so intensive that there is limited bare capacity for apportion access with third parties , ” he tell . “ However , we do envisage enable this in some locations as the internet grows , especially for commercial-grade fleets who involve more space and much mellow charging speeds . ”
Under the hood , Ember ’s proprietary EmberOS software automates many of the process demand in managing a fleet . For example , it automatically allocate gadget driver and vehicles for specific teddy and routes , and if one of the coach is scheduled for maintenance on a given day , Ember removes that from the roster so that there are n’t any unexpected issues around vehicle shortages .
On top of that , EmberOS also supervise the divine service for yield , such as unexpected charging problem , a no - show driver , on - bus temperature controls , and traffic - related delays .
“ If an issue is detect , EmberOS will either resolve it mechanically — for example , notifying passengers about a wait or prompting the driver to flex up the heating — or flag it to a human in the functioning squad , ” Bradbury said . “ Over time , more and more issues are able to be resolved fully mechanically , with no human input . ”
On the consumer side , passengers can get at real - meter data about the schedule of their bus , including the one that they ’re presently on , or a prospective bus they need to watch but do n’t want to hang up around waitress for .
And it ’s this software program underbelly that Bradbury reckons is the secret sauce that bring up it above not only traditional intercity charabanc companies , but also other would - be rivals , including established incumbents like the mightyStagecoach .
“ We have a firm belief in the welfare of controlling the full stack to really get revolutionary advance in efficiency , ” Bradbury pronounce . “ We ’re not trying to make an incremental improvement in a specific vertical ; we ’re reconstruct the intact stack to create a modelling that does n’t currently exist in the grocery store . It ’s only by tie up the software with the hardware and the useable playbook that this can materialize . ”
The story so far
Prior to Ember , Bradbury and his co - founder Glennie work in various roles atLondon - based fintech Iwoca . move from developing mention funding software and services for small line of work to construct galvanizing buses might not be the most obvious vocation changeover to make , but it ’s a determination that Bradbury and Glennie made after discussing a shared pastime in addressing the climate crisis and the role that electrification could play in that .
“ We ’re not ‘ bus multitude ’ ; we were living in London , working for a fintech — building a SaaS company , in effect , ” Bradbury said . “ We both decided that we wanted to do something new , and we were really interested in how electrification had the potential to transfer industries . ”
And while Bradbury say he can take account the tolerant gamut of efforts to address mood change , he wanted a answer where the fruits of their trade union movement were a little more near - full term .
“ I think there ’s mint of cool stuff like ‘ green concrete ‘ or‘nuclear fusion ‘ — in a mode I ’d love to play on all of those as well , but really , they ’re not tangible from mean solar day one , ” Bradbury said . “ You ’re doing all of this R&D , building for something that will get along to fruition in 10 or 20 years , and it will have an absolutely monumental impact . But we were quite sharp to do something that could have shock from the very origin , so we appear at the vehicles , the electrification and the theory for all of that . ”
While megabucks incumbents such as Stagecoachhave also embraced electric buses , those efforts lean to be morewithincities rather thanbetweencities . And the role that software plays in these various efforts is also minimal .
“ When we looked at the bequest industriousness , we did not see innovation , ” Bradbury said . “ possibly this is how hoi polloi were looking at fintech in the 2000s , and lots of good companies came out of that . We have kind of done the same with transport — we can look at this with reinvigorated centre , and occur up with a completely refreshing agency of doing it . ”
Why Scotland?
A quick peek across Ember ’s base city reveals at least one more fair novel transport initiative calledCavForth , toutedas the U.K. ’s firstpublic self-directed bus armed service . manoeuver by Stagecoach , the pilot scheme currently manoeuver a 20 - instant park - and - ride service of process in the western United States of Edinburgh , albeit with a safety equipment driver on plug-in just in case .
So what is it about Scotland that is attracting novel public transferral services ? And why up control stick from Bristol , where Bradbury was subsist , and found his electric coach mesh northwards of the edge ? While part of it did amount down to a Scottish government withslightly more challenging net - zero plansthan its Westminster similitude , Scotland ’s size and layout played a major part in convincing Bradbury to launch his speculation from Scotland .
“ Scotland is not a special market from a public transport perspective — there are lots of area with like road and rail electronic connection , similar level of gondola possession and so on , ” Bradbury said . “ However , the size of it of the market makes it an interesting place to fly service . It ’s large enough to establish a right internet , but diminished enough to retell rapidly . Scotland is a very expert size — you could certify that internet at what we report as ‘ mini scale . ’ you may show the web effects , and you may demonstrate passenger demand , and you may do all of that stuff without needing tons and tons of money . ”
While Ember is jolly limited in price of geographical coverage right now , Bradbury says that it ’s pitch up for a all-encompassing expansion that will include hold out deeper across Scotland with charging hub design for Aberdeen , Inverness , Fort William , and Oban . And then next yr , they ’ll look at England , with the specific routes yet to be determined .
“ There ’s oodles of unlike routes in England that would bring for us , particularly when you think about the range of the vehicles now — they can do 500 km - plus , which give us a lot of scope , ” Bradbury said . “ All of these hub that will be go live [ in Scotland ] will grant us to ‘ complete ’ the Scottish internet in a room , and that demonstrates that what ’s already working with ten of thousands of passenger a week can apply elsewhere . ”
