Go Eve, a joint spin-out from University College Dublin (UCD) and Imperial College London, has secured £750,000 in funding from Innovate UK and private investors to improve its electric vehicle (EV) charging technology.
The funding will support an 18-month project focused on DockChain, the company’s patented technology that allows a single DC fast charger to serve multiple parking bays. The project aims to make charging sessions more reliable and help fleet operators expand their charging capacity without installing a separate fast charger for every vehicle.
Supported by NovaUCD, Go Eve developed DockChain to address the growing need for EV charging infrastructure as commercial fleets switch to electric vehicles. The technology allows multiple vehicles to remain plugged in while a compatible charger charges them one by one.
This approach can reduce the number of fast chargers and the electrical infrastructure required at fleet sites. It could also help businesses lower installation costs and expand charging facilities more easily.
Go Eve to Improve DockChain Technology
The new project will focus on developing custom hardware, firmware and software to improve how DockChain manages charging sessions. The goal is to enable the system to start, stop and restart charging automatically without requiring vehicles to be physically disconnected.
Experience from existing fleet installations has shown that electric vehicles do not always respond to charging interruptions in the same way. Some vehicles may fail to start charging on the first attempt, while others may not restart properly after charging has been paused.
These issues can affect the reliability of charging systems, particularly at sites where several vehicles share limited charging capacity.
Go Eve aims to address these challenges through the new development project. Improvements could help fleet operators manage charging priorities more effectively and ensure vehicles are ready when needed.
John Goodbody, co-founder and Marketing Director of Go Eve, said improving the use of existing charging infrastructure and grid capacity is becoming increasingly important as commercial fleets transition to electric vehicles.
“DockChain can support more parking bays without businesses having to put in more fast chargers,” he said. The company also wants to make the technology more flexible by tackling real-world charging issues that have come up in fleet operations.
Exploring Vehicle-to-Grid Charging
Alongside improving charging reliability, the project will explore how DockChain could support bidirectional charging and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) services.
These technologies could allow electric vehicles to send stored electricity back to the grid when they are not in use. This may create additional revenue opportunities for fleet operators while helping them manage energy use more efficiently.
The project is supported by Innovate UK’s Growth Catalyst Investor Partnerships programme and will be led by Go Eve’s engineering team in Wolverhampton, UK.
Go Eve Targets 2027 Production
Go Eve aims to deliver a production-ready version of DockChain in 2027. Existing units may also be eligible for upgrades as the technology improves.
The company is looking for fleet operators interested in testing DockChain at sites with limited charging capacity, different vehicle charging priorities or potential for vehicle-to-grid services.
About Go Eve
Go Eve develops EV charging technology that helps fleet operators increase charging capacity while reducing infrastructure needs. Its DockChain system provides an alternative to installing a separate fast charger for each vehicle, allowing a single DC fast charger to serve multiple parking bays in sequence.
