• In 2021, because of the coronavirus, the CES in Las Vegas had been only virtual.

    This Wednesday, it opened face-to-face and among the start-ups present, we find Sparklin.

  • This Nantes company presents its smart electrical outlets.

  • The socket guarantees a secure charge and transmits consumption data.

While the use of electric vehicles is exploding around the world, many services have yet to be invented to support this development. This is what Sparklin, a young company from Nantes, which manufactures smart and connected charging solutions, understood. Founded just over a year ago by three entrepreneurs, the start-up, which is present at the famous CES show in Las Vegas this week, has designed an electrical outlet dedicated to slow (low voltage) battery charging. Discreet, it can be installed in any garage or parking lot, whether for a car, a bicycle or a scooter.

Nothing extraordinary in appearance, except that the “Spark 1” guarantees fully secure charging thanks to its on-board electronics.

“Even if you plug in, it will only deliver electricity if the user is recognized via his mobile phone and has been previously authorized,” explains Thierry Jahier, one of the three co-founders.

It is a response to the problem of theft that exists on free access outlets, especially at night in car parks.

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"The possibilities of use are multiple"

Another special feature: the socket transmits usage data in real time to a mobile application (duration of consumption, out-of-pocket expenses, user profile, etc.). “It's particularly useful for shared use, in a business or condominium, for example. Payment for the service is greatly facilitated. We can get a billing to the minute. "

Much cheaper than a fast charging station, the outlet, designed in Nantes but manufactured in Asia, costs around 300 euros per unit installed, to which must be added a subscription to the service of 5 euros per month.

An “affordable” price that should make it possible to attract the main target customers: tourist accommodation providers (hotels, campsites, etc.), car park managers and companies managing a fleet of professional vehicles.

“We can also imagine it in ports, markets, coworking rooms… The possibilities of use are numerous.

Except where the needs are those of a short-term load requiring a great deal of power, on motorway stations for example, ”underlines Laurent Stephan, another co-founder.

"The growth potential is immense"

After a first series of 200 boxes launched last summer, Sparklin expects a delivery of 5,000 plugs during the "first quarter of 2022".

Objective: to sell 300,000 to 400,000 units within five years.

"It is relatively modest, if we consider that the French market will be 7 million by 2030", analyzes Thierry Jahier.

To achieve its goals and start international development, Sparklin aims to raise funds of 5 million euros per year.

Our dossier on CES Las Vegas

"The growth potential of electric vehicles is immense," warns Laurent Stéphan.

We are only at the beginning and it will go very quickly.

The infrastructure must now follow.

In the medium term, Sparklin is also working on the design of charging sockets specially adapted for public bicycle stations.

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  • Electric car

  • High-Tech

  • electricity

  • Nantes

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