Participated · Series B · Feb 2022

Revel builds and operates public fast-charging stations for electric vehicles, with an initial focus on New York City. The company secured a $60 million loan from NY Green Bank to expand its fast-charging network in NYC. That funding will support nine sites that together will add 267 new fast-charging stalls by 2027; over the next 12 months Revel plans to complete five public sites with about 158 stalls, including a JFK airport station. Revel broke ground at JFK in November and expects that site to open in Q1 2025; its Maspeth, Queens site will include 60 stalls, making it one of the largest public charging stations in the nation. NY Green Bank's loan is its first investment in EV charging infrastructure, which the article frames as a sign that debt lenders are beginning to see charging infrastructure as a returnable investment. Revel is continuing to raise both equity and debt to build additional stations in California and hopes to launch a Bay Area site this year, aiming to serve ride-hail drivers and the emerging electric robotaxi industry. Revel operates high-volume public EV fast-charging Superhubs designed for multiple use cases, including general consumers, Revel’s all-electric rideshare fleet, third-party rideshare operators and light-duty delivery vehicles. Its flagship Superhub is in Bed-Stuy, Brooklyn, and the company plans to open additional sites in US cities in 2023. All new Superhubs will be future-proofed with a large number of stalls and charging speeds of at least 150kW. Revel is led by CEO Frank Reig. The company raised $50M in debt financing led by BlackRock Alternatives through its Climate Infrastructure fund to grow its Superhub network. The investment follows a $126M Series B announced in February that was led by BlackRock. Revel began as a Brooklyn-based operator of shared electric mopeds and has expanded into building public EV fast-charging “Superhubs” and an all-EV ride-hail service. The company launched its first Superhub in Brooklyn last June with 25 charge points and plans to build additional hubs with 10 to 15 universal DC-fast chargers each. Revel says new hubs will be open 24/7 and accessible to any brand of EV. It launched an all-Tesla ride-hail service in Manhattan six months ago with a fleet of 50 Tesla Model Ys and has provided over 93,000 rides to date. Revel is winding down its e-bike subscription unit while continuing its moped service. The company plans to use the new funding to expand its Superhub network across NYC and potentially other major U.S. cities. Revel operates a shared electric-moped service with more than 1,400 mopeds across Washington, D.C., and Brooklyn and Queens in New York. Its core product is motor-vehicle mopeds capped at 30 mph that are intended to ride in the street and require license plates and third-party auto liability insurance. The company provides two helmets (with single-use liners) per ride and requires users be licensed drivers aged 21 or older who pass an initial safe-driving history check. Vehicles have about a 50-mile range, an estimated three-year asset life, and Revel performs battery swaps and routine maintenance every four to six months using full-time employees rather than gig workers. Pricing is $1 to start, $0.25 per minute to ride and $0.10 per minute while parked, and Revel offers a Revel Access program that cuts costs by 40% for eligible riders. The company says the capital will be used to scale its fleet within current cities and expand into new markets, targeting about 10 cities by mid-2020. Revel deploys shared, safety-certified electric mopeds that include insurance and helmets and are registered with the New York Department of Motor Vehicles. After a nine-month pilot that used 68 mopeds, Revel has launched 1,000 new two-rider mopeds across more than 20 neighborhoods in Brooklyn and Queens. Riders must register in the Revel app with a driver’s license and pay a one-time $19 fee for a motor vehicle license check. The company opened a 10,000-square-foot operations facility in Red Hook to support the commercial launch and expanded service area. Revel introduced a new pricing structure — $1 to start plus $0.25 per minute (free first minute), $2 to start for two riders, and $0.10 per minute to pause — and offers a 40% discount for SNAP recipients and NYCHA residents. According to the company, it has raised equity and debt financing to support the rollout.