Making EV Infrastructure a Reality City Solution of the Year

Making EV Infrastructure a Reality City Solution of the Year

The 2023 QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge, hosted by Leading Cities in partnership with QBE Insurance Group, concluded this month with the City Solution of the Year awarded to itselectric, a groundbreaking company that’s addressing the critical challenges of electric vehicle (EV) adoption by focusing on expanding and enhancing EV infrastructure through partnerships with private building owners.

Challenges to EV adoption are closely related to the lack of adequate infrastructure, which includes charging stations and energy distribution networks. According to recent data, electric vehicles have the potential to significantly reduce carbon emissions, but their widespread adoption is impeded by a lack of convenient charging options and supportive infrastructure. itselectric has emerged as a pioneer in creating innovative solutions to accelerate the development of EV infrastructure, making electric mobility more accessible and practical for urban communities.

The $100,000 award was presented following a one-week intensive boot camp and panel evaluation from representatives of the World Economic Forum, African American Mayors Association, Prince William’s Earthshot Prize, a co-founder of Code for America, and Leading Cities board of directors. In addition to the cash prize, itselectric also will be featured in an upcoming AcceliGOV program, where cities from around the world compete to win a pre-paid pilot program of this EV charging solution.

Mike Lake, President and CEO of Leading Cities, emphasized the urgency of addressing the challenges of EV infrastructure: “The future of our planet relies on us taking significant steps to combat climate change. Insufficient EV infrastructure presents a major hurdle in achieving our environmental goals. Recognizing this challenge is pivotal in preserving our planet for future generations.”

itselectric is at the forefront of creating a more sustainable future by providing a comprehensive EV infrastructure solution. Their innovative approach ensures that electric vehicles can be charged easily and conveniently, thereby encouraging more people to adopt electric mobility and reduce their carbon footprint.

itselectric was selected as the City Solution of the Year from a pool of more than 650 companies that applied from 80 countries.  After a five-month vetting process, a two-month accelerator program and a virtual boot camp, QBE and Leading Cities announced the AcceliCITY Solution of the Year in a one-hour production featuring the pitches and highlights of the 2023 QBE AcceliCITY Top 5 Resilient Solutions.

“Start-ups like itselectric who seek opportunities to partner with cities work very hard to build trust with stakeholder agencies,” said Nathan King, CEO and co-founder of itselectric. “The AcceliCITY pilot grant will be an pivotal opportunity to advance a real-world curbside EV charging pilot, utilizing itselectric’s unique revenue sharing business model. Because of the AcceliCITY funding, our partner city can be assured the pilot has the necessary resources, allowing both itselectric and the city to validate usage data and deployment cost in what is essentially a brand-new industry.”

In addition to the top prize, Syrinx and itselectric were selected for two People’s Choice Awards totaling $50,000 of funding. Syrinx is an Australian-based wastewater solution that naturally purifies wastewater using plants and other elements of nature contained in a single, self-sustaining box.

The QBE AcceliCITY Resilience Challenge has quickly become one of the largest programs of its kind in the world and has demonstrated tremendous impact. AcceliCITY alumni have already raised more than $1 billion, with many having since deployed their solutions in cities to improve the equity, resilience and safety of our urban centers.

At its core, QBE AcceliCITY lowers the cost of innovation for local governments as well as startups and corporations by streamlining the innovation and implementation cycles for smart and resilient city solutions. The QBE AcceliCITY program connects startup’s smart solutions directly with users and provides the proper channels and know-how to deploy in cities.

About the Finalists

• Aqua Solar Solutions: Cutting-edge technology to generate affordable green electricity as well as fresh water.
• Flash: An AI/Deep Learning platform that is changing the way we forecast weather by forecasting lightning hazards for the continental U.S.
• GoodMaps: Turn-by-turn navigation that enables anyone to find their way within the built environment regardless of their routing preferences.
• itselectric: An urban curbside EV charging network that connects to existing buildings and shares revenue with the host property.
• SmartAcqua Solutions: Water Losses are growing globally despite investments; existing solutions are not working and SmartAcqua AI/ML solution can fix it.
• Stratasite: A cloud-based active threat planning portal that allows emergency responders to create and share coordinated response plans.
• SustainAccount: Provides real estate stakeholders with actionable climate intelligence to foster the resilience of buildings.
• Syrinx: Leaders in nature-based solutions, sustainable technologies and positive impact models.
• UrbanSky: Provides high-resolution, ultra-low-cost, city-wide aerial imagery using zero-emission balloons.
• WEO: Creates accessible environmental analytics by harnessing the power space data and AI.