April 26 (SeeNews) - Viridian EV, a British developer, manufacturer and distributor of electric vehicle (EV) supply equipment, is working on establishing partnerships with Bulgarian companies this year with the aim of tapping into the promising but as yet underdeveloped Bulgarian EV market, sales director James Glover told SeeNews on Wednesday.
Viridian is looking to team up with Bulgarian businesses in areas such as the design of hardware like controllers for EV charging infrastructure, and is already working on a pilot project after meeting local companies this week, Glover told SeeNews on the sidelines of an automotive and battery forum in Sofia.
UK electronics design and manufacturing firm Cursey Technology is the driving engineering and production business behind sister company Viridian EV, with products designed for both small and large customers, original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and end users. While Viridian EV would not be looking at setting up its own production line in Bulgaria, the company would work with a local partner on designing and developing the charge point hardware which can then be personalised by the local partner, Glover added.
"We are looking to enable OEMs to build and sell charge points in Bulgaria, using our technology and expertise to facilitate these potential partner companies, providing a quicker route to market with tried and tested controllers," Viridian EV account manager Ross Bearman said. This approach has been a proven route to market in several other European countries and will be a key element of facilitating mass EV adoption through making charging infrastructure more readily available in Bulgaria, too, he added.
According to Glover, as large global competitors are not yet established locally, the greenfield state of the EV charging market in Bulgaria is very much seen as a big advantage to market entry. Viridian EV already has an existing relationship with Weid-Bul, a Bulgarian supplier of a range of electrical components and materials for automation systems. Bulgarian EV charging software developer Ampeco could also very much be a natural partner down the track, he added.