Volta Industries today officially debuted a new community engagement model anchored by a network of more than 100 stations across five cities for free electric car charging service underwritten by socially responsible brands.

Volta also announced that the company has closed a $4.5 million Series A equity capital round led by Three Bridges Ventures and a $3 million project financing facility provided by SQN Capital.

'Our goal is to re-invent the model for community engagement by matching their needs for services like free electric car charging with brands and retail locations that believe in sustainability, for example,' said Scott Mercer, Co-founder and CEO of Volta. 'We're driving the price of both the service and the infrastructure to zero as we tap major brands to join our community engagement model. We've seen early success with companies like Macy's, Whole Foods Market, and Sungevity, and we expect that list to expand as we grow.'

'As a leading solar service provider and social enterprise power company, Sungevity's values align well with Volta's vision, making it an easy choice that allows us to promote a sustainable lifestyle while also connecting with consumers,' said Liz Ludwig, senior vice-president of marketing at Sungevity. 'We believe in Volta's mission to make living sustainably easier, and are proud to be a part of the shift to increase EV adoption.'

Founded in 2010 by Mercer and CTO Michael Menendez, Volta is re-engineering the way communities rally around social causes. Volta first began in Honolulu by offering free electric car charging services underwritten by local brands to the nation's highest per capita population of electric car drivers.

Since then, Volta has deployed initial charging infrastructure in high-volume, retail locations in five major cities, including the San Francisco Bay Area, the Los Angeles metropolitan area, San Diego, Phoenix, and Honolulu.

The early results have enabled Volta to secure relationships with 7 of the top 10 national real estate investment trusts to provide premium retail locations for the deployment of additional infrastructure.

'Early Internet pioneers like Google became industry titans by first offering free consumer services online paid for by companies that advertised on their platforms,' Mercer said. 'With Volta, we're applying a similar business model to infrastructure to align social good and community services with like-minded brands and retail partners that want deeper engagement with the communities that they operate in.'

With $7.5M of new financing, Volta is set to expand its network of more than 100 outdoor stations into more communities with the goal of positioning brands as enablers of the future.

To date, Volta has secured a total of $12.5 million of equity and project financing. In addition to Three Bridges Ventures, Riverwood Capital and existing seed investors 500 Startups and Epic Ventures also joined in the Series A round.

About Volta

Volta's mission is to use technology as a force for social change where community services, including free electric car charging, are underwritten by companies with a vested interest in the community. With Volta, everyone has an outlet for taking action to make the community better. Find us at voltacharging.com or follow us on Twitter @voltacharging.