Deftpower and the EIC Accelerator: A Power Plant Made of Cars

Deftpower, founded in Arnhem in 2020 by chief executive Jacob van Zonneveld, Marc Diks and Remco Tjeerdsma, provides white-label apps and back-end software for companies that sell electric vehicle charging, and uses machine learning to shift charging to cheaper, less congested hours. It was selected in the EIC Accelerator's June 2023 cut-off with a "grant first" award and received an EU grant of €2.50 million for VPPofEVs, "Scaling the largest VPP made of EVs", a €3.76 million project from April 2024 to March 2026 to build a plug-and-play virtual power plant selling flexibility from car batteries to grid operators and energy markets, according to CORDIS.

The final report says that by March 2026 the platform had "1.84 million fully onboarded EV drivers", 123,791 connected vehicles with about 8.47 GWh of batteries and some 70,000 charging sessions a day, and that its demand forecasting reached 91% to 96% accuracy, according to the CORDIS reporting page. The flexibility side was smaller: a Norwegian pilot with 72 drivers answered six signals from a grid aggregator before "the Volue partnership ended"; later demonstrations onboarded more than 940 users, "of whom 446 completed optimized charging sessions"; and by the end of the second year the rewards ledger "had paid €11,530 to 4,756 EV drivers".

Where Deftpower Stands Now

Deftpower raised €12.5 million in August 2025 in a round led by Endeit Capital with existing investors Proeza Ventures, 4impact Capital, Rethink Mobility and angel Jan Fredriks, according to Deftpower. The report lists partnerships with Essent, Allego, TotalEnergies, Ubitricity, Equans, Kia Europe, Fastned, the grid operator Alliander and "an exclusive smart charging agreement with ANWB". The Dutch grid operator Liander runs a public smart charging pilot with Deftpower at 12,000 Vattenfall and Allego charge points in Gelderland, paying cashback to drivers who help relieve the grid, according to Deftpower.

The Technology: Charging When the Grid Can Take It

Millions of electric cars charging at the same evening peak strain local grids that are already congested in the Netherlands. Deftpower predicts when each driver will leave and how much energy the whole pool can shift, then moves charging to off-peak hours and pays drivers for the flexibility. Its data show about 67% of public AC charging could be shifted, some 14 kWh per session.

What the EIC Award Promised, and What the Record Shows

The award's title promised "the largest VPP made of EVs". Deftpower built the forecasting models, the digital twin and the settlement system, and its charging platform grew to a very large user base. But the flexibility actually sold to the grid in the project was small: six signals in Norway, a few hundred optimised users in later pilots, and rewards averaging about €2.40 per driver. The large numbers describe the charging business; the power plant is still being proved.

1. Forecasting modelsDelivered91-96% pool accuracy.
2. Platform scaleDelivered1.84M drivers.
3. Flexibility at scalePilot scale446 optimised users.
4. Grid operator contractsPilotsAlliander, Liander.

The Money

The EU covered 66% of the project. Deftpower's "grant first" award left EIC equity for later, and the 2025 round does not name the EIC Fund. Its revenue and losses are not public in free sources.

What Cannot Be Checked

Why Europe Should Care

Europe's grids face "unprecedented congestion", Deftpower says, and electric cars are both a cause and a possible cure. Pooling their charging could avoid expensive grid reinforcement. Deftpower has the reach to matter; it has not yet shown flexibility at anything like that scale.

The Verdict

Deftpower and the EIC have not been asked for comment for this article. It is based entirely on public records and published statements, linked throughout.