Confidently converting power for the next phase of growth!

Watt & Well celebrated its 15-year anniversary in 2023, what have been the key highlights for you?

2023 has been the best year ever for Watt & Well. We’ve seen very strong growth in revenues, up 80%, primarily driven by sales of equipment for EV charge points which have tripled. At the same time, we’ve generated a good level of profitability. This brings great satisfaction for us as a team because my ambition has always been to position the company as a power electronics equipment manufacturer, and I can confidently confirm that we’ve achieved this. Over 80% of our revenue is now generated by sales of equipment.

Since completing our capital fundraising in October 2022, we’ve been structuring our company for the next phase of growth with senior appointments in Finance, Human Resources, and Industrialization. This has facilitated the successful recruitment and integration of over 30 new employees and the implementation of a new industrial enterprise resource planning (ERP) solution. We’ve also extended our R&D site in Massy, so in total we now have close to 90 employees. Our company conference last September was a very special moment, bringing everyone together to celebrate our 15-year anniversary and look ahead for the next five years and beyond.

What are your expectations going forwards?

We expect revenue growth this year to continue at a similar level to 2023 largely driven by the infrastructure build-out for e-mobility. Today in France over 90% of installed charge points are slow charging, but this will change significantly over the next 5 years with strong demand for fast DC charging. In addition, our SECC communication equipment is a bestseller, as it facilitates the exchange of data between the vehicle and the charging station.

Another exciting area of development for us is smart grids coupled with energy storage. As a pioneer in vehicle-to-grid (V2G) bidirectional power converters, we’re developing high performance bidirectional charging modules to manage the flow of energy to and from the grid to deliver the widest range of energy services.

While we benefit from stable, recurrent business for the Energy market, we are proactively developing our technology for renewable energy applications such as wave energy conversion (WEC), geothermal, and hydrogen energy storage solutions. And we are extremely well positioned for the Space market which is on the cusp of major transformation. We’re expanding our competencies for the New Space sector by creating a standardized design for low-cost, high-power, and high reliability motor controllers, positioning us as a reference equipment provider for the new generation of micro launchers.

And 2024 will be an exciting year as we prepare to set up production facilities in the USA.

Can you tell us about your project to manufacture in the USA?

EVs are forecast to reach nearly 30 million units or 20% of all vehicles sold in the USA over the next 10 years. So, we’re investing now to seize the opportunity of the world’s largest e-mobility market. But we face two challenges before we can sell our equipment: The first is to certify our products according to UL standards for the American market, and we are completing a complex range of tests and making certain product modifications to comply. The second challenge is to manufacture a certain proportion of the equipment locally.

Under the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), we need to demonstrate that at least 55% of components are produced locally. We’re currently in discussions with a global partner to be able to subcontract part of the production and assembly of our EV supply equipment, whilst maintaining sales, after-sales service, management, and supply chain coordination within our US subsidiary. Design, conception, and R&D will obviously remain here in France.

How would you define Watt & Well’s unique value proposition?

We are technical experts, engineers, and pioneers in each sector that we operate, energy, space, and e-mobility. Indeed, we have the audacity to dedicate more than 30% of our revenues to R&D, which for an equipment manufacturer is huge!

We work closely with our customers to understand their requirements and they know they can trust the reliability of our equipment. Ariane 6 is a clear example of our technical excellence; our motor controllers and fail-operational systems leave no room for failure. As a recognised example of La French Fab – Industries of the future, and member of the Bpifrance Club Excellence, manufacturing in France is also a strong advantage. We’re in proximity with our supply chain and this ensures availability of our equipment.

As the founder and CEO of a small but fast-growing enterprise, I believe growth comes with shared values and responsibility. We have fixed environmental commitments to reduce our CO2 emissions by 7% per year on an equivalent scope basis, and we have introduced a profit-sharing scheme for all employees. As we grow, we’re looking to build the best team of innovators, creative thinkers, and passionate people with a taste for challenge. At Watt & Well we’re setting no limits; global, technological, industrial nor human, as we convert power into confidence!

Do you want to find out more about Watt & Well ? Read our interview with Valérie, our Industrialization Director

In conversation with Benoit Schmitt, Founder and CEO of Watt & Well