Brakson is an independent French group established by Yoann Nussbaumer, a digital entrepreneur

The Tesla Roadster, the American manufacturer's first electric vehicle

2010 - Nissan LEAF testing

Unlike internal combustion engine (ICE) cars, which depend on petrol stations, electric cars can be charged in a decentralised manner. All you need is a simple plug, and the electrical grid enables the installation of charging stations almost anywhere: supermarkets, motorway service stations, homes, workplaces, hotels, etc.

This observation led to the creation of Chargemap. When Yoann bought his first electric car, a Nissan LEAF, with the aim of sharing his experience on Automobile Propre, he realised there was a crucial gap: there was no app that made it easy to locate charging stations.

He then imagined a mobile app that would bring together the community of electric car drivers to centralise all information on charging points. A collaborative tool, operating on a principle similar to Wikipedia or Waze, where users could share information, photos, comments, and ratings on charging stations.

And so, in 2010, the Chargemap project was born, alongside Automobile Propre. Initially launched as a website, the service then expanded to include a mobile app, funded by a grant from the Alsace region for companies innovating in electric mobility. This support proved decisive for the rest of the adventure.

The first initiative is the creation of an online store on Automobile Propre. It offers charging equipment for sale, including cables and charging stations. In collaboration with a local electronics engineer, a "multi-adapter" cable has been developed: the Maxicharger, an innovation on the market. This store will subsequently evolve to become international and will become a separate company in 2022 under the name Mister EV. The second activity is the launch of Devis-borne-de-recharge.fr, a platform designed to connect drivers and companies in need of a charging station with qualified installers. In 2023, this activity will be integrated into the Mister EV company.

The third source of revenue is based on the commercialisation of Chargemap's geographic database. This database is sold to electric vehicle manufacturers, enabling them to develop services for their customers. This model generates recurring revenue and helps finance the first recruits, thus ensuring the company's growth.

With these funds, the company changed scale. Priority was given to developing the mobile app, and the technical team was quickly reinforced. The company moved into new premises and embarked on the technological development of the multi-network card. The Chargemap Pass was launched in June 2017, but not without difficulties: the charging ecosystem was not ready for interoperability, and some networks were hostile. The team spent many months working with the Gireve roaming platform, operators, and charging network managers to get the system up and running. A few weeks before the launch, Yoann undertook a 4,000km journey in four days to test the Chargemap Pass in real-world conditions across France.

When it was launched in June 2017, the Chargemap Pass was a huge success. The team was overwhelmed by the influx of orders. The Chargemap user community embraced the initiative and ordered the cards en masse, even though it was only compatible with a few networks at the outset.

Faced with this enthusiasm, the Chargemap team restructured: tools were put in place to ship the cards, technical means were developed to connect new charging networks, and customer support solutions were improved. Chargemap thus took a crucial step towards its ambition of simplifying electric vehicle charging on a large scale.

Companies were quick to respond. They faced a major challenge: electrifying their fleets under pressure from legislators who wanted to accelerate the ecological transition. However, they are faced with resistance from their employees, who are concerned about the constraints of charging. They want to provide them with Chargemap Passes but have specific needs: single billing for all charging sessions, cost supervision, and the implementation of restrictions. This led to the creation of Chargemap Fleet in 2018, a roaming charging management solution dedicated to businesses.

However, at that time, the quality of service at charging stations remained uneven. The Chargemap community reported that many stations were out of order. To help charging networks identify these problems, Chargemap launched an experimental product, Chargemap Operator. This tool allows managers to consult user reviews and ratings to better understand and resolve malfunctions encountered on their infrastructure.

Growth

At the same time, Automobile Propre continues to grow and becomes the leading media outlet for electric cars in France. In 2016, convinced of the importance of also addressing the issue of energy, Yoann launches a second media outlet, Révolution Énergétique. He is convinced that electric cars, as batteries on wheels, can play a key role in the integration of renewable and intermittent energies, particularly through the principle of vehicle-to-grid (V2G) and smart grids.

Automobile Propre is also investing heavily in video to democratise information about electric vehicles. Its YouTube channel is experiencing strong growth, driven by numerous electric vehicle tests.

With the growth of both companies, it became necessary to structure their activities. In 2018, Yoann set up his holding company, Brakson, to bring his companies together and anticipate the future. The goal is to maintain capital independence while developing new activities around mobility and sustainable energy. Brakson also centralises support services for all its subsidiaries: human resources, finance, administration, and legal matters. Thus, the Brakson group was born, dedicated to the success of its companies.

New projects quickly emerged. The first involved the construction of new premises to accommodate the growing workforce, which had reached around 30 employees. Initiated just before the COVID-19 pandemic, this project was completed in March 2021 with the move into brand new premises, designed with particular care. The roof terrace and proximity to Strasbourg city centre are particularly appreciated.

The Automobile Propre online store also saw its turnover increase. In order to expand internationally, in 2020 it became Mister EV, a subsidiary of Brakson.

The Brakson group now comprises three companies: Saabre (publisher of Automobile Propre and Révolution Énergétique), Chargemap, and Mister EV. A fourth company, Cleanrider, was launched in May 2021. Created in collaboration with Michael Torregrossa, it took over the e-bike Génération website to launch Cleanrider, a media outlet specialising in light individual mobility. It covers electric bikes, scooters, and electric motorcycles. The goal is clear: to promote alternatives to cars, because the best car for the environment is one that is not produced. This third media outlet perfectly complements the Brakson group's offering.

Chargemap continues to grow, with an increasing number of electric car drivers and charging stations. The company is innovating by developing its own route planning technology, which is seamlessly integrated into its mobile app. Hundreds of thousands of journeys are calculated every month.

As more and more companies switch to electric vehicles, Chargemap is adapting its offering. Chargemap Fleet is evolving and will become Chargemap Business in 2021, a tool for managing charging not only on the road, but also at work and at employees' homes. It offers advanced features, including monitoring of charging stations at work and at employees' homes, as well as reimbursement of electricity costs used to charge company vehicles. These innovations greatly facilitate the energy transition for fleet managers, who are facing the rise of electric vehicles. Chargemap Business is thus beginning to find its market.

In order to pursue this vision of independence, Brakson acquired the shares of Chargemap held by the Cap Innov'Est investment fund in 2022. Entrepreneur Denislav Nikolov, Managing Director of Netty, also acquired a stake in the company to support this operation before selling his shares to Brakson and Hakan Ebabil, co-founder of Chargemap, in 2024. This acquisition marked the end of a partnership of more than five years with Cap Innov'Est, a regional investment fund that had played a key role in the company's development.

At the same time, two new subsidiaries were set up. The first, Shaolyn, is an online training organisation helping electric car drivers to better understand this change, particularly in the business world. The second, Responsible Ads, is an advertising agency designed to market the group's three media outlets, thereby reducing their dependence on an external agency. With this sustained growth, the headquarters premises become too small. A second premises is rented nearby to accommodate the media division teams. At the same time, the group acquires its first video studio to support the development of its audiovisual activities.

In 2024, the media sector became more competitive, making the environment more difficult for Automobile Propre. To address this, the media division was restructured: Saabre and Cleanrider merged, and a managing director was recruited to steer this new entity towards a phase of growth.

Chargemap, having achieved profitability, began its international expansion. The company also focuses on Chargemap Partners, formerly Chargemap Operator, in order to develop its services for charging networks. True to its mission of simplifying the user experience, Chargemap adopts self-charging and Plug&Charge technologies, allowing vehicles to be charged simply by plugging them in, without a charging card or credit card.



This extraordinary adventure is far from over! Every day, it is built and renewed thanks to passionate and talented people, whose commitment and creativity are the key to its success. Much more than a company, it is a collective project driven by a common vision: to shape a more sustainable future for mobility. Everyone can contribute by adopting the group's solutions or joining its teams to actively participate in this transformation.