Inno under 25: Logan Sink makes the Airbnb of electric vehicle chargers

LOGAN SINK

Age: 21

Title: Founder and CEO, Current Pass

Location: Trinity

What it does: EV charger rental platform

Founded: January 2023

No. Employees: Five total, including part-time and contract

Website: https://www.currentpass.com/

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/currentmobility/

Instagram: @currentmobility

Need to charge your electric vehicle but can’t find a public charging station nearby?

Logan Sink plans to solve this problem with his newest startup, Current Pass. Set to launch in February, the platform is like Airbnb except that individual homeowners would rent out their personal chargers rather than living space.

Current Pass just finished its first pre-seed round of funding from North Carolina-based investors and, while Sink was unwilling to disclose how much it raised or who contributed, he said it placed the company at a $500,000 valuation.

EVs are booming in popularity, with four-in-10 Americans seriously considering an EV as their next vehicle purchase, according to a July Pew Research Center survey.

Money is also being poured into incentives for EVs at both the federal and state level and companies are increasing production. For example, just 30 minutes from Sink’s hometown, Toyota is investing nearly $14 billion in an EV facility at the Greensboro-Randolph Megasite and VinFast plans to build EVs farther south and east along the Carolina Core corridor near Sanford.

However, there is little confidence among the U.S. population in the infrastructure needed to support EVs. And, most EV owners charge their vehicles at home, according to Pew.

“Charging stations are still at a novel point in time when they’re still being developed and have some issues that need to be addressed,” Sink said, explaining that there are different chargers and not all stations work efficiently.

But, as he pointed out, EV drivers aren’t always using their home chargers and could make some money from renting them out. Current Pass will invoice a flat rate per charge and the renter will set an hourly rate, with the company taking a percentage of the entire transaction.

The pro of using a private, in-home charger is the assurance that those chargers work. Sink said that Current Pass is working on security and safety considerations.

With Current Pass gearing up to launch its minimum viable product in early 2024, Sink said the company is applying for government grants and hopes to be accepted into an accelerator or incubator.

The company – which Sink has been working on since late 2021 and officially incorporated in January 2023 – has a presence both in North Carolina and California. Sink is transferring from UNC-Greensboro to UNC-Charlotte for the spring term, with plans to return as a visiting student at Stanford University in the summer.

Both states have strong EV markets, but they are vastly different, so Current Pass is taking a unique approach to each.

In California’s urban Bay Area, where there is a significant EV infrastructure, it’s about marketing Current Pass as a convenience; in North Carolina’s rural and suburban areas where EVs are newer, it’s about touting Current Pass as creating access to chargers, he said.

“We’re trying to figure out which [geographic area] will be best for what we’re developing,” Sink said. “And right now, it’s a bit inconclusive.”

Inno Under 25