This is the story of Natalie King, an incredibly smart young woman who has worked so hard to break into the male-dominated industry, setting the pace and making history as the founder of the Dunamis Charge, cutting-edge hardware, Electric Vehicle Recharging Station.
King is a former attorney. In 2007, she decided to follow her passion for the clean energy business. She worked with her now ex-husband, to launch a solar energy firm. However, “When the marriage dissolved, the company was dissolved”. She stated
The talented lady, using experiences from her husband’s company, developed a passion for clean energy. Unperturbed by circumstances, she eventually ended up creating Dunamis Clean Energy Partners in 2012.
According to Forbes, The company initially focused on energy auditing, serving as a trade ally for multiple utility companies and incentive procurement, focusing primarily on commercial and industrial customers.
In an interview with Forbes, Natalie said “I woke up from [an after church] nap, and there was a clear direction of ‘the next thing you need to do is electric vehicle recharging manufacturing”.
Natalie followed her intuition and Dunamis Charge was conceived. That was in 2018, and she immediately began research and development. By the end of 2019, King had started engineering and designing a prototype. Now, the devices are in the final stages of certification.
The Dunamis Charge devices feature three different products: a fast charger that can recharge a vehicle within 30 minutes, equipped with a smart screen that can be used for advertising; a residential model device that can be mounted to a garage wall and charge a vehicle within four to six hours; and a commercial model that can be placed in a parking structure.
Currently, Natalie is marketing the chargers to utilities and municipalities. She has already received good news as The Michigan Department of Transportation and Environmental Great Lakes Energy is already onboard to give federal funding for the EV infrastructure rollout. She is also in talks with General Motors Co.
It is in the plans of Natalie to open up a factory in Detroit where she will begin work this November with about 30 workers and expects the workforce to double by 2050. “Once we get our certifications and testing approved, we would be considered a preferred vendor for their dealership base,” King said in an interview.
The African Giant acknowledges the impact of her effort on society while stating “It means a great deal to me to be the first Black woman-owned EV charger manufacturer in the country. I am really hoping there are more to come. I want to make sure communities of colour [Black] are not marginalized and not left out of this opportunity and the multiple benefits this industry brings”.
