Startup Spotlight
Power Up
The alumni behind NeoCharge are helping electric vehicle drivers charge their cars at home — and use California’s energy wisely.
Written by Melina Hernandez // Photos courtesy of NeoCharge
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The NeoCharge team. From left: Holden Kooiker, Spencer Harrison and Akhil Veluru.
Before graduating, Spencer Harrison (Manufacturing Engineering ’18) and Akhil Veluru (Computer Engineering ’18) spent a lot of time in an unexpected learning space: San Luis Obispo’s Tesla charging stations. An entrepreneurship class stoked the duo’s curiosity about the challenges of owning an electric vehicle (EV), so they struck up conversations with those who didn’t — or couldn’t — charge them at home.
Harrison and Veluru found out that charging vehicles at home on a 120-volt outlet was too slow, banking up to five miles of range for each hour of charging. The electrical panel upgrade needed to convert a 120-volt outlet to a faster, 240-volt charger, known as a Level 2 charger, was too complicated and expensive for some.
But here’s the twist: most homes already have 240-volt outlets for major appliances like clothes dryers. So Harrison and Veluru came up with the concept of the Smart Splitter, a 240-volt outlet adapter that can automatically switch between powering an appliance or an EV. Consumers could start charging at home right away, without waiting for construction permits or an electrician to install a new panel.
The team took their idea to the Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship (CIE) and named their startup NeoCharge, with Harrison as CEO and Veluru as CTO. They joined the 12-week Summer Accelerator in 2018 and then leveled up to the two-year Incubator program to continue their growth.
The NeoCharge team presenting at CIE’s Demo Day in 2018.
“The CIE was critical for resources to get NeoCharge from zero to one, really,” said Harrison. “They gave us the initial resources, mentorship and essential knowledge we needed to connect with investors and advisors during those critical early stages of getting a company off the ground.”
The stability of the CIE’s programs also helped its founders navigate rounds of investing, grant funding and some rough patches.
“We had early-stage product iterations that didn’t resonate the way we’d hoped,” said Harrison. “Instead of panicking, we listened closely to what customers were really telling us. That taught us that no product is final — products are constantly evolving based on changing customer and market needs. It’s a continuous journey of getting better every day.”
When NeoCharge needed to set up its manufacturing line, they turned to students in an industrial technology course to help. That’s where they met Holden Kooiker (Industrial Technology and Packaging ’22). After the class project, Kooiker joined the startup and grew into the role of chief operations officer, leading the team’s hardware, supply chain, marketing and customer support.
The journey rarely goes as planned, and that’s where the real growth happens.
Even though California has the nation’s largest share of EVs at 37%, Kooiker believes the Smart Splitter can accelerate EV adoption more equitably throughout the state.
“While wealthier homeowners could afford panel upgrades, many middle- and lower-income families were effectively locked out of EV adoption and other clean energy improvements,” he said. “This created a troubling scenario where the benefits of electrification — lower operating costs, improved air quality, reduced emissions — weren’t accessible to everyone.”
NeoCharge didn’t stop at panel upgrades. For years, its founders dreamed of an app that would help EV owners schedule charging in a way that would lessen stress on the state’s power grid, especially during peak demand hours from 4-8 p.m. (when charging coincides with air conditioning or other heavy electrical use).
But transitioning from hardware to software — while finding the right partners to execute the vision — proved to be one of the biggest challenges for NeoCharge. After progress on the app stalled, Harrison taught himself how to build one from scratch. Seven months later, he had a minimum viable product, which evolved into the app the startup released over the summer of 2024. The app, which is free for EV owners everywhere, has more than 4,000 users already.
“By integrating directly with utilities’ time-of-use rate plans, the app automatically schedules charging during off-peak hours when electricity is both the cheapest and cleanest,” Kooiker said, noting that the grid uses a higher percentage of power from wind, hydropower and nuclear sources overnight.
NeoCharge’s SmartSplitter device.
In 2024, the startup hit a few major milestones. NeoCharge has sold more than 18,000 Smart Splitters, which has offset an estimated 70,000 tons of carbon dioxide emissions. The team also received a $1.8 million grant from the California Energy Commission, an investment that weaves the startup’s work into the state’s clean energy goals. And co-founders Veluru and Harrison were recently named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for transportation and mobility.
“I’ve learned that patience and a willingness to embrace and seek discomfort are everything. The journey rarely goes as planned, and that’s where the real growth happens,” reflected Harrison. “While we’re still in the early stages of our journey, the remarkable momentum we’ve gained suggests we’re not just building a product – we’re helping catalyze a fundamental transformation.”
