French charging station operator Electra announced on Monday that it had raised €304 million to develop its high-power network in Europe.
Launched in 2021, this operator is developing in and around large cities. Compared to other operators such as Ionity, Fastned or Totalenergies, which prefer main roads, Electra is installed in associated car parks such as Altarea shopping centres, Accor hotels or Indigo car parks.
Present in 8 countries
Electra already operates in eight countries, from Spain to Austria, aimed at individuals and professionals who cannot charge at home or need fast charging.
With this investment, “we are going to ‘scale’ (deploy) our network on a European scale,” Electra co-founder and CEO Aurélien de Meaux told AFP. “The goal is to have a network that is as interconnected as possible to encourage the switch to electricity.”
The operator will also continue to “invest in innovation” to develop its terminals, said Aurélien de Meaux.
Bpifrance enters the capital
This financing round, important in this booming sector, was led by the large Dutch pension fund PGGM. Bpifrance, through its Large Venture fund, also entered the capital of Electra on this occasion.
Electra’s historical investors, in particular Eurazeo, as well as RIVE Private Investment, the SNCF group and the Serena fund, also participated in the fundraising.
Electra has raised nearly €600 million in capital since its founding. The company, which has 180 employees, plans to hire around fifty more throughout Europe.
Dennis van Alphen, head of infrastructure investments at PGGM, said in a statement that the fund “fully supports Electra’s ambition to become a pan-European player in the market for (ultra) fast charging facilities for electric vehicles.”
“The company benefits from excellent management and occupies a strong position with strategic locations in a very dynamic market that is expected to experience rapid growth in Europe in the coming years,” he said.
Source: BFM TV
