Utrecht-based Park ‘n Charge, a company on a mission to become the fastest-installing EV charging station operator in the Netherlands, announced on Wednesday, January 25, that it has raised €16.4M in a fresh round of funding.
The investment came from Rabobank, a Dutch multinational banking and financial services company.
Rabobank supports Energy-as-a-Service
Rabobank is committed to accelerating the energy transition. Because of this, the bank provides “innovative” financing, the Rabo Real Asset Loan, to promote companies that offer Energy-as-a-Service.
This is relevant to companies that rent or manage energy infrastructure such as batteries, heat pumps, charging stations, and solar panels rather than selling them.
Companies such as Park n’ Charge help customers with electric vehicles with access to charging stations. Consumers still frequently cannot afford similar investments, but by providing this as a service, everyone can take part in the energy revolution.
“By supporting companies like Park ‘n Charge, we want to put Energy-as-a-Service on the map and make the energy transition accessible to everyone,” Says Ronald Linthorst, Deal Captain REAL at Rabobank.
According to the Dutch company, the charging infrastructure that it has developed is capital-intensive and expensive.
And now, the company has the financial capacity to respond to the demand for a fast-expanding charging network thanks to the refinancing of prior loans totalling €6.4M and expansion financing of €10M to build new charging stations.
Funds to install 12,000 new charging points
Park ‘n Charge says it will use the funds to further expand the charging network in the coming years. In the next two years, the company wants to more than double its current 6,000 charging stations that are spread throughout the Netherlands.
The Dutch company believes that this is urgently required because, with the sustainable objectives of the European Union, the number of charging stations in the Netherlands will have to increase exponentially.
By 2035, the EU plans to totally phase out the sale of new fossil-fuel-powered vehicles. However, the Dutch government hopes to achieve this goal by 2030. This means that the number of charging points will also have to increase in the coming years.
Founder of Park ‘n Charge, Gerwin Hop, says, “Nationally, nearly 2 million charging stations will be needed in 2030, 514,000 of which will be in public spaces. This means that in the coming years, at least 500 charging points must be installed per day. With this financing, we can contribute to this with more than 75 charging points per week.”
“The Netherlands must speed up”
Park ‘n Charge believes, to provide all-electric vehicles with power by 2030, action must be taken now.
Founder Gerwin Hop says, “In order to reinforce the development, it is important that municipalities have all charging station operators who meet the quality criteria to install charging stations. The so-called open-permit model. This model makes competition possible and has the additional advantage that parties can work side by side.”
“In addition, the process to arrive at placement should be less complex. Because electric driving is an emerging market, charging station operators are still subject to an excess of regulations – from smart charging rules to cyber security and from the readability of text on the charging stations to the colours of the lights.”
