Amsterdam-based Fastned, a provider of a fast-charging network for electric vehicles, announced on Monday that it has raised €75M from Schroders Capital. The investment came in the form of a private placement of 2,032,520 new depositary receipts representing the same number of new ordinary shares in the capital of the company with Schroders Capital.
In June 2022, the company raised nearly €23M with the issue of new bonds. Fastned intends to grow its installation of fast-charging network stations to 1,000 by 2030.
Support from the investor
Schroders Capital, the private markets investment division of global asset manager Schroders, will increase Fastned’s access to additional energy and infrastructure-related knowledge, enhancing its capacity to compete in its markets.
The Fastned supervisory board will grow to four people from three. Jérôme Janssen, co-head of Infrastructure Equity Investment at Schroders Capital, will be named as a supervisory board member initially by Schroders Capital. The company’s general meeting is anticipated to nominate Jérôme Janssen no later than December 16, 2022.
Jérôme Janssen says, “As an infrastructure investor, we are intimately familiar with the strong need in charging infrastructure to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles. We are impressed by management’s track record of developing Fastned as the established market leader in the Netherlands today and we are excited about management’s ambition to further expand its network across Europe.”
Schroders Capital provides investors with access to a broad range of private asset investment opportunities, portfolio building blocks, and customised private asset strategies. With $88B in Assets Under Management, the firm offers a wide range of investment strategies, including real estate, private equity, secondaries, VC, infrastructure, securitised products and asset-based finance, private debt, insurance-linked securities, and BlueOrchard (Impact Specialists).
Capital utilisation
Fastned says it will use the funds in the company’s capital expenditures plan that consists of expanding the capacity of its existing stations, accelerating the development and growth of its network of charging stations, and funding CAPEX for government-related tenders, as well as for general corporate purposes.
Michiel Langezaal, CEO of Fastned, says, “Schroders Capital provides Fastned with the funding to continue to roll out our network, enabling us to make the next big step towards reaching our goal of 1,000 stations before 2030. Their decision to play a part in the acceleration away from fossil fuels, towards a sustainable future and energy independence, at a time in which energy markets are turbulent and economic and geo-political circumstances uncertain, is admirable and something I applaud.”
“With Schroders Capital, one of Europe’s largest independent investment firms on board, Fastned is able to accelerate the pace of building fast charging stations even further, catering to the exponentially growing demand for fast charging services. Building a wide and reliable fast-charging network powered by wind and sun plays an important part in the fight against climate change and the path towards energy independence,” adds Langezaal.
“Freedom for the electric driver”
Founded in 2012 by Michiel Langezaal and Bart Lubbers, Fastned aims to accelerate the transition to electric mobility by giving freedom to electric drivers. The company develops a fast-charging infrastructure for electric vehicles across Europe.
Fastned owns and operates a network of 215 electric vehicle charging stations in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, the UK, and Belgium. The majority of its stations are located at Dutch highway rest areas.
The company’s fast-charging infrastructure helps drivers to charge their EVs with up to 300 km of range in 15 minutes.
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