With a goal to open 1000 fast-charging stations for electric vehicles to charge with renewable energy from the sun and wind, Amsterdam-based fast-charging network for electric vehicles company, Fastned, has raised €17M in a fresh round of funding with the issue of bonds.
Also, the company has raised additional funds of €4M from earlier issues. This brings the total raised amount in this round to €21M. All newly-issued bonds will mature in November 2025.
A company spokesperson tells Silicon Canals that the raised capital will help Fastned to further expand its network capacity by adding more stations, as well as add more chargers at its existing stations.
“It’s great to see so many people investing in the energy transition. With the proceeds from this bond issue, we can further expand the capacity of our network. Fast charging infrastructure gives freedom to electric drivers and accelerates the transition towards sustainable mobility,” says Michiel Langezaal, CEO of Fastned.
About Fastned
Founded in 2012 by Michiel Langezaal and Bart Lubbers, Fastned is a Dutch company with an aim to accelerate the transition to electric mobility by giving freedom to electric drivers.
The company owns and operates a network of electric vehicle charging stations in the Netherlands, Germany, and the UK – the majority of its stations are located at Dutch highway rest areas. So far, it has built 129 fast-charging stations in the Netherlands, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Belgium.
Besides, Fastned is working on expansion into France and Switzerland. The company specialises in developing and operating fast-charging infrastructure where drivers can charge their electric vehicle with up to 300 km of range in 15 minutes before continuing their journey.
It has over 70 employees, and about 40 people in Amsterdam, across 6 markets and is also listed on Euronext Amsterdam (Euronest is the largest stock exchange in Europe).
Transaction overview
From 22nd October to 19th November, investors could subscribe to the bonds with 6% interest and a maturity of 5 years.
Additionally, an offer was made to investors with bonds maturing in December 2021, June 2022, and December 2022 to extend their investments by exchanging these older bonds for bonds in this new issue.
Including earlier extensions, this has reduced the repayment obligation for Fastned in 2021 and 2022 by more than €6.5M.
Recent developments
Earlier in October, Fastned and Tesla joined forces to open Germany’s largest fast-charging hub in Seed & Greet open Ladepark Kreuz Hilden. The hub has a cafe, a large Tesla Supercharger station, and a large Fastned charging station. Fastned has 8 fast charging stalls and Tesla’s Supercharger station has 20 Supercharging stalls, bringing the current total for the hub to 28 stalls.
Also in October, Fastned opened its first fast-charging station in Belgium. The new station is located close to the international airport of Ostend-Bruges, where electric drivers can add up to 300 km range in 15 minutes, with electricity from the sun and wind.
According to the company, Fastned has grown revenues related to charging by 54% in the third quarter of 2020 compared to the same quarter in 2019. Fastned’s sales rebounded from lock-down related lows in March earlier this year. Further growth was hampered because many drivers of electric vehicles were still working from home, it says.
Key numbers shared by the company:
- Revenue related to charging: € 1.6M (+54% vs. Q3 2019)
- Volume: 2.9 GWh of renewable energy delivered (+50% vs. Q3 2019)
- Active customers Q3 2020: 47,213 (+53% vs. Q3 2019)
- Over 167K charging sessions
- 2.25 million kg of CO2 avoided
- 14.3 million electric kilometers enabled
In July, Fastned raised over €13M with the issue of bonds. In addition, investors have exchanged €2.7M worth of bonds from earlier issues.
Previously, in December 2019, the company had raised €12M in funding with the issue of bonds. While in the same month, it raised another €7.5M.
Image credit: Fastned
