Octopus Energy Generation finances electric vehicle charging in the north of England. Subscribe to Electric Vehicle News Bitesize Podcast for FREE!
Octopus Energy Generation today announced its first investment in electric vehicle charging infrastructure in the UK, helping to accelerate the country’s transition to green electric mobility.
Octopus Energy Generation, on behalf of its Sky Fund, has provided up to £110m to Manchester public electric vehicle charging network Be.EV to scale up and install new charging stations across the UK.
Octopus Energy already supplies 100% green power to all Be.EV chargers. The agreement will help expand Be.EV’s 150-strong public charging network, with Be.EV committed to adding 1,000 charging points across the North of England and beyond by 2024. The move will increase the company’s charging point coverage by more than 600 percent.
Public Electric Vehicle charging stations are currently unevenly distributed across the UK, tending towards London*. Support from Octopus means Be.EV, which already operates the largest public Electric Vehicle charging network in Greater Manchester, can quickly bridge this imbalance. Its unique model establishes centralized, community-based charging networks where they are needed most to ensure more equitable access to public chargers and inspire confidence in the Electric Vehicle transition.
Octopus Energy Generation is one of the largest renewable energy investors in Europe. The transaction is part of its strategy to invest in high-growth companies that drive the energy transition, with further transactions in the pipeline beyond renewable energy generation assets.
Matt Setchell, co-head of Octopus Energy Generation’s fund management team: “Our first foray into funding Electric Vehicle charging infrastructure is a significant milestone. We’re accelerating the green energy transition, with more deals coming up to turbocharge it. As a nation, we need to rapidly build more Electric Vehicle charge points to meet the growing number of drivers going electric. Easy and fair access to chargers will help phase out petrol-guzzling cars once and for all.”
Asif Ghafoor, CEO and co-founder of Be.EV: “Everybody, not just the wealthy, must be able to make the switch to electric cars but currently people who live outside London or in less affluent areas are underserved by public Electric Vehicle charging. If you live in a flat or terrace, you can’t charge at home. This investment addresses that imbalance and helps kickstart a national infrastructure effort that, for once, doesn’t start in London.
“The backing from Octopus is transformational for us. We have sites lined up and underway that will form dense clusters of chargers that give people the confidence to go electric. We’re also building infrastructure that communities can be proud of, reinventing charging locations as green neighbourhood hubs and developing iconic designs. Octopus’ support means we can take this unique approach to other parts of the country, addressing the imbalance in charging provision across north and south, urban and rural communities.”
The deal marks the next step in Octopus Energy’s push into electric vehicles. Its Electric Vehicle roaming service, Electric Universe, makes charging electric vehicles easy, allowing drivers to use a single card and app to access more than 310,000 public charging points from a range of brands around the world. As part of the agreement, Be.EV will join more than 460 other charging networks on the Electric Universe platform.
In addition, Octopus’ electric vehicle division is facilitating the transition to electric vehicles with initiatives such as the “all-you-need” electric vehicle kit, which provides drivers with a car, a charger and a tailored electricity tariff.
This latest deal will support the 456,000 EVs on UK roads today. With over half of drivers aged 16 to 49 years in the UK likely to switch to an Electric Vehicle in the next decade, the Electric Vehicle market is set to massively grow – and access to public chargers will play a vital role.
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