In order to expand its network of fast chargers eightfold by 2025 and take advantage of the U.S. government’s desire to increase EV adoption, electric vehicle charger operator EVCS is reportedly aiming to fund $125 million.
The $5 billion federal initiative to electrify U.S. roadways and the recent flurry of agreements by market leader Tesla (TSLA.O) to share its charging technology with rival automakers have sparked a costly race among charger manufacturers and operators to introduce new products and broaden existing networks.
According to a document dated June 2023 obtained by Reuters, the French bank BNP Paribas (BNPP.PA) has been hired by the California-based EVCS to assist it in finding possible investors.
BNP Paribas and EVCS both chose not to comment.
The document claims that EVCS, which runs both its own network of fast chargers as well as stations for customers like Hertz and Hilton, plans to extend its network to 2,100 fast chargers by 2025 from the current 260 and concentrate on the US states of California, Washington, and Oregon.
According to a source with knowledge of the situation, a $125 million investment would amount to a sizable minority ownership share in the company. The valuation of the entire firm that the corporation or its advisors had arrived at was not immediately known to Reuters.
Countries are providing grants, tax credits, and other incentives to manufacturers of EVs and the infrastructure required to keep them moving, attracting private investment that is essential to achieving goals like the Biden administration’s goal for EVs to account for 50% of U.S. new-vehicle sales by 2030. Deals made between Tesla and competitors may potentially make it simpler for operators to accommodate almost all EVs.
As broader electrification has failed to take off in recent years, valuations of charging companies, similar to those of electric vehicle manufacturers, have fallen precipitously from high heights.
For instance, oil giant Shell (SHEL.L) paid $169 million for charging company Volta in January, just two years after that California company had achieved a $2 billion valuation through its merger with a firm that writes blank checks for acquisitions.
Now, charged businesses are expecting that federal support would spark enthusiasm among investors who are holding back substantial sums of money set aside for investments in environmentally friendly projects.
