Dutch chargepoint firm Allego has secured €100m (£85.5m) from its investment backer, French asset-management outfit Meridiam, and will use the cash to install 1,400 new ultra-rapid charging points within the next three and a half years.
Allego intends to open the points at “high-traffic locations along major road corridors and motorways”, indicating that partnerships with main road forecourt operators and motorway service firms could be in the offing.
The firm will also put new sockets in “densely populated urban areas, with London identified as a particular priority”.
Despite most households, and EV owners especially, being able to charge at home, and a general reluctance among drivers to to use public chargers, Allego believes the UK is “one of Europe’s most significant growth opportunities for EV charging infrastructure”.
The scale of challenge facing Allego’s planned growth remains significant, however, as it will be expanding into a sector in which many firms are said to be struggling.
It will also be operating in a crowded market, going up against rival ultra-rapid chargepoint operators such as Instavolt, Fastned, Gridserve, Ionity, MFG, BP Pulse, Shell Recharge, Osprey, Tesla and Arnold Clark Charge, while any urban contracts will likely face competition from the likes of Chargy, Ubitricity and Connected Kerb.
Allego nonetheless considers that “the UK charging market remains undersized in comparison with growing demand”.
The firm’s executive officer, Steven Salo, believes “the new government will make the right policy decisions to help this market grow”, adding that Allego’s new cash injection gives the firm “the scale to compete in the top tier of the UK charging market”.
He adds: “The UK is electrifying quickly, but to keep up with demand the charging network must expand at the same pace. There is a clear need for more reliable, ultra-fast charging infrastructure, particularly along motorways and around the capital.”
