Established in France since November 2020 via a call for tenders from the Paris-Rhin-Rhône motorways for the development and operation of nine fast charging stations, the Dutch operator Fastned has just raised 75 million euros. This is a private investment from Schroders Capital, a venture capital firm managing $88 billion in assets, which at the same time becomes Fastned’s main investor.
This financial contribution will allow Fastned to continue expanding its network of fast charging stations with a target of 1,000 stations before 2030. Currently, the Dutch company has 359 sites (+33 locations since the start of 2022) and has added 29 new stations to its existing network.
On September 1, 2022, Fastned opened one of its largest stations, in Bochum, Germany with 10 charging points with a maximum power of 300 kW. Said station also hosts a children’s play area and a lounge or lounge should also open its doors. Nearly 65 new stations will see the light of day before the end of 2022.
On the charging terminal side, the network will have 1,002 chargers by the end of December, in particular thanks to the installation of 57 ultra-fast chargers (DC). The company says that “the average number of chargers per station increased to 4.7 at the end of Q3 2022, compared to 3.8 at the same period the previous year“. As a result, we are witnessing an increase in income. Thus, those from the recharge “increased by 217% in the third quarter of 2022, almost three times more than in the third quarter of last year. This brings the annualized revenue rate to more than 40 million euros“.
The volume of electricity charged increased by 149% to 13.7 GWh, while the number of recharges only increased”that” by 111%.
But like all charging station operators, Fastned had to raise its prices this year due to rising energy costs. Michiel Langezaal, CEO of Fastned, explained that he “had to raise its prices to continue running a sustainable business […] When wholesale energy prices stabilize at lower levels, we expect to be able to adjust our prices again downwards.“Currently, the price per kWh in France is €0.59, or 24 cents less than in our Dutch, German and Belgian neighbours.