The French company Electra, which specialises in developing and installing ultra-rapid charging points for electric vehicles, will invest close to 100million euros in Spain over the next four years. Having had a presence in Spain since 2023, its objective is to deploy 150 electric charging stations during that period, jointly equipped with a thousand charging points.

The announcement coincides with the closing of a 304-million-euro funding round. Including the previous rounds, the company has raised close to 600 million euros over the past three years, enabling it to start rolling out its charging network in Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland and Austria.

A strategic country
The first electric charging station (called “Electralinera” in the company's internal language), which is like a petrol station but for electric charging, is expected to be opened in Spain in the next few weeks. The deployment in Spain this year includes the opening of 20 of these facilities, which will include the first 120 of the 1,000 ultra-rapid charging points announced, and which will be strategically distributed throughout the country.

This type of infrastructure enables electric vehicles to be charged in just a few minutes. Their location depends in many cases on agreements with different companies. Electra has already signed agreements with companies like the real estate group LSGI, the car park operator OnePark, Altarea and the Frey group, which are expected to be joined by others during the first four months of this year.

Target in Europe
On a European scale, Electra has set itself the target of opening 2,200 stations with a total of 15,000 charging points by 2030. It does in addition plan to develop a range of services to simplify the charging process and make it as easy as refuelling petrol is today. It thereby aims to adapt to a continental market estimated to amount to 30 million electric vehicles by the above date, driven by the European ban on the sale of new internal combustion engine vehicles from 2035.

The latest funding round to boost this strategy has been led by Dutch pension fund services provider PGGM, which has been involved in previous rounds. Other repeat investors include Eurazeo, RIVE Private Investment, the SNCF group and Serena, and Bpifrance has also joined as a new investor through its Large Venture fund.

Strengthening its position in Spain
Pierre Taslé D'Héliand, co-General Manager of Electra España (pictured left, with the other co-General Manager, Bastien Verot), attributes the lack of accessible, visible, reliable and easy-to-use ultra-rapid charging solutions to the low sales of electric cars in Spain compared to the rest of Europe. In response, and thanks to the confidence of its investors, he explains that this fundraising “will allow us to strengthen our position in Spain and increase investments to further expand our network of Electralineras”.

PGGM's Head of Infrastructure Investments, Dennis van Alphen, says Electra “has excellent management and a strong position with good locations in a very dynamic market that is expected to grow rapidly in Europe in the coming years”.

Eurazeo's Managing Director – Infrastructure, Melissa Cohen, is in turn confident that its investment “will further drive the company's development and its goal of becoming a pan-European leader in rapid charging by offering a state-of-the-art user experience”.

^{Photo: Electra}