It’s not often that you see a $300M+ Series B round that is entirely in stock. However, a Paris-based startup Electra It has just raised $330 million (€304 million) in a second round.
Electra is an electric vehicle charging company that is building a network of charging stations in France and other European countries. Currently, the company has 172 active charging stations (with multiple charging points per station) and is in the process of rolling out 105 more.
The 172 charging stations represent nearly 1,000 charging points. You can usually find them in supermarket parking lots, in front of hotels, or at highway rest areas. The company also partnered with Toulouse Airport to build some cargo stations there.
What makes Electra stand out from other electric vehicle charging networks is that it focuses exclusively on fast charging stations. It is also developing its software suite internally so that the company’s app works well with the company’s charging stations.
This opens up some interesting features. For example, Electra knows the status of its charging stations in real time. Customers can be sure there is a space available when they drive towards the charging station.
In addition, customers can also reserve a charging point in advance if there are few charging points available. Electra charges from €0.39 per kWh to €0.52 per kWh in France depending on the charging speed you request.
As you might expect, building an EV charging network is expensive. This new funding round will be used to deploy more charging stations. Electra believes it can connect 15,000 charging points across 2,200 stations by 2030.
The funding round is led by PGGM, a Dutch pension fund services company, along with Bpifrance’s Large Venture Fund. Existing investors Eurazeo, RIVE Private Investment, SNCF Group through 574 Invest and Serena are participating again.
As a reminder, Electra has also previously raised funds from Switzerland’s EIP, RATP Capital Innovation, CDC’s Banque des Territoires, Ademe Investissement, Eiffel Investment Group, RGreen Invest, Frst, Allianz, Groupe Chopard and Altarea. Overall, there are quite a few big infrastructure players or public financial institutions at Electra’s table.
Electra competes with Ionity, another European electric vehicle charging startup based in Germany, which raised a €700 million round two years ago. There are other companies charging electric vehicles around the world, such as North America’s EVPassport, which recently raised $200 million.
While these companies play an infrastructure role, interestingly, they also raise equity rounds. Startups with huge capital requirements usually try to secure a line of credit with a financial partner to start projects. But in the world of electric vehicle charging, infrastructure funds appear to want a financial stake in these companies.