Electric charging: Electra raises 304 million euros

Electra has secured a funding round of 304 million euros, led by the Dutch pension fund PGGM, with the participation of Bpifrance. As a pure player in ultra-fast charging, the French startup aims to expand across Europe to facilitate the adoption of electric vehicles.

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This financial injection follows Electra's recent announcement of raising 27 million euros in debt. With this new funding, Electra achieves the largest fundraising in the history of electric charging in France and one of the significant ones in Europe since the emergence of battery-powered vehicles. In 2022, Zeplug raised 240 million euros, and last year, Driveco gathered 250 million euros from APG, another Dutch pension fund.

Aurélien de Meaux, Electra's CEO, highlights the challenge of securing over 300 million euros in equity in the current market environment, emphasizing the difficulty faced by startups with substantial financing needs in the venture capital market downturn.

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Electra's capital-intensive business model requires significant initial capital expenditure and several years before achieving profitability. The company's CEO states that they have been working on this financing for six months. During this period, one of Electra's co-founders, Augustin Derville, left to establish a startup in stationary storage (Eclipse), in which Aurélien de Meaux has invested.

While Electra does not disclose its 2023 revenues or valuation, de Meaux mentions that they are close to being a unicorn. Besides PGGM, Bpifrance, through its Large Venture fund, has joined the startup's capital, signaling the French state's financial arm's commitment to fostering a European leader in a highly competitive charging sector. Several historical investors, including Eurazeo, Rive Private Investment, SNCF, and Serena, have also reinvested.

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Founded in 2021, Electra has prioritized speed as a key focus. As a member of the Next40, the company chose to specialize in ultra-fast charging and emphasized user experience. Their app allows users to reserve a charging point in advance, contributing to their high ratings on Chargemap, a platform that reviews electric charging stations (4.5 out of 5). Reliable charging points are crucial, as malfunctioning ones hinder electric vehicle adoption in France.

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Electra deploys its stations in densely populated urban areas, commercial zones, and highways. The startup has formed strategic partnerships with major companies such as Vinci Autoroutes, Stellantis, AccorInvest, Louvre Hotels Groupe, Toulouse Blagnac Airport, G7, Bolt, Chopard Group, Hertz, aiming to facilitate charging for their customers.

While France is its primary market, Electra operates in eight countries and has deployed nearly 1,000 charging points in total. The company aims to reach 15,000 points by 2030, focusing on international expansion, with recent emphasis on the DACH region (Germany, Austria, Switzerland). Electra plans to achieve this through new hires – currently, the company employs 180 people – and potential acquisitions, projecting to be a consolidating player rather than one to be acquired, according to Aurélien de Meaux.