Park ‘n Charge raises 16.4 million for more electric charging stations

Charging station operator Park ‘n Charge is starting 2023 with 16.4 million euros in financing from Rabobank, the company said in a press release. The money will be used to further expand the charging network in the coming years. Park ‘n Charge wants to more than double its network of six thousand charging stations in the next two years with this financing. And that is badly needed, because with the European Union’s sustainability goals, the number of charging stations in the Netherlands will have to increase exponentially.

Two million charging stations

Gerwin Hop, Park ‘n Charge founder: “Nationwide, nearly 2 million charging stations will be needed by 2030, 514,000 of which will be in public spaces. This means that at least five hundred charging points per day must be installed in the coming years. With this funding, we can contribute to this with over 75 charging points per week.” The European Union wants to completely get rid of new fossil fuel cars by 2035. The Dutch government hopes to reach that goal as early as 2030. This means that the number of charging points will also have to increase significantly in the coming years to make all those electric kilometers possible.

Driving and recharging of electric vehicles will mainly be a software issue

The future of electric driving is not about charging stations or batteries, but about the quality of the software in electric ecosystems. So says André ten Bloemendal, Senior Vice President Europe at charge point company ChargePoint.

The Netherlands must pick up the pace 

In order to provide power to all electric vehicles by 2030, action must be taken now, Park ‘n Charge believes. Gerwin Hop: “To boost the development, it is important that municipalities allow all charging station operators who meet the quality criteria to install charging stations. The so-called open-license model. This model enables competition and it has the added advantage that parties can work side by side. In addition, the process to achieve placement should be less complex. Because electric driving is an emerging market, charging station operators are currently subject to a surfeit of regulations. From smart charging rules to cyber security and from the legibility of text on charging stations to the colors of lights. Often policies around new markets become more unambiguous by themselves over time, but we don’t have that time.”

Rabobank support Energy as a Service 

Rabobank is committed to accelerating the energy transition. Therefore, the bank supports companies that offer Energy as a Service with an innovative financing, the Rabo Energy Asset Loan (REAL). This involves companies that do not sell energy installations such as charging stations, heat pumps, solar panels and batteries, but rent or operate them.

Tesla’s price reduction: Will electric cars now be “cheaper”?

On Friday of last week, the U.S. electric car manufacturer Tesla lowered the prices for its vehicles worldwide. Days earlier, corrections had already been made.