Finland’s Fortum takes over PlugSurfing from Berlin

Finnish charging infrastructure operator Fortum Charge & Drive has acquired all shares of PlugSurfing and owns the company now to a 100 percent. The Berlin-based startup had specialised in unifying charging with one solution for multiple suppliers early on as it developed a particularly smart billing solution working across a range of payment systems.

+++ This article has been updated. In an earlier version we reported that the founders of PlugSurfing have left the company. That is not the case. We apologise for this error. +++

PlugSurfing’s network currently includes over 53,000 charging points in Europe. Customers can unlock them using either a smartphone app or RFID key fob. Last year, the young firm introduced Scan&Charge, offering EV charging without registration via a QR code on the charging station and a mobile website backing it up.

For Fortum Charge & Drive, the acquisition of PlugSurfing is yet another step on the way to becoming an international charging infrastructure operator. So far, the company from Finland has been active mainly in the Nordic countries, Norway especially as the lead market for electromobility par excellence. Still Fortum wants to grow and has lately set its eyes on India even. Overall, PlugSurfing’s knowhow will most likely be put to efficient use.

“Our purpose is to make it easy to use electric vehicles and charging points so that we can all move towards a cleaner world”, says Rami Syväri, Vice President of Fortum Charge & Drive. “As one of the first steps, the Nordic charging network of Charge & Drive will be available on the PlugSurfing application for access and payment. Our aim is to improve EV drivers’ accessibility to charging networks when travelling between countries.”

The two PlugSurfing founders Jacob van Zonneveld and Adam Woolway established their company in 2012. For them, the sale was a classic exit. According to information obtained by electrive.net, both keep their managing positions to further drive the expansion. The companies agreed to not disclose the price of the acquisition. Meanwhile it is clear that the brand PlugSurfing will remain preserved.
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