French DBT-CEV raises new funds for growth in Europe

The French DBT Group announced it raised another 200 million euros for its EV charging outlet DBT-CEV. The family-owned company wants to fund a new growth strategy to become “a major EV charging actor in Europe.”

DBT, traditionally focussed on energy distribution and specifically low voltage current transformers, says it has been in the e-mobility field since 1992. The line-up includes a suite of chargers ranging from tiny, compact and ultra for charge powers of 22, 50 and 150 kW, respectively.

In 2019, the company won Nissan as a client by starting to equip their dealerships in Italy. Hervé Borgoltz, Chairman and CEO of DBT Group at the time, admitted, Nissan was the “first worldwide car manufacturer to trust in our new technology to equip his sales teams across the country.”

With the new funding, DBT-CEV now wants to grow with a strategy that includes “a new acquisition policy,” reads a press release. We expect DBT to name the companies or partners it wants to take on shortly.

The 200 million euros in new financing now announced came through Park Partners GP, a French investment management company that belongs to Park Capital, an alternative investment fund. Simon Le Reste, Managing Director of Park Partners GP, expressed his delight to “increase the funding of DBT and allow this family company in proving the effective means the company needs to execute its ambitious policy.”

Alexandre Borgoltz, DBT Managing Director, added the ambition to increase the value up to 400 million euros in the next five years.

DBT is an industrial group located in Northern France and founded DBT-CEV in 1990. Apart from supplying Nissan, DBT stresses installations of connected chargers in La Rochelle and Paris. When we first heard of DBT in connection with Nissan in 2017, they claimed they had installed more than 2,100 quick-charging stations in 36 countries since 2013. Our request for more up to date information is pending. On Twitter, DBT pointed to a new partnership in Jamaica.

As an outlook, the company says it imagines the EV filling station of the future using “various ultra charging technologies” such as solar panels, flywheel, or wireless induction charging. At present, the DBT charger suit can be equipped with CHAdeMO, CCS and AC type 2 connections.

Info via email and DBT website