Qwello takes over Dutch charging provider Park & Charge

Qwello, a provider of charging infrastructure from Munich, has acquired Park & Charge, a Dutch operator of charging stations. The combined company will manage more than 12,000 charging points in almost 300 municipalities in seven European countries.

Founded in 2016, Park & Charge is active in around 200 municipalities in the Netherlands. According to an email we received, it will continue to operate independently on the local market after the acquisition by Qwello and will focus on growth in the public sector. The cooperation offers both parties the opportunity to expand more quickly and thus meet the growing demand for charging stations.

Qwello founder Dr Henrik Thiele says: “Qwello’s vision has always been to offer a turnkey charging infrastructure solution for the whole of Europe that enables cities and municipalities to make it easier for their citizens to get started with electromobility. In Park & Charge, we have found a partner that not only shares our values, but also fits perfectly with our European growth strategy. We share the focus on user-friendliness and innovation, and our collaboration makes it possible to combine the expertise of both Qwello and Park & Charge in the fields of operation, installation, and maintenance.”

The takeover enables Qwello to expand its network of locations enormously in one fell swoop. In Germany in particular, progress was slow in the first few years because local authorities only approved a fraction of the charging points applied for. As a result, Qwello even sued its home city of Munich.

The Netherlands is an attractive market as it has set a national target of 1.8 million charging stations by 2030, including around 400,000 in public spaces. Gerwin Hop, founder of Park & Charge: “I am convinced that a solid collaboration between CPO’s, municipalities and grid operators is essential for this growth. This has been a top priority for Park & Charge from day one. I am happy that Qwello recognizes this, and I look forward to further developing this together.”

Qwello started operations in 2020 with self-developed charging stations. The company offers cities a turnkey infrastructure solution for charging stations, including hardware and software development, installation, financing, ownership, operation and maintenance. In Germany, Qwello’s charging stations are now available in Berlin, Essen, Frankfurt, Hamburg and Munich. Thanks to a 50 million euro investment from Tiger Infrastructure Partners, Qwello has also established itself as a charging station operator (‘CPO’) in the Swedish metropolis of Stockholm. Qwello is also active in the British, Polish and French markets, as well as in Spain via a joint venture with Acciona, a Spanish provider of renewable energies.

Source: Info via e-mail, Text: Florian Treiß