European support for e-mobility transition with EV-charging operator Allego

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  EIB invests EUR 40 million, backed by the Juncker Plan, in Allego a provider and operator of electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure, active around Europe.
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  Financing to support Allego’s growth and expansion of charging stations and services in Europe.

The European Investment Bank has agreed to provide EUR 40 million as quasi equity in growth financing to Allego Holding BV, a Dutch operator of charging stations for electric vehicles. The EIB loan benefits from the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the central part of the Investment Plan for Europe, the Juncker Plan.

The financing of the EIB supports the upcoming investments in the extension of the normal, fast and high power charging infrastructure, installed and distributed over Allego’s countries of operation. Making EV charging stations more widely and easily available, will help fight climate change and air pollution.

“I congratulate Allego on seizing the financing opportunity offered by the Juncker Plan, after having already secured grants under the Connecting Europe Facility for the expansion of its networks of charging hubs. The shift towards low-emission mobility requires sustained investments, investments that match our ambitions, in order to develop innovative solutions for electro-mobility in Europe.” added Violeta Bulc, EU Commissioner for Transport.

“Our support to Allego shows Europe’s commitment to support the transition towards clean mobility.” said EIB vice-president Ambroise Fayolle. “Not only have we financed research into electric vehicle propulsion, we also support the EU’s battery alliance by financing tangible projects. Financing making charging infrastructure more widely available is only logical in that sense. Allego is an independent, emerging electro-mobility infrastructure company, with a unique approach which we’re happy to support.”

“We are very proud that the EIB supports our ambition to create an open and accessible EV charging market in Europe. Our charging solutions and EV Cloud services see to it that everyone can charge their car, irrespective of the brand they drive. We work towards a market in which the EV driver experience seamless cross border mobility and has full freedom of choice to determine the source of energy, way of payment and services he wants. The EIB joins us in this journey, says Anja van Niersen, CEO Allego.”

Technically speaking, the EIB will make a 17-year quasi-equity investment to Opera Charging BV, a co-investment vehicle set up by Meridiam Investments, in favour of Allego Holding BV as final beneficiary. Allego ranks among the major international Charging Point Operators with nearly 12.000 charging points to date already in operation, and works in partnership with different sectors and industries.

Allego is developing, and will implement through a dedicated project finance structure, the pan-European MEGA-E (Metropolitan Greater Areas Electrified) project, which aims to deploy ultra-fast charging locations in at least 10 European metropolitan areas. The project was awarded EUR 29 million from the European Commission as part of the Connecting Europe Facility (CEF) Blending Call.

Background information:

The European Investment Bank (ElB) is the long-term lending institution of the European Union owned by its Member States. It makes long-term finance available for sound investment in order to contribute towards EU policy goals. Last year the EIB provided some EUR 2.18 billion for projects in the Netherlands. The EIB has supported many other innovative companies in the Netherlands, from 3D printers with Ultimaker to innovative software and facility management systems with eVision, CM, Planon and Every Angle.

The Investment Plan for Europe focuses on strengthening European investments to create jobs and growth. It does so by making smarter use of new and existing financial resources, removing obstacles to investment, and providing visibility and technical assistance to investment projects. The European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI) is the central pillar of the Juncker Plan. So far, the projects and agreements approved for financing under the EFSI are expected to mobilise over EUR 360 billion in investments, including EUR 9 billion in the Netherlands, and support around 850,000 SMEs across all 28 Member States. Find the latest EFSI figures by sector and by country here, or see the FAQs

Allego is a leading European operator of charging solutions for electric vehicles with significant expertise in e-mobility, including the creation of a network of multi-standard quick charging stations in Belgium, France, Germany, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and the UK. Allego works successfully with different e roaming platforms like Hubject to guarantee a cross-national e charging network. Allego collaborates with partners from various industries in the planning, construction and operation of charging stations. The company operates 12.000 charging points in urban areas and along the main European transport routes, supporting companies and drivers of electric vehicles via a cloud-based service platform.

Allego was acquired on 31 May 2018 by Meridiam, Meridiam develops, finances and manages long-term, sustainable and resilient infrastructure that provides essential services to the community. Creating a positive impact is at the heart of its activity, which is organised around three main areas: mobility, energy transition and social infrastructure.