Adrian J Cotterill, Editor-in-Chief
Poland-based ChargeEuropa claims to have secret sauce for building and operating profitable EV charging networks in cities that are just starting to get in on the electrification game. After officially launching their Warsaw-based pilot network in July, they have secured a pipeline of over 1000 locations for the next two years and joined forces with some of the world’s largest brands in sustainability including BMW, Netflix, Bolt and Opel.
Imagine being a city manager in 2022 – you’re tasked with building out an EV charging network to promote sustainable mobility, contribute to reducing pollution and increase your city’s attractiveness. All within a limited budget and timeframe.
Traditionally cities relied on state-owned monopolies to carry out challenging infrastructure projects – it was believed that due to the large investments, public resources were required to increase infrastructure coverage. However, cities have recently started partnering with private companies on these projects with considerable success. ChargeEuropa is an example of that – after having completed its first pilot network, they are determined to copy and paste their model for cities across Europe, Asia and Latin America.
“Cities don’t have to invest large amounts of taxpayer money to preemptively create EV charging networks anymore” says Euan Wheatley, COO of ChargeEuropa. “We move into markets with a healthy advertising ecosystem, allowing us to primarily monetize our charging networks with brand partnerships to sustain our growth from day one”.
ChargeEuropa design and build EV charging stations with built-in 65” touchscreens that provides a platform for brand sponsorships. Broadsign has been a key player in supporting product development from day one. The advertising business model demonstrates that ChargeEuropa doesn’t have to rely on EV charging sales to generate income – which is still in its infancy in many cities.
CEO of ChargeEuropa, Matt Tymowski said “our concept grants us first mover advantage into cities with strong growth potential, letting us build out critical EV charging infrastructure that is key for clean transportation in the community. We come in, built out the network, so that they can be ready for the first wave ahead of time”.
With the official launch of their pilot network in Warsaw – ChargeEuropa have joined forces with the likes of Netflix, BMW, Bolt, Opel and OSHEE to demonstrate that given the right medium – brands want to support network growth. ChargeEuropa have also established several partnerships with commercial property owners such as French shopping mall giant Klepierre or Transgourmet – owner of the European Selgros Cash&Carry network to provide locations in their busy parking lots. Broadsign has become the official partner for this growth stage.
ChargeEuropa plans to oversee 1000 units deployed in keys cities across Poland, Croatia, Bulgaria, Chile and Philippines over the next 24 months.
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