EDF JV Acquires British Electric Vehicle Charging Firm Pod Point

EDF has indirectly taken the control of Pod Point, one of the largest EV charging companies in Great-Britain, through a JV with Legal & General Capital

EDF in the UK has indirectly taken the control of Pod Point, one of the largest electric vehicle (EV) charging companies in Great-Britain. This acquisition is performed through a joint venture with Legal & General Capital which will take a stake of around 23 percent in Pod Point alongside EDF.

The acquisition of Pod Point is EDF Group’s largest investment in the EV market and forms part of its plan to become the leading energy company for electric mobility in France, the UK, Italy and Belgium.

Founded in 2009 by CEO and entrepreneur Erik Fairbairn and Chairman Peter Hiscocks, Pod Point is a leading provider of charging infrastructure for EVs and operates 62,000 charging points in the UK and a further 6,600 in Norway. It offers charging solutions at home, at work, and at the destination and has developed an extensive public network connecting EV drivers with almost 3,000 charging bays across the UK, including at Tesco and Lidl shops, Center Parcs and a number of sites across Legal & General’s extensive property portfolio.

Its charging points are compatible with all plug-in vehicles and the combination of Pod Point solutions and EDF’s offers will in future mean customers will be able to schedule their charging and benefit from competitive electricity at times when energy costs are lower and there is less demand on the grid.

Yannick Duport, Electric Mobility Director at EDF Group said that this acquisition is perfectly in line with the EDF Group’s Electric Mobility Plan launched in 2018. “It fulfils our ambition to be the energy leader in Europe. Pod Point, a major player of charging solutions in the UK, will play a leading role alongside our subsidiaries IZIVIA and DREEV. We are pleased to welcome these new skills to our Group.”

The latest announcement follows EDF’s acquisition of Pivot Power last year, which specialises in grid-scale batteries and provides high voltage power infrastructure required for rapid EV charge points.

In September 2019, Nissan and EDF Group had signed a cooperation agreement to accelerate the delivery of electric mobility together – particularly through the smart charging of EVs. This agreement applies to the United Kingdom, France, Belgium and Italy. The cooperation agreement focuses mainly on developing smart charging solutions (vehicle to grid, or V2G) by bringing together technologies developed and mastered by both companies. Smart charging refers to technologies that optimise the charging or discharging of an electric vehicle in an efficient and cost-effective manner.

Prior to that, EDF Renewables (EDFR) had announced that it had acquired PowerFlex Systems, based in California the firm is a leader in managed EV charging technology.