An Octopus Investments-managed sustainable infrastructure fund is investing in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland through Weev.
The Octopus Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (OSIF) has made a £50m (€58m) capital commitment to help the Northern Ireland-based EV charge point operator’s rollout plan.
Weev, established in 2022, installs public chargers and end-to-end EV solutions for the workplace and fleet.
OSIF’s investment enables Weev to install thousands of charging points in Northern Ireland.
Philip Rainey, CEO, Weev said: “This investment from Octopus enables a major expansion to the size and scope of the rollout we announced at launch last year. We can now increase our focus on providing more rapid and ultra-rapid charging hubs in response to growing demand from EV drivers.
”In total, the capital will enable us to install and maintain a network of thousands of EV charging points over the next five years using locally-based teams and expertise.”
OSIF’s commitment represents the fund’s first investment.
In May last year, OSIF received cornerstone investment from UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), the UK government’s new national infrastructure bank.
UKIB, which worked with Octopus Investments to create OSIF, said the fund will target new infrastructure projects that are vital to help the UK meet its net-zero targets.
OSIF provides growth capital to companies looking to roll out and support sustainable infrastructure projects like battery storage and electric vehicle charging.
Lukasz Michalak, investment director, sustainable infrastructure, at Octopus, said: “OSIF is focused on investing growth capital into sustainable infrastructure businesses tackling climate change and supporting levelling-up ambitions across the UK. Weev is the perfect example of the next generation of infrastructure companies doing just that.
”By backing Weev, we see a great opportunity to deliver a positive impact to Northern Ireland’s communities while meeting the financial objectives of the fund.”
John Flint, UKIB’s CEO, said: “We invested in the Octopus Sustainable Investment Fund with the purpose of increasing capital for the next generation of sustainable infrastructure projects across the UK.
”The potential Weev has to scale up EV charging in Northern Ireland is significant, and we look forward to seeing the impact on decarbonising the local transport infrastructure to support the UK’s transition to net zero.”
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