Schroders Capital’s infrastructure investment arm has made a €75m investment in Fastned, a Dutch company that owns and operates a network of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations across Europe.

Schroders Capital said the investment which equates to a 10.61% stake, will be used to help fund part of Fastned’s ”capex plan, which includes expanding the capacity of its existing stations”.

Euronext-listed Fastned, founded in 2012, operates more than 200 charging stations in the Netherlands, Germany, UK, Belgium, France and Switzerland.

Schroders Capital’s co-head of infrastructure equity investments Jerome Janssen expected to join Fastned’s board as part of the investment.

Chantale Pelletier, Schroders Capital’s global head of infrastructure, said: “Sustainability is at the heart of Schroders Capital and this investment forms part of our strategy to drive positive change towards a net-zero future through the funding of ambitious carbon-free infrastructure projects.

“We feel privileged to support the Fastned team on its strategy. Infrastructure investing has the advantage of bringing a long-term view and we intend to use this opportunity to accelerate the transition to clean energy, while also leveraging our infrastructure team’s sector-specific sustainability expertise and resources.”

Janssen said: “We are very proud to be part of Fastned’s journey to become the European leader in the booming EV charging market. As a long-standing infrastructure investor, we are well-aware of the growing need for fast-charging infrastructure to further fuel the adoption of electric vehicles.”

Michiel Langezaal, Fastned’s CEO, said: “I’m very pleased we have found in Schroders Capital a new and long-term investor. It not only provides us with the funding to continue to roll out our network, enabling us to make another big step towards reaching our goal of 1,000 stations by 2030.

“It also marks the start of a new phase by welcoming this large institutional infrastructure fund to our depositary receipts holders base.”

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