French utility giant Engie has acquired ChargePoint Services for an undisclosed amount as it looks to expand in the EV charging sector.

The acquisition establishes Engie as a major player in the UK EV market across public authorities, the workplace and the home

ChargePoint Services owns and runs the GeniePoint pay-as-you-go network in the UK with some 20,000 users and also provides a range of integrated EV charging solutions; it works with around 30 local authorities on charging point infrastructure and has also supplied workplace charging solutions for blue-chip organisations such as Microsoft and Siemens.

The acquisition establishes Engie as a major infrastructure EV company in the UK, offering a range of EV charging capabilities to support local authorities, businesses and home-owners. CPS has a combined public rapid charging network of more than 400 stations and a further fast network expected to be in excess of 500 stations by the end of 2019.

Engie’s UK & Ireland CEO Nicola Lovett said: “Acquiring CPS is an important step in scaling up our ambitions in the EV market, complementing our existing energy supply activities and our partnerships with local authorities and businesses.

“The acquisition strengthens our combined capabilities to assist local authorities and other public sector customers with placemaking – working alongside them to shape the future use of their estates and public spaces to enhance the lives of those who use them. It also enables us to work closely with our many business customers to support their ambitions to decarbonise their own fleets and support their employee’s adoption of low and zero carbon vehicles.”

Alex Bamberg, managing director of ChargePoint Services, added: “Becoming part of Engie is an exciting move for CPS. The combination of Engie’s renewable energy, hardware technology and installation capability, together with our own significant experience in EV charging network management, infrastructure rollout, and 24/7 customer service provision, will create a major player in electric vehicle fuelling in the UK.

With the demand for EV charging across the UK increasing rapidly as vehicles with longer range and reduced charging times are launched by the motor industry, we will together be well placed to support the transition to EV in the UK and the drive for cleaner air quality.”