Fortum partners with Finnfund to speed up charging infrastructure development and growth in India

To bolster growth for electric vehicles (EV) charging infrastructure in India, Fortum signed an agreement whereby Finnfund, a Finnish development financier and professional impact investor, will invest in a minority share of Fortum’s public charging point operator (CPO), Fortum Charge and Drive India Private Limited (FCDIPL). FCDIPL is a fast-growing e-mobility infrastructure provider, owning more than 70 public charging points at close to 40 locations in India, and partnerships with marquee business groups across the country. The transaction is expected to close in the fourth quarter of 2020.

The partnership will create a shared ownership structure and Finnfunds investment will accelerate FCDIPL’s growth plans in the charging infrastructure business and reaffirm its market leading position. FCDIPL will further continue to offer software as a service (SaaS) for operating electric vehicles (EV) charging infrastructure networks and customer interfaces to other CPOs.

Commenting on the announcement, Mr. Sanjay Aggarwal, Managing Director, Fortum India Private Limited said, “We at Fortum are committed towards accelerating India’s clean energy transition. India is among the fastest growing EV markets globally. Consequently, there is a significant growth in demand for public fast EV charging infrastructure in the country as mass adoption of EVs has picked up in the last two years. We are happy to collaborate with Finnfund, to grow the charging infrastructure business in India. For Fortum, this also proves the value of our business which we have built over the years and is testimony of our vision for a cleaner world. This partnership will further fuel this growth.”

”This is our first step into the e-mobility market and we are excited to be one of the forerunners in providing cleaner and cheaper travel alternatives in developing countries. We see this type of service as crucial for curbing pollution in big cities and we are happy to support Fortum in bolstering its efforts in setting up electric vehicle charging infrastructure in India. With the company’s significant local presence, backed by the great market potential of EVs in India, we look forward to this collaboration,” says Ms. Helena Teppana, Associate Director, Finnfund.

More information: Helena Teppana, Associate Director, Finnfund, helena.teppana (a) finnfund.fi, tel +358 40 822 8296

About Fortum
Fortum is a European energy company with activities in more than 40 countries. We provide our customers with electricity, gas, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. We want to engage our customers and society to join the change for a cleaner world. Together with our subsidiary Uniper, we are the third largest producer of CO2-free electricity in Europe. With approximately 19,000 professionals and a combined balance sheet of approximately EUR 69 billion, we have the scale, competence and resources to grow and to drive the energy transition forward. Fortum’s share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki and Uniper’s share on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange. 

About Fortum Charge & Drive
Fortum Charge & Drive Supports a network of more than 6,000 smart charging points in Nordic countries, of which more than 30 percent are DC quick chargers, besides providing access to more than 200,000 charging points through our in-house aggregator model under brand “Plugsurfing”. Since piloting in India in October 2017, Fortum Charge & Drive India is expanding the DC fast-charging network in the country. Fortum is presently operating in seven major Indian cities, with 73 fast-charging points at 39 locations, and growing. Fortum Charging network includes both 15/20 KW DC001 chargers as well as 50KW CCS/CHAdeMO chargers catering both to low voltage EV like Mahindra e-verito/Tata Tigor and Mercedes EQC, BMW i3, Audi e-Tron, Hyundai Kona, MG ZS, Tata Nexon etc. We also offer a cloud solution to EV charging-service providers and infrastructure investors. The SaaS architecture enables flexible, pay-as-you-grow models, and white/grey label alternatives. This service is configured to suit a wide array of custom requirements and is hardware-agnostic.

About Finnfund
Finnfund is a Finnish development financier and professional impact investor. We build a sustainable world by investing in responsible and profitable businesses in developing countries. Each year we invest 200–250 million euros in 20-30 projects, emphasising renewable energy, sustainable forestry, sustainable agriculture and financial institutions. Today Finnfund’s investments and commitments total about 957 million euros, half of them in Africa. The company has about 90 employees.