DNV helps Fortum sell electrical vehicle charge point business to Infracapital

The part-sale of Recharge AS is designed to accelerate growth plans and infrastructure development.

Three key benefits:

• The partnership with Infracapital will create a shared ownership structure designed to accelerate Recharge’s growth plans.
• The transaction will release capital for further growth in both this partnership and services provided to Fortum’s mobility customers.
• Capitalising on the fast-growing and high public usage Nordic market.

About the customer
Fortum is a leading clean energy company that provides customers with electricity, gas, heating and cooling as well as smart solutions to improve resource efficiency. Headquartered in Finland, Fortum has core operations in 10 countries worldwide with over 2.5 million customers across multiple brands, giving it the scale, competence and resources to grow and to drive the energy transition forward. www.fortum.com

The customer challenge
With the aim of speeding up EV charging infrastructure development, Fortum decided to sell part of its charge point operator (CPO) business: Fortum Recharge AS. Operating public charging points for electrical vehicles in the Nordics is a fast growth sector with high public usage. Fortum, therefore, required not only an advisor who understood the challenges, but also the local requirements and user preferences.

DNV’s solution
Acting as technical advisor through the transaction of Recharge AS to Infracapital, the dedicated infrastructure equity team of M&G Investments DNV offered Fortum an agile approach to technical and operational due diligence with a flexible team of experts to ensure a quick and sound assessment of Fortum’s assets and operations. The key strengths, realized improvements and points of attention regarding the organization, charging infrastructure and operational performance were discussed and presented in a tangible manner, including expert sessions with investors. DNV also supported Fortum in translating operational big data into concise uptime figures for its charge points.

Benefits to the customer
After the transaction Fortum will own 37% of Recharge. The partnership with Infracapital will create a shared ownership structure designed to accelerate Recharge’s growth plans. At the same time, the transaction will release capital for further growth in both this partnership and other services provided to Fortum’s mobility customers.