Voltera, which provides the critical infrastructure necessary to support the full electrification of transportation, has officially launched. The company builds, owns and operates charging facilities that enable electric vehicle (EV) deployment and operation at scale. With equity backing from EQT Infrastructure, critical infrastructure expertise and ongoing partnership with EdgeConneX, Voltera is focused on EV infrastructure.
“Fleet operators, automakers and consumers alike are adopting electric vehicles at a rapidly accelerating pace. Lagging far behind, though, is the power infrastructure needed to support EVs at scale,” says Voltera CEO Matt Horton, who has experience including as executive vice president of energy and charging solutions at Rivian and chief commercial officer at Proterra. “We have to bridge that gap if we’re going to make zero-emission transportation a reality. That’s what Voltera is doing, and it’s why I’m so excited to be part of this team.”
Voltera’s customers are companies that have a need to power EVs at scale. That includes organizations looking to electrify without disrupting operations or investing significant time and upfront capital to install EV charging capacity as well as automakers looking to deploy charging infrastructure to support EV sales. To support those needs, Voltera plans to invest several billion dollars on deployments that are both customer-driven (in a particular location for a particular customer) and thesis-driven (proactive development in the strategic locations customers will need to be). This approach significantly speeds time to market and enables customers to meet their deployment timetables.
“Charging infrastructure is one of the most critical requirements for EV deployment at scale. As companies take initial delivery on large EV orders, they’re finding that the charging infrastructure does not exist at the scale needed to support those, or future, deployments,” Horton explains. “A key part of the challenge is that charging facilities need to be strategically located and require vast amounts of power. In the U.S. and Europe, almost 150 gigawatts power – about equivalent to the annual power consumption of all U.S. households – will be required by EV fleets by 2030. Voltera is uniquely positioned to help solve those challenges.”
As a turnkey solution provider, Voltera delivers at every stage of the value chain: site identification and acquisition, power procurement, facility design and construction, charging hardware deployment, operations and maintenance. The company provides EV charging facilities as a service, taking on the CapEx so customers can focus their capital on their businesses.
“As one of the largest and most active infrastructure investors globally, EQT takes a long-term view of investments and aims to partner with promising companies that can drive positive change, helping solve some of the biggest challenges society faces today,” comments EQT Partner Jan Vesely. “EQT Infrastructure aims to help support the global energy transition, including by having made several investments in the electrification of the transportation sector, and was looking for opportunities to help develop the EV charging infrastructure necessary to support vehicle electrification at scale.”
“Through our experience in the datacenter and renewables sectors, we understand that the capabilities needed to deliver critical infrastructure for transport electrification at scale are around real estate and renewable power availability,” Vesely continues. “We leveraged our existing know-how in this space to develop the EV charging infrastructure solution that now becomes Voltera. We see a tremendous opportunity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by developing EV infrastructure, which is why we are excited to back Voltera’s expansive ambitions.”
“The backing of a leading global private equity firm like EQT with EUR 77 billion under management is further evidence that EV infrastructure is maturing as an asset class, and it signals a significant shift in the EV market. The market is past the pilot phase,” Horton says. “As a complement to public funding of EV infrastructure projects, this commitment from a global leader in private capital marks a new phase in the transition to full electrification. The time is right to scale, and the market is hungry for new business models and creative market-driven solutions to address the power infrastructure challenges that have to date limited EV deployment at scale.”
“As a pioneer in the digital infrastructure industry, EdgeConneX has solved many of the same challenges EV fleet operators and automakers face – acquiring, permitting, powering and operating sites in strategic locations, while ensuring customers’ speed to market,” mentions Randy Brouckman, EdgeConneX’s CEO. “It’s a highly logical and practical application of our long-developed data center innovations to solve another very real and significant challenge. Voltera will advance the transportation industry like EdgeConneX did digital infrastructure. It’s really all a part of our commitment to sustainable innovation.”
“With a strong portfolio of sites already under development in North America and plans for significant expansion, Voltera is clearly meeting a previously unmet need in the industry – the need for full-service charging facilities in the right place at the right time, delivered as a service,” states Chairman Brett Hauser, whose industry experience includes seven years as the CEO of Greenlots. “Voltera is solving the infrastructure challenges to enable widespread EV deployment and dramatically reduce emissions.”
