Qwello acquires majority stake in Groen-Eco in the Netherlands
Qwello Benelux has acquired a majority stake in Dutch charging infrastructure specialist Groen-Eco. This move allows Qwello to strategically expand its business that has so far been strongly focused on public concessions.
Qwello aims to strengthen its business with B2B and semi-public charging points.
Image: Qwello
Qwello acquired a majority stake in Groen-Eco on the 21 September. The Rotterdam-based company operates, according to its own statements, 720 charging units with more than 1,400 charging points across over 230 locations in the Netherlands.
Groen-Eco focuses on charging infrastructure for businesses, property owners, and semi-public locations. Its business model relies on long-term site agreements, typically lasting over ten years. Groen-Eco handles installation, operation, maintenance, and billing itself. The existing management and operational team are expected to remain unchanged following Qwello’s involvement.
With this acquisition, Qwello is expanding its business model in the Netherlands. Groen-Eco will in future be able to utilise Qwello’s own hardware and full-stack software. In return, Qwello gains access to an existing customer portfolio and long-term secured locations in the B2B and destination charging markets.
Qwello expands B2B and destination charging
“Groen-Eco brings a strong customer base and a solid portfolio of long-term site contracts,” says Qwello Managing Director Henrik Thiele. He sees the two companies together having significant potential to expand the business.
To date, Qwello has primarily been active in public charging through municipal concessions. In Germany, the company was awarded, among other projects this year, the contract for around 230 charging points at 65 locations in the Landkreis Harburg. There, Qwello, together with Vattenfall and Wirelane, operates the so-called Harburg Model.
In Munich, the company also plays a role in the municipal concession market. Qwello filed lawsuits against previous tender procedures by the city after courts identified deficiencies. Munich is now preparing a new concession award for the expansion and operation of public charging infrastructure.
Groen-Eco represents the addition of a business more strongly aligned with corporate locations and semi-public charging points. This is particularly relevant for Qwello because the two segments complement each other. While municipal concessions cover the public street space, Groen-Eco opens up locations at businesses and property operators.
Groen-Eco founder Martien de Groene emphasises the technical and operational support from the new majority owner. Qwello aims to help the company initiate the next phase of growth. Qwello states that it operates more than 18,000 charging points across Europe through public concessions and private investments. The Munich-based company is active in Germany, the Netherlands, Sweden, the UK, France, Spain, Poland, and Denmark.
