Infralogic Investors Forum Europe 2023
The European edition of our Investors Forum returns this October!
etc.venues County Hall, London
11
Oct
EV charging - what do investors need to overcome the challenges to meet demand?
The European Commission’s Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) and the UK government’s Net Zero strategy have set ambitious targets for 2050 for the deployment of electric vehicle charging infrastructure across the continent. It means that Europe needs significant work on providing charging points on a large scale. What are the targets over time and what are European states doing to meet these goals to facilitate the transition to EVs? How does EV charging penetration vary in different countries and how can states achieve density to drive EV demand across the continent?
- What are the main challenges that the sector is facing?
- How does this impact valuations? Is it inflating prices too much?
- How to pick investments at the right price to ensure adequate returns?
- Which models are sought by investors (installation in private condominiums, at car parks, shopping centres, on service areas of motorways, etc)?
- How are the different players differentiating themselves?
- Are charging standards (such as interoperability – so that platforms work for all models) still an issue? What about charging speed and power grid management – so that demand for electricity doesn’t lead to power shortage?
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SpeakersNatasha Patel Senior Manager Bain & Company
Robin Heap Chief Executive Officer Zest
Dr Alicia Blatiak CEO & Founder Gridicity
Massimo Resta Partner Zouk Capital
Mark Henderson Chief Investment Officer GRIDSERVE Sustainable Energy Ltd
Witold Marais Investment Manager Mirova
Rubayet Choudhury Partner DLA Piper
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Natasha has over 10 years of experience in the energy sector, and is now a part of the Leadership Team within the ENR practice at Bain London. Starting in downstream Oil and Gas, with a short stint in Nuclear Power, Natasha is now supporting Energy Automotive and Financial Services clients navigate the Energy Transition, especially when it comes to E-mobility, Solar, Battery storage and demand flexibility. Natasha has penned thought leadership papers, been a speaker at multiple events, has served on multiple Advisory Boards, including the DfTs Net Zero Transport Board and has been honoured as the one of the Top Women in EV by the EV Summit.
Robin is the founder and CEO of Zest, a B-Corp, a Great Place to Work, noted by Sifted as a ‘Tech to Watch’ for 2023 and an impact start-up’ according to dealroom.co. His vision and industry knowledge has been fundamental in securing funding for and creating a start-up culture within Zest. Robin has specialised in new business creation, scale-up and expansion for the past 15 years, within blue-chip brands including ENGIE, Centrica, Cox Automotive, EE, Orange and Rolls-Royce. His commitment to sustainability and transitioning to a net-zero society led him to found Zest, with a vision of creating a charging network that works for drivers and landowners, encouraging the growth of electric vehicles, eliminating range anxiety, and making charging accessible to all.
Gridicity is pioneering the use of AI and optimisation techniques in the electric vehicle energy management software sector. The company’s mission is to radically enhance the operational efficiency of energy market participants, and accelerate the transition to clean and sustainable transport and energy.
Gridicity founder Alicia Blatiak's expertise stems from her academic background, notably her PhD focused on Vehicle-to-Grid (V2G) technology from Imperial College London. With a history rooted in research, particularly on the interplay of transportation and energy systems, and professional stints at organisations such as DNV GL and the International Renewable Energy Agency, Alicia and Gridicity aim to shape the future of EV charging solutions.
Gridicity has received funding from Innovate UK and The Greenhouse Accelerator (a partnership between Imperial College’s Grantham Institute and the Royal Institution).
Massimo is a partner at Zouk Capital, a London based private equity firm focussing in renewable energy, clean infrastructure and the energy transition. At Zouk, Massimo has been involved in transactions in the solar photovoltaic, waste to energy, storage and EV charging infrastructure sectors. In particular Massimo led Zouk investments in ZSOL Italian FIT PV project portfolio; in the JV with Solar Ventures, a developer platform of ground-mounted subsidy-free PV projects; in Green Hedge, a UK developer of utility-scale battery storage projects; in BE Power, the largest independent EV charge point operator in Italy, recently sold to ENI; in Liberty Charge, a joint venture with Liberty Global focussing on residential EV charging infrastructure in the UK and in Zest, a UK charge point operator focussing on destination charging. Massimo also co-lead the investment in InstaVolt, one of the largest charge point operators in the UK, recently sold to EQT.
Previously, Massimo worked at Citi in the Infrastructure and Energy finance team, whereby he advised on the financing of a number of multi-billion infrastructure projects in the oil and gas, power and transportation sectors in EMEA. He also worked at Bain & Company, whereby he advised clients primarily in the utility, automotive, luxury goods and consumer goods sectors. Prior to that Massimo was an officer in the Engineer corps of the Italian Army. Massimo holds a MS in engineering from Politecnico of Milan and an MBA from Columbia Business School of NY.
A long-established investment banker and asset manager with more than 30 years’ experience, who has advised on, structured and financed over £6 billion and 8,000MW of infrastructure energy projects.
Mark has worked across different infrastructure finance platforms and now sources the capital needed for GRIDSERVE’s fast-growing infrastructure. GRIDSERVE is a tech-enabled sustainable energy business that aims to deliver at the speed and scale needed to move the needle on climate change. GRIDSERVE develops, builds, owns and operates a net zero 'Sun-to-Wheel' ecosystem of hybrid solar farms that supplies their leading electric vehicle charging network, covering 85% of the UK’s motorway service areas and some of the UK’s busiest retail destinations.
Previously Mark financed power projects globally at Dresdner Kleinwort Benson and Société Générale, before establishing the project finance power and renewable energy team at Investec and the solar investment fund at Greencoat Capital (now Schroders Greencoat).
Witold is Investment Director at Mirova, leading investments in low carbon mobility for their €3.5B energy transition infrastructure platform. He has made numerous transactions in EV charging, e-mobility infra-as-a-service, or hydrogen mobility.
Rubayet is an experienced lawyer advising on high-profile energy and infrastructure projects globally. Whilst he has substantial experience of advising on project finance, PPP transactions in a range of sectors, he currently focuses on the development, financing and acquisition of renewable energy, energy efficiency and infrastructure projects which involve cutting-edge technology.