EZO secures €150m debt facility for 3,000+ EV charge points

EZO has secured a debt facility of up to €150 million to finance the rollout of more than 3,000 EV charge points across the UK and Ireland.

The facility will fund the design, installation, operation and maintenance of charging infrastructure with more than 100MW of combined capacity over the next three years, with most of the new infrastructure expected to be installed in the UK. 

Aberdeen Investments has provided €80 million of financing within the facility, with Standard Life anchoring the investment. EZO describes the financing as investment-grade and says the structure will allow revenues generated by the charge points to be ringfenced to repay the debt over a seven-year period.

The financing gives EZO additional capital as it moves a growing portfolio of long-term public charging contracts into delivery.

That includes its 15-year, £176 million agreement across Worcestershire, Leicestershire, Rutland and Warwickshire, which will see 250 rapid and ultra-rapid chargers installed across the four council areas. 

EZO is also delivering a 20-year charging programme across Highland, Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire and Moray. The original agreement included 570 new charge points by 2028 alongside the adoption and maintenance of existing council-owned infrastructure.

The company says its local authority-backed UK charging contracts now have a combined estimated value of more than €1 billion, with further public-sector agreements expected. It also expects the UK to become its largest charging market by 2027.

Securing the finance does not remove all of the delivery constraints facing those projects, however.

Highland Council has identified electricity network capacity as a risk to its EZO programme, warning that charging infrastructure may not be delivered at some locations because of grid constraints. The council says its project team and EZO are working with SSE to understand current and future network capacity and how it could affect proposed sites.

The €150 million facility therefore provides the capital needed to move a substantial charging pipeline forward, but ultimately the pace of installation will still depend on securing suitable sites and electrical connections over the next three years.