Shell is acquiring EV charging network Volta for $169 million – EQ Mag
Shell USA, best known for its gasoline fill-up stations, is acquiring electric vehicle charging network Volta through a full cash purchase of all its common stock. The transaction, worth $169 million, is set to close in the first half of 2023.
Volta is the second US EV charging company to come under the Shell brand since Greenlots was acquired by Royal Dutch Shell in 2019. Volta currently operates 3,050 destination chargers across 31 states and Europe. According to the press release, the company is already planning to install another 3,400 stalls over an undisclosed period of time.
Last year, Volta was ranked second after Tesla in customer satisfaction for Level 2 chargers. It largely operates stations in high-traffic retail parking lots, providing free electricity for EV drivers, with revenue generated from ads displays.
Shell’s purchase marks one of very few EV charging networks in the US that are now owned by an oil and gas company. EVgo, another charging network, was once a subsidiary of oil and gas company NRG Energy but was purchased by electric and natural gas company LS Power in 2020. Electrify America is owned by Volkswagen, which is predominantly a gas and diesel vehicle company, though it has vowed to shift to an EV-only lineup within the next decade.
The combination of the soon-to-be Shell USA-owned Volta, plus Greenlots (owned by Shell New Energies and renamed to Shell Recharge Solutions), totals to over 57,000 charging stalls under the yellow and red scallop. Shell New Energies is also working on other alternative power projects like offshore wind farms in New Jersey.
On a smaller scale, Shell is also making e-scooters, battery banks, and other non-gas stuff. And it’s going to have to keep shooting for whatever green business it can as it faces governmental pressure to slash its pollution in Europe.
Source: theverge
