The Network is planned to be powered entirely by green energy and will be installed across select sites within the Carrefour hypermarket network in France by 2023. The new network supports and aligns with the French government’s overall goal of stimulating electromobility within France, and contributes to the Minister of Ecological Transition’s “Objective of 100,000 Chargers.”

The Network is designed to meet various customer needs, including:

• A “comfort” charging service that runs at 22 kW, which will be free for the first hour for customers with a Carrefour loyalty card;
• A fast and ultra-fast charging service ranging from 75 kW to 300 kW, which will allow EV cars to recharge in the short span of 15-45 minutes;
• A free service dedicated to charging light electric vehicles such as e-bicycles, kick e-scooters and electric mopeds.

The total investment from all parties for network development amounts to approximately €138 million. Approximately €55 million of the total will be financed by senior debt contributions from seven leading European commercial banks which are committed to the transition to green energy and sustainable mobility. Due to the project’s positive environmental impact, the financing has obtained the Green Loan label.

At Allego we have been instrumental in developing the project. Our sophisticated proprietary network planning tool Allamo® enabled Assetco to secure attractive financing terms without recourse. In addition to building the Network, we will also be responsible for its operation and maintenance for over 12 years.

Thierry Déau, Chairman, CEO and Founder of Meridiam, said, “This project aligns with our mission to enhance sustainability and is an excellent example of the actionable initiatives that we are implementing to support the energy transition in France. Our joint commitment with Allego alongside Carrefour will allow us to execute a massive deployment of charging stations for electric vehicles throughout France and Europe.”

Mathieu Bonnet, CEO of Allego, said, “I am delighted that we have been part of the development of this innovative financing with the support of leading European investors. This is a testament to our ability to develop projects on a large scale and validates our technology, especially our network planning tool, Allamo®. We are very excited to be rolling out this network with a fantastic retail brand partner, Carrefour. The combination of shopping and charging has proven to be extremely popular with EV drivers. We are seeing this pattern in other parts of Europe as well, and we will continue our active development in this market segment.”