Macquarie Capital invests in India’s ChargeZone to expand its fast-charging network

Macquarie Capital, the corporate advisory, capital markets, and principal investment arm of Macquarie Group has announced a strategic investment into ChargeZone, an Indian EV charging startup.

The investment comes almost nine months after ChargeZone raised $54 million in a Series A1 in equity and debt BlueOrchard Finance, along with existing and new institutional investors.

How will the investment benefit ChargeZone?

The investment will allow ChargeZone to accelerate its business strategy and further develop its cloud technology-enabled EV charging network. Additionally, It will also support the growth of electric vehicle infrastructure and green mobility in India.

Macquarie Capital said that its expertise will support the next stage of the business’ growth as ChargeZone seeks to meet the rapidly growing demand for faster-charging infrastructure in India.

India's growing demand for EV infrastructure 

With India now the world's most populous country, there's an increasing demand for energy and transportation. The firm said the surge necessitates a significant rise in energy imports. Recognizing this, the Indian Government has emphasized the need to decarbonize the transport sector, setting a target of 30% electrification of vehicles by 2030. The firm believes that the expansion of rapid charging infrastructure, facilitated by this investment, is crucial for this transition.

Kartikey Hariyani, Founder and CEO, ChargeZone, said, "We are delighted to embark on this journey with Macquarie Capital and look forward to driving positive change in India's electric vehicle ecosystem. This partnership will accelerate our efforts to create a greener and more efficient future for urban transportation. Our ultimate goal has been to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles and the deployment of EV charging infrastructure throughout India."

"The energy transition continues to be a key area of focus, as we leverage our deep sector expertise to help clients develop sustainable and critical infrastructure assets that connect local communities and drive decarbonisation efforts in India,” said Ivan Varughese, Senior Managing Director and Head of Infrastructure and Energy Capital, Asia Pacific, Macquarie Capital.

Utilizing renewable energy sources 

ChargeZone said it actively utilizes renewable energy sources to power the charging stations as part of its aim of having a significant number of chargers powered by renewable energy by 2030.

The startup claims that 80% of its charging stations are Company Owned ChargeZone Operated (COCO) while the remaining are under an industry-first scheme of Dealer Owned ChargeZone Operated (DOCO).

Notably, It has various OEMs, eMobility and locational partnerships including Audi, Hyundai, MG Motors, Kia, Mahindra & Mahindra, Switch Mobility, Ashok Leyland, Volvo Eicher, Tata Motors, SnapE, and Everest Fleet.

Integrating solar and wind power generation

As of March 2023, ChargeZone has more than 3,500+ charging points across more than 1,500 EV charging stations in operations or construction in 37 Indian cities and has covered more than 20,000 kms of highways and aims to reach one million charging points by 2030, the release notes.

ChargeZone said it will increasingly integrate solar and wind power generation for its charging stations wherever feasible per the electricity regulations with respect to each of the state policies.

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