Erapid Charger Company Limited, which trades as EasyGo - the country's largest private car charging network provider - and CarCharger EV, is to create 60 jobs after it received an investment of €30m by Aviva Investor.
Aviva Investors is the global asset management business of Aviva and it said it was making the €30m investment in Erapid as part of its Climate Transition Real Assets strategy.
Erapid, through CarCharger and EasyGo, currently manages over 4,000 charging points in 1,500 locations across the island of Ireland which are currently used by more than 50,000 registered drivers. About 2,000 new users have been added each month in 2023.
With the new investment, Erapid plans to roll out over 3,000 fast DC chargers onto the national charging network by 2032.
The company also plans to add over 20,000 commercial AC chargers into apartment, buildings, hotels and other key locations.
To facilitate this next growth stage, the company's new headquarters will be based in Maynooth, where the company has also established an operations support centre of excellence.
As part of the investment, Rubicon Capital Advisors - an Irish based merchant banking boutique and one of Erapid's largest shareholders - will also increase its stake in the company to further assist with the growth of the business.
Chris Kelly, co-founder of Erapid, said today's announcement will accelerate the company's mission to decarbonise transport, providing accessible and efficient EV charging solutions across the island of Ireland and into the UK.
"As Ireland’s largest owner and operator of charging stations, this strategic investment by Aviva Investors propels us into an exciting phase of growth," Mr Kelly said.
"One of the immediate goals resulting from this funding is the significant expansion of our network, including the rollout of over 3,000 fast chargers. We will also be hiring for up to 60 new roles across operations, customer support and sales," he added.
Mr Kelly said the investment marks an exciting new phase for Erapid and its two brands.
He said that the EV sales market in Ireland is booming but needs the infrastructure to catch up.
"This investment combined with our history of introducing the latest charging technology to Ireland means we are well positioned to create and scale a seamless EV charging network that supports a sustainable future," he added.
Adam Irwin, Fund Manager, Infrastructure Equity, at Aviva Investors, said the company's investment into Erapid and its two core brands CarCharger and EasyGo is a "terrific opportunity" to invest into one of its home markets and support the growing Irish and Northern Irish EV charging sector.
He noted that Ireland has some of the lowest public charger to EV ratios in the EU, giving potential for substantial growth in the platform as part of the transition from internal combustion engines and towards electric powertrains.
"We view this as a great opportunity for the money we look after on behalf of our clients to make a material contribution to delivering on the UK and Ireland’s net zero ambitions, whilst also meeting their long-term investment objectives," he added.
