Scottish Daily Mail

Pod Point float boosts electric car revolution

- By Mark Shapland

INVESTORS will be given the chance to back the electric vehicle revolution after Pod Point announced plans to float in London.

The firm makes and installs electric vehicle charge points both in the home and at public locations.

The float is a major boost to London as it tries to position itself as a hub for fast-growing battery and tech businesses.

Pod Point has a network of 13,000 public chargers across the UK, including locations such as supermarke­ts Sainsbury’s and Lidl.

The company also controls between 50pc and 60pc of the athome charging market, with 89,000 charge points installed.

Pod Point – which last week recruited Andy Palmer, former chief executive of luxury car maker Aston Martin, as its senior independen­t director – said the float was ‘underpinne­d by a favourable regulatory and political backdrop’ as the market for electric vehicle infrastruc­ture heats up ahead of the UK’s 2030 ban on new combustion vehicles.

That is already prompting a jump in electric vehicle sales, which will require more charging points.

‘The challenge for Pod Point and other people working in our sector is just that we’ve got to accelerate and accelerate,’ Pod Point chief executive and founder Erik Fairbairn said.

He founded the firm in 2009, and last year sold the company to energy giant EDF for a reported £110m. As a result EDF is the largest holder with 78pc, while Legal & General has a 22pc stake.

The energy crisis shows the fragile make-up of the energy system but despite pressure on the grid, Fairbairn believes the UK car industry must go electric.

‘We need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels. Electric vehicles are one way,’ he said. ‘Yes, pods require more electricit­y but we must decarbonis­e.’

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