Helios Energy Investments, a group of infrastructure funds and Generation Capital, the first and largest listed energy and infrastructure fund in Israel have finalised an agreement with Slovakia’s e-mobility service provider GreenWay, investing more than 85 million euros. The investment was joined by existing shareholders janom, a private equity company and Slovakia’s leading venture capital fund manager, Neulogy Ventures.
This is the largest known investment into electric vehicle (EV) chargings in the Central and Eastern European (CEE) region and a strong vote of confidence in the long-term growth of e-mobility in CEE and GreenWay as the leading regional champion.
The large fundraise reflects the company’s strong fundamentals: a leading market position, deep industry know-how, an expert, agile team, forward-looking management, solid corporate structure, a total customer focus and a clear vision for transforming the mobility sector for the benefit of customers and the environment.
“We foundedGreenWay to build a Europe that is cleaner, healthier and less dependent on fossil fuels,” commented Peter Badík, co-founder and Chairman of the Board of GreenWay. “Building infrastructure that enables rapid EV adoption is a critical part of this vision. Being less dependent on imported fossil fuels is especially relevant as we experience natural gas shortages, energy price hikes and political turmoil, which especially concerns the CEE region. […] This investment puts us on firm financial footing at a time when the market is maturing and beginning to consolidate. By remaining independent, we will be agile and well-positioned to use the opportunities which these changes bring.”
Indeed, the investment comes at a time of very strong tailwinds behind the transition to EVs. In 2021, one-fifth of all new car sales in Europe were electric, totalling around 2 million vehicles, compared to 1.3 million in 2020. GreenWay and its new partners see huge potential in a CEE region with over 100 million inhabitants. Furthermore, the European EV charging infrastructure market is growing exponentially and consolidating rapidly.
“We will invest a significant portion of the funds into further development of our team and expansion of our charging network,” underlined Mr Badík. “We will invest heavily in improving our IT and technical capabilities, which is now – hand in hand with building physical infrastructure – at the centre of our strategy.”
When he looks back at how far they’ve come, from when they installed the first chargers in Slovakia and Poland, to now, Mr Badík said to be very proud of all that the GreenWay team has accomplished.
“We also could not have done it without the EV pioneers of this region, who have been with us every electric kilometre,” he added. “We have a lot further to go together, and many more people to bring along.”
“The investors’ engagement will enable us to significantly accelerate the process of deploying more public charging infrastructure,” stated Rafał Czyżewski, CEO of GreenWay Poland. “We also intend to deepen our cooperation with businesses and become a partner of the first choice for organisations that intend to switch to electromobility and need comprehensive support to carry out this change effectively.”
“[…] GreenWay has an excellent opportunity to develop as a dominant player in CEE, and its substantial experience in the sector positions it well for the future growth of electro-mobility in Europe,” said Erez Gissin, Managing Partner of Helios Energy Investments. “Helios found an entrepreneurial and experienced leadership team in GreenWay that can lead the company in the challenges of this new and growing industry. Helios 5 is looking to grow its network in this sector and GreenWay can play a significant role in this journey.”
Currently, drivers can recharge at any GreenWay station – or any of the more than 10,000 throughout the EU that are a part of the GreenWay network through roaming agreements. Furthermore, GreenWay is a charge point operator, operating its own network of publicly accessible charging stations for EV drivers. With charging speeds from 11–175 kilowatts (kW), the GreenWay network is able to meet the needs of a wide variety of EV users.
