Ionity, Fastned, Atlante, and Electra form charging giant Spark Alliance

As a symbol for Europe’s rapidly evolving EV infrastructure, four of the continent’s leading charging operators—Fastned, Electra, Atlante, and IONITY—have joined forces to create Spark Alliance.

This strategic partnership must leverage the seamlessness, reliability, and user-friendliness of charging experiences across 25 European countries. However, it also tightens the space for smaller or new competitors.

Spark Alliance was launched in Paris on Wednesday. The joint venture will combine over 1,700 fast-charging stations and 11,000 charge points into a single interoperable network.

While each company remains independent, the partnership promises to eliminate one of the most common frustrations of electric car ownership: fragmented charging services that require multiple apps, cards, and user accounts to function correctly.

One app to cover them all

Jeroen van Tilburg, CEO of IONITY, echoed that sentiment during the press conference and stated: “Driving and charging an electric vehicle should be exciting, not overwhelming. Our collaboration sends a strong signal to the market: fast charging will be simple, consistent, and reliable across the continent.”

Under the Spark Alliance framework, users can locate, activate, and pay for charging sessions at any station operated by one of the four members using their preferred app from any participating company.

This means a Fastned app user, for instance, can start a charging session at an Electra or IONITY station with full price transparency and no additional fees without changing anything to his account.

Fastned CEO Michiel Langezaal pointed out that today’s electric car drivers are often lost in a maze of incompatible apps and insufficient service levels. “We’re solving that problem by uniting Europe’s leading charging infrastructure players and building the most relaxed charging experience in Europe.”

Like an airline alliance

The collaboration, however, is not a merger. It’s a model inspired more by airline alliances like Star Alliance, for instance, where travelers benefit from booking under the umbrella of partnering aviation companies.

Spark Alliance does not involve shared pricing. It focuses on streamlining access and simplifying the digital experience for drivers. The first phase of integration, expected by this summer, will ensure app interoperability and map unification across all four brands.

Spark Alliance is well-positioned to stand out in the crowded landscape of Charging Point Operators (CPOs). Each member brings established high-power charging (HPC) infrastructure, and all stations under the alliance will be powered by 100% renewable energy.

The group also sees potential for future collaboration with navigation app developers to improve in-journey discovery and planning for electric car drivers.

The real competition 

Beyond the user experience, the initiative is of strategic importance. High fixed costs and relatively low usage rates still weigh on the economics of public charging, especially in less dense markets like Italy.

The alliance hopes that an improved customer experience will accelerate EV adoption. This could help achieve the scale needed to bring down costs over time.

Spark Alliance must strengthen its members’ competitive edge. New players, including automakers like Mercedes and Renault, continue to enter the field.

Most recently, the latter announced plans to build 650 fast-charging stations under its Mobilize brand. Renault aims to open 50 stations along major travel routes in Belgium alone. But Langezaal concluded: “The real competitor is the combustion engine.”