Just under two years after entering the Belgian market, French fast-charging provider Electra has opened its 100th station in Wetteren, near Ghent. That makes it the Belgian market leader in fast-charging stations, even though the name might not ring a bell for everyone. NewMobility.News was present at the inauguration to find out why.
Electra was only founded in 2021, but it already has nearly 500 fast-charging stations across Western Europe, primarily located in and around France and its neighboring countries. Belgium is the provider’s second-largest market, with complete coverage of the country, although most of the stations are located in Flanders.
New type of Electra station for Wetteren
The honor of the 100th Belgian station goes to Wetteren, which was chosen due to its strategic location near the E40 highway, with eight 300 kW charging points that are available 24/7. The Wetteren station even hosts a premiere for the company: the new Electraline canopy, which offers some protection from the elements, including handy displays over the stalls to indicate availability and the state of charge of the occupying car.
So how come the Belgian market leader in fast-charging isn’t as well-known as some of the other providers, like Ionity or Fastned? “Probably because we only opened our first Belgian station two years ago“, Electra BeNeLux General Manager Louis-Charles Mosseray tells us. “It takes some time to build brand recognition.”
NMN: So, how have you realized this quick growth?
Louis-Charles Mosserey: “Our strong capital position is definitely one of the reasons [Electra is owned by French holding Eurazeo and has investors like SNCF and RATP, ed.]. And I would also consider our team, which has been very ambitious and has put a lot of energy into achieving our goals. Furthermore, we only focus on one market: fast-charging stations for electric cars. We don’t offer AC chargers, we don’t have petrol stations like some competitors, we have one specialization where we excel and which allows us to grow rapidly.”
NMN: How do you choose the locations for your charging stations?
LCM: “We look at three elements: the traffic, the population density, and the availability of amenities, so our customers can have something to eat or drink while they wait. That’s also why we have partnerships with stores like Delhaize, Quick, and Burger King, where we rent a part of their parking lots to build our stations. The money is only made from the energy that we sell.”
NMN: You offer slightly cheaper fast-charging rates than most competitors at €0.64/kWh. How is it that you’re able to offer this lower price?
LCM: “Only 50 to 60 percent of the energy costs today come from the monthly energy usage. Therefore, the more cars that charge at our stations, the higher our profit margins become. Thanks to our very high occupancy, we can afford to lower our prices. And in the coming days, we will offer a subscription model to lower the charging prices even further for regular customers.”
NMN: In what other ways does Electra differentiate itself from other fast-charging providers?
LCM: “We have three key points: speed, reliability, and affordability. 95% of the fast-chargers that we install have a capacity of 400 kW. We are convinced that most people want to charge as quickly as possible, which is why we choose to offer such high speeds.”
“Reliability is also a consequence of our sole focus on fast-charging stations, which meant that we could start from a blank sheet to develop our software. Approximately one-third of our 250 employees are dedicated to the software side. Today, around 17% of charging sessions across the market experience a failure. At Electra, our failure rate is less than 0.5%. ”
NMN: How can you ensure that this reliability will continue?
LCM: “Because we do everything in-house. In addition to the software side, we also have three dedicated ‘flying doctors’ for Belgium, who travel to our stations to resolve any issues. That can include a cut cable, as well as problems with the lights, payment process, and other issues. We constantly monitor our stations and can intervene quickly to solve any issues.”
NMN: Lastly, are there any plans to expand into different markets, like electric truck charging?
LCM: “Right now, we have no plans to address this market. Because we want to keep our focus on what we are doing right now. Perhaps in the future, but not right now.”
