European charge point operator Powerdot is taking its first visible steps into Flanders with the opening of a new fast-charging station at the Carrefour supermarket in Zulte, East Flanders.

The site has two charging points with a combined capacity of 140 kW, allowing customers to charge their electric vehicles while doing their shopping.

The launch is modest in size, but strategically more important than it may seem. Until now, Powerdot’s Belgian rollout has been strongly focused on Wallonia.

The Zulte station is described by the company as one of its first location in Flanders, and marks the beginning of a push into the country’s most EV-dense region.

Powerdot has been active in Belgium since 2025 and says it now operates more than 20 stations and over 150 charging points across the country.

Another 600 charging points are currently under construction. The company says it has already invested more than 15 million euros in Belgium and wants to double its number of Belgian stations this year compared to last year.

The company’s model is based on so-called destination charging. Instead of focusing only on motorway corridors, Powerdot installs fast and ultra-fast chargers at places where drivers naturally stop, such as supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, retail parks, and industrial sites.

For retailers, the model adds a service that can attract customers and increase dwell time. For drivers, it turns charging into part of an existing routine.

“We are proud to bring fast charging to Zulte together with Carrefour,” says Rodolphe Terlinden, General Manager Belgium at Powerdot. “With this launch, we are opening one of our first stations in Flanders, an important step to make electric mobility an obvious choice: accessible, convenient, and pleasant in daily use.”

Improving customer experience

For Carrefour, the installation fits into a broader push to improve the customer experience. According to Christopher Snoeck of Carrefour, customers can now charge their electric vehicle while shopping, making the visit more efficient and less stressful.

Belgium is an attractive but competitive market for Powerdot. EV adoption is accelerating, driven mainly by the company car market, while the need for reliable public and semi-public fast charging is growing.

Powerdot has previously indicated ambitions to become one of the top three fast-charging operators in Belgium. Earlier investment plans pointed to a much broader Belgian rollout, with several hundred additional charging points expected in the coming years.

The move into Flanders will not be easy. Many prime retail locations are already tied up by competitors. Shell, Carrefour, and Redevco have been working on a large Belgian retail charging rollout.

Delhaize has partnered with Electra for a major deployment of fast chargers at store car parks. Shopping center owners and retail park operators are also striking their own deals with charging companies.

Grid capacity is another challenge

A small 140 kW installation like the one in Zulte is relatively manageable, but larger ultra-fast charging hubs require stronger grid connections, additional permitting, and closer coordination with distribution system operators.

In several Flemish areas, obtaining business connections above 1 MVA can be difficult or slow, making the rapid deployment of multi-bay high-power stations more complex.

Powerdot can partly avoid the public-tender bottleneck by focusing on private retail and commercial sites. This is exactly where its European experience may help.

The company is already active in Portugal, Spain, France, Luxembourg, and Poland, with more than 12,500 charging points at over 2,400 active locations.

It says it has raised almost 500 million euros in financing, backed by Antin Infrastructure Partners and several international banks, including Santander, BNP Paribas, and ING.

France is the clearest example of what Powerdot wants to build. There, the company has become one of the largest fast-charging networks, with thousands of charging points at retail and destination locations.

French model as blueprint

That French model now appears to be the blueprint for Belgium: partner with retailers, build dense local networks, and place fast charging where people already stop.

Luxembourg is also part of Powerdot’s footprint, although its public presence there appears much smaller than in France. The Netherlands and Germany, by contrast, are not currently listed among Powerdot’s core markets. That suggests the company is prioritizing countries where the destination-charging market is still open enough to scale quickly.

In that sense, Flanders is both the opportunity and the test. The region has the EV drivers, traffic flows, and retail density Powerdot needs. But it also has strong incumbents, limited premium locations, and grid constraints.