An Octopus Investments-managed sustainable infrastructure fund is investing in electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure in Northern Ireland through Weev.
The Octopus Sustainable Infrastructure Fund (OSIF) has made a 拢50m (鈧�58m) capital commitment to help the Northern Ireland-based EV charge point operator鈥檚 rollout plan.
Weev, established in 2022, installs public chargers and end-to-end EV solutions for the workplace and fleet.
OSIF鈥檚 investment enables Weev to install thousands of charging points in Northern Ireland.
Philip Rainey, CEO, Weev said: 鈥淭his investment from Octopus enables a major expansion to the size and scope of the rollout we announced at launch last year. We can now increase our focus on providing more rapid and ultra-rapid charging hubs in response to growing demand from EV drivers.
鈥滻n total, the capital will enable us to install and maintain a network of thousands of EV charging points over the next five years using locally-based teams and expertise.鈥�
OSIF鈥檚 commitment represents the fund鈥檚 first investment.
In May last year, OSIF received cornerstone investment from UK Infrastructure Bank (UKIB), the UK government鈥檚 new national infrastructure bank.
UKIB, which worked with Octopus Investments to create OSIF, said the fund will target new infrastructure projects that are vital to help the UK meet its net-zero targets.
OSIF provides growth capital to companies looking to roll out and support sustainable infrastructure projects like battery storage and electric vehicle charging.
Lukasz Michalak, investment director, sustainable infrastructure, at Octopus, said: 鈥淥SIF is focused on investing growth capital into sustainable infrastructure businesses tackling climate change and supporting levelling-up ambitions across the UK. Weev is the perfect example of the next generation of infrastructure companies doing just that.
鈥滲y backing Weev, we see a great opportunity to deliver a positive impact to Northern Ireland鈥檚 communities while meeting the financial objectives of the fund.鈥�
John Flint, UKIB鈥檚 CEO, said: 鈥淲e invested in the Octopus Sustainable Investment Fund with the purpose of increasing capital for the next generation of sustainable infrastructure projects across the UK.
鈥漈he potential Weev has to scale up EV charging in Northern Ireland is significant, and we look forward to seeing the impact on decarbonising the local transport infrastructure to support the UK鈥檚 transition to net zero.鈥�
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