G2mobility, a French leader in smart charging solutions for electric vehicles (EV), has signed an industrial and commercial partnership with the Nexans Group, a maker of cables and cabling solutions, to accelerate the deployment of EV charging infrastructure in France and around the world. The agreement is backed by a €2.7 million round of funding from Nexans and its established shareholders, Bpifrance and Innovacom. As part of this round of funding, G2mobility has received the support of investment banking firm Philippe Hottinguer Finance (Philippe Hottinguer, Aubert Vernier) and law firm Joffe & Associés (Thomas Saltiel, Charlotte Viandaz).
In addition to investment, the partnership takes into account industrial and commercial considerations. It combines the versatility of G2mobility-a start-up specializing in IT technology for charging stations-with the resources of Nexans-a key player in cable and cabling solutions that has commercial and logistics expertise in the global market.
The partnership provides a unique value chain that incorporates connection infrastructure, charging stations, energy management and monitoring systems to facilitate the deployment of EV charging infrastructure. As part of the deal, the G2mobility range of charging stations will be made at the Nexans site in Donchery, in France's Ardennes region, starting in June 2016.
Pierre Clasquin, CEO of G2mobility: "We are in a fast-growing sector and the e-mobility market is booming. Our future success in building on what we have already accomplished requires global reach and significant industrial resources. Working with a global leader like Nexans will allow us to accelerate this process to reach the next phase."
Thierry Costerg, General Manager at Nexans Network Solutions N.V.: "The synergy between our respective areas of expertise; Nexans in the global cable market and G2mobility in smart charging-makes our collaboration particularly well-suited. Through this partnership, Nexans and G2mobility will aim to establish a position at the forefront of the growing market for charging stations and help to promote EV deployment around the world."
Mathieu Rouget, Investment Director, Bpifrance: "This is a key step for G2mobility: a start-up which has, in barely four years, successfully positioned solutions that now handle more than 6,000 charging stations in the French market alone. This symbolic partnership between a small start-up and a major corporation, backed by new funding will allow G2mobility to satisfy even more customers in a booming market. The investment represents Bpifrance's commitment to support the energy and environmental transition."
Jérôme Faul, Managing Partner at Innovacom: "Synergy between start-ups and established manufacturers is vital to turn a fruitful beginning into a lasting success. With its charging stations, connection technology, energy management capabilities and cloud-based solutions to manage and operate infrastructure, G2mobility will be in a position to offer a comprehensive response to market challenges in France and around the world. The involvement of Nexans confirms our initial assessment of G2mobility's ability to make the smart charging revolution a reality."
