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The electric vehicle (EV) charging business is
a growing market for utilities and Nordic competitors Fortum and
Vattenfall have boosted their presence with several acquisitions
and cooperation across Europe.
"We are looking at EV charging companies in Germany and we are
also looking at the UK for EV charging cooperations,"
Statkraft's CEO Christian Rynning-Tonnesen said.
The need for more charging stations is growing as car makers
introduce a greater variety of plug-in electric and hybrid
models.
In Norway, a record 60 percent of all new vehicles sold in March
were fully electric.
Statkraft's Rynning-Tonnesen said Groenn Kontakt, an EV charging
network operator which Statkraft controls together with Agder
Energi, is planning to expand from Norway to Sweden.
The EV markets that Statkraft is focusing on are Norway, Sweden,
Germany, Britain and Ireland, he added.
Statkraft has a plan underway to invest some 10 billion
Norwegian crowns ($1.14 billion) in renewable energy projects
towards 2025.
It beefed up acquisitions in the second part of last year, when
it acquired hydropower dams in Brazil and India, in addition to
a portfolio of 1,500 megawatt of wind projects in Ireland and
Britain.
In 2019 it also bought a 61 percent stake in the EV charging
company eeMobility in Germany.
More deals are underway, Rynning-Tonnesen told Reuters. "We are
working on several cases that may materialize later this year."
Statkraft's CEO spoke on the sidelines of the firm's first
quarter results presentation. Similar to its Nordic rivals, the
company reported improved underlying operating profits,
capitalizing on high power prices which made up for the reduced
power generation from hydropower dams.
(Editing by Terje Solsvik; Editing by Elaine Hardcastle)
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