Eni acquires Italy’s second largest EV charging stations operator

Eni gas e luce, a unit of Italian oil, gas, and energy provider Eni, has agreed to acquire Italy’s second-largest EV charging stations operator Be Power S.p.A. for an undisclosed sum.

Be Power currently operates, through its unit Be Charge, over 5,000 charging stations across the country.

“The acquisition of Be Power will allow Eni gas e luce to become a primary operator of electric vehicle charging on public land, on private land with public access and in Eni service stations, in Italy and abroad,” Eni said in a statement. 

Be Charge also operates stations of other unspecified operators through a proprietary technology platform and provides charging services to drivers of electric vehicles on its own or third-party charging stations through a dedicated app.

“With the acquisition of Be Power, Eni takes a leadership position in a market at the heart of the European Union’s energy transition strategy”, stated Eni CEO, Claudio Descalzi.

In March, Italian sovereign wealth fund Cassa Depositi e Prestiti Equity (CDP Equity), which is administered by government-run Italian investment bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP), joined forces with Eni and created a joint venture to invest in the renewable energy sector in Italy.

Eni has recently completed a 31 MW solar plant at one of its chemical industry sites in Sardinia and is planning to install 220 MW of PV power plants in the country, as well as a 14 MW floating PV project. It also launched a partnership with Italian state-owned utility Enel to bring online 20 MW of hydrogen capacity between 2022 and 2023.