Electra raises €304 million to expand its EV-charging network in Europe
The French startup Electra, which specializes in ultra-rapid charging stations, has just announced a record €304 million fundraising round. It marks the biggest fundraising round in France in the EV-charging station sector, and the second-biggest round in Europe. Funding was led by the Dutch pension fund PGGM, which will be used to expand its network in Europe, with the aim of hitting its target of 15,000 new charging points by 2030.
Founded in 2021, the company has developed its own proprietary technology designed to manage and optimize the performance of its charging stations. Electric vehicle drivers can book a station, monitor charging progress and pay all via the company’s new app.
Thanks to this fundraising round, Electra will continue to expand across the European market and expects to start turning a profit in 2026. The startup is planning to roll-out 2,200 new stations – which represents 15,000 charging points – in eight European countries (France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg, Italy, Switzerland, Austria and Spain) by 2030.
Electra has now raised a total of €600 million since it was founded. The startup counts Eurazeo, Rive Private Investment, Serena Capital and Bpifrance among its investors.
German biotech company Infinite Roots raises €53.2 million to develop new mycelium-based materials
Infinite Roots (formerly Mushlabs) is a Hamburg-based biotech company which focusses on mycelium. This material coming from fungi offers an enormous range in its potential uses, in industries such as food to building materials.
Mycelium is basically thread-like fungal filaments which come from the vegetative part of a mushroom. It is rich in protein, fiber and essential nutrients, and can be grown from agricultural waste, making it a sustainable and eco-friendly source of food. Infinite Roots specializes in growing and harvesting mycelium, and is looking to develop potential use cases.
The startup has just raised $58 million in Series B funding, one of the largest investments in this technology in Europe to date, and intends to use the funds to invest in R&D and expand production capacities.
The funding round was led by Dr. Hans Riegel Holding (HRH), one of the two holding companies of the confectionery group Haribo. Also supporting the round was the European Innovation Council, REWE Group and Betagro Ventures, alongside existing investors, including Clay Capital, FoodLabs, Redalpine, Simon Capital and Happiness Capital. Prior to this round, Infinite Roots had raised $10 million in Series A.
French startup Acwa Robotics raises €3.8 million for its robotic mapping and inspection solution for water distribution systems
The French startup Acwa Robotics has just raised €4.8 million to develop its advanced robotics solutions designed to improve water distribution systems management.
The company based in Bastia and Aix-en-Provence has developed robots that can map and inspect water distribution networks form the inside, without disrupting the service. This technology creates a shift away from a curative approach towards a preventative strategy, by optimizing maintenance operations, repairs and piping upgrades.
Banque des Territoires contributed €1.4 million to the funding round, with the remaining amount coming from FMG Circular Invest, UI Investissement, Crédit Agricole Alpes-Provence Création, Calao Finance and Région Sud Investissement.
Acwa had already raised €1.8 million in seed funding by the end of 2020.
There’s more…
Re-roofing startup Roofer.com, which uses drones and AI to scan roofs, raises $7.5 million in seed funding – Read more on Commercial Observer
US startup Bulk Exchange raises $4.5 million to help construction companies source bulk materials – Read more on Techcrunch
US construction software startup ProcurePro raises $6.15 million in Series A – Read more on Startup Daily
