Leading infrastructure investors – National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) and Macquarie Group are in early stages of discussions to acquire a significant minority stake in Tecso Charge Zone, which operates top electric vehicle (EV) charging stations Charge+Zone, said multiple people aware of the development.
According to people aware of the development, Charge Zone is likely to raise about ₹300-350 crore from these investors. It’s part of the series B round -where the startup plans to raise about $110 million (₹900 crore) at ₹1,500 crore valuation, said sources.
Tecso Charge Zone is a subsidiary of Tecso Global Ltd, a Gujarat-based group that has interests in service engineering, education and renewable energy.
At present, Charge+Zone has over 3,500 charging points across more than 1,600 charging stations located in 37 cities, covering more than 15,000 kilometres of highways. It serves around 10,000 EVs on a daily basis.
The company aims to reach one million charging points by 2030.
Charge+Zone has also partnered with 60 OEMs including Audi India, Hyundai Motor India, Mahindra, Ashok Leyland, Volvo-Eicher and Tata Motors to expand its e-charging network.
Kartikey Hariyani, Founder & CEO, Charge+Zone, spokespersons with NIIF, Macquarie declined to comment.
Founded in 2018, Tecso Charge Zone Limited (TCZL) is operated by Kartikey Hariyani, who is an electrical engineer with more than two decades of experience in the energy and power industry.
TCZL is planning to set up more than 2800 charging stations in B2C and more than 5,000 charging stations in B2B in the next three years with the project cost of ₹1,125 crore funded from ₹750 crore as equity and ₹375 crore as debt in next three years ended FY25 to establish their charging stations all over the country, procuring EV charging equipments and to start battery replacement services, said a recent CARE Ratings report.
Charge+Zone has so far raised $68 million (₹600 crore) from investors through equity and debt.
In March, Charge+Zone had raised $54 million (₹450 crore) in Series A1 funding round led by global impact investment management firm BlueOrchard Finance.
National Investment and Infrastructure Fund (NIIF) has already gained exposure in the EV segment with its $128-mn funding in Electric scooter maker Ather Energy along with existing investor Hero MotoCorp.
