May 2025: European CPO Networks Drive Charging Expansion

As spring blooms across Europe, the EV charging landscape is experiencing its season of growth and renewal. May 2025 brought remarkable achievements from CPOs continent-wide, with ultra-fast charging hubs opening at a record pace, strategic partnerships flourishing like never before, and milestone celebrations that showcase the incredible momentum building toward zero-emission mobility. From IONITY's ambitious expansion plans to Europe surpassing one million public charging points, this month demonstrated how individual CPO achievements are collectively transforming our transportation future.

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Let's look at the CPOs' movements over the last month.

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Northern Europe

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United Kingdom – Sainsbury's Smart Charge: The retailer's charging network reached a significant milestone with over 650 ultra-rapid charging bays across 75 UK stores, enabling 96 million kilometres of fossil-fuel-free driving and cutting 10.7 million kg of CO₂ emissions in just over one year since launch. The network offers 150 kW ultra-rapid charging using 100% renewable energy, with customers earning Nectar rewards and over 10 million points awarded since the loyalty program integration.

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United Kingdom – Be.EV Partnership Expansion: Be.EV continues expanding with plans to install 200+ ultra-rapid Kempower charging bays across 22 retail and leisure properties, featuring retailers like Sainsburys, Aldi, IKEA, and McDonald's. The chargers deliver up to 325 miles of range in 20 minutes, with hubs featuring 6-12 bays, positioning Be.EV as a leading UK CPO.

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United Kingdom – West Midlands Growth: West Midlands announced 10,000 new EV charging points for the region, adding to the 4,000+ existing chargers that grew 36% last year. The region secured 200 ultra-fast charging points at nine stations offering 100 miles of range in under 15 minutes, demonstrating the area's commitment to accessible charging infrastructure.

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United Kingdom – Manchester's Sustainable Hub: APCOA will operate Manchester's Ancoats Mobility Hub featuring 102 EV charging points among 400 parking spaces and 150 bicycle spaces. The eight-storey facility includes rooftop solar panels and full-height living green walls, built through a partnership between APCOA and Manchester City Council to promote sustainable mobility.

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United Kingdom – INJET New Energy Market Entry: INJET New Energy will launch its first UK-certified AC charger next month after meeting British smart charging standards. The Chinese manufacturer, ranked among the world's top five EV charger companies, will bring its modular DC charger, Ampax, featuring remote fault detection, to target CPOs and fleet operators.

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Ireland – DKV Mobility Network Expansion: DKV Mobility partnered with EasyGo to add over 1,150 charging locations to its network, with nearly one-third being high-power DC chargers covering landmarks, venues, and rural areas. Customers access stations via DKV Card +Charge or mobile app, strengthening DKV's position, operating approximately 938,000 charging points across Europe's most extensive EV charging network.

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Central and Western Europe

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Germany – IONITY's Ambitious Expansion: IONITY plans to grow from 5,000 to 13,000 charging points across 1,300 locations by 2030, with chargers offering up to 400 kW speeds and future 600 kW capability. The company continues partnering with brands like Starbucks and Circle K, operating across 24 European countries to support the EU's target of 30 million EVs by 2030.

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Germany – Elli's European Growth: Elli, Volkswagen Group's charging subsidiary, confirmed its entry into the French market at Power2Drive 2025 with the rollout of Flexpole Plus DC chargers featuring integrated batteries delivering up to 150 kW without costly grid upgrades. The company operates over 1,000 chargers across Europe in Germany, Austria, and Spain, with France adding another core Western European market.

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Germany – MENNEKES Strategic Acquisition: MENNEKES acquired CHARGE-V's DC charging portfolio to enter the direct current market with a new product line launching in 2026. The acquisition includes technology for 80 kW and 160 kW systems targeting industrial and commercial applications, expanding MENNEKES' market presence.

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Netherlands – Qwello's Major Contract Win: Qwello's subsidiary Park&Charge won the tender to install up to 1,000 charging points across 45 municipal parking garages in eight municipalities, including Almere, Haarlem, and Zandvoort, over ten years. Following Qwello's acquisition of Park&Charge, the combined entity manages over 15,000 charging points across 300 municipalities in eight European countries.

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Netherlands – Milence Megawatt Milestone: Milence opened its second Dutch charging hub in Zwolle, featuring the Netherlands' first publicly accessible Megawatt Charging System (MCS) supplied by Power Electronics. The MCS delivers up to 3.75 MW for 30-45-minute truck charging. The joint venture between Daimler Truck, TRATON GROUP, and Volvo Group plans to have 284 MCS points across 71 locations in 10 EU states by 2027.

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France – Powerdot's Expansion Drive: Powerdot announced plans to install over 4,000 new fast chargers across France by 2027, partnering with major retailers including Carrefour. The Spanish-Portuguese charging operator was selected for France's Choose France strategic forum for the second consecutive year and was named the top European EV charging company by Time magazine in 2025.

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Austria – OMV Petrom's Electric Pivot: OMV Petrom is pivoting to electric mobility through its eMotion brand, planning to install 2,000 fast-charging points (150-300 kW) across Austria, Romania, Slovakia, and Hungary by 2030. The company recently opened Romania's largest EV charging hub on the A1 motorway with 34 charging points and 10 MW capacity, featuring 300 kW car chargers and 400 kW truck chargers.

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Southern Europe

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Spain – PowerGo's Dynamic Pricing Innovation: PowerGo launched Spain's first dynamic EV charging pricing system, linking hourly rates to electricity market prices across its 50+ charging points to encourage off-peak usage when renewable energy is abundant. The company plans to deploy 126 new charging points in the coming months and recently won a public tender to install 24 ultra-fast chargers at six service areas around Madrid.

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Italy – Plenitude's European Scale: Plenitude now offers access to 400,000 charging points via its app and has installed 21,500 proprietary chargers across Europe. The company is expanding in Spain with a focus on ultra-fast 400 kW chargers in high-traffic areas and pursuing new partnerships to improve infrastructure reliability and coverage.

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Italy – Atlante's Market Partnership: Atlante partnered with Sogemi to launch an ultrafast charging station at Milan Food Market featuring 10 charging points of 300 kW each, designed for electric cars and vans. The installation supplements Atlante's existing chargers at the market, with a protective canopy made from recyclable materials designed by Bertone Design made from recyclable materials and optimised parking for commercial vehicles.

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Italy – Daze's European Expansion: Italian company Daze is expanding its AC charger business (7.4-22 kW) across Europe, with offices in Milan, Madrid, and Paris for local support. The firm recently partnered with Alpitronic for DC solutions and signed with Autotorino, Italy's largest dealership group with 70 branches. It is also launching a smart home ecosystem integrating chargers, solar inverters, batteries, and energy management.

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Italy – Poste Italiane's Network Growth: Poste Italiane installed 165 EV charging points under the Polis project, targeting 10,000 Quick-type charging points (2×22 kW) with 50 kW Fast DC chargers by 2026. Leading provinces include Imperia (54 points), Arezzo (31 units), and Friuli Venezia Giulia (23 stations), with installations located in private car parks or public areas near post offices.

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Italy – Infrastructure Milestone: As of March 2025, Italy had 65,992 public EV charging points, growing 60% in two years, with 11,828 new units added over the past 12 months. Half of the new installations are fast or ultra-fast chargers, with motorway infrastructure including 1,108 charging points and 45.5% of service areas now equipped with charging infrastructure.

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Portugal – EDP's Hospitality Partnership: EDP partnered with Vila Galé Group to install up to 50 EV charging points at hotels across Portugal, connected to the public MOBI.E network. The first two points opened at Vila Galé Collection Elvas, helping EDP reach 100 charging points with over 59,000 sessions delivering 720 MWh, locatable via EDP's EV.X mobile app.

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Industry Events & Recognition

Europe celebrated surpassing one million public charging points by Q1 2025, with 54% growth in DC fast chargers year-over-year, led by Denmark (+104%) and Belgium (+92%). Power2Drive 2025 in Munich showcased innovative technologies, with Sungrow launching the IDC480E-C modular ultra-fast charger offering scalable power output from 240kW to 480kW for public operators and logistics companies.

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Looking Ahead

The momentum continues to build as CPOs across Europe demonstrate their commitment to expanding accessible, fast-charging infrastructure to support the growing demand for electric mobility.

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The EV charging landscape in Europe is clearly expanding, with an increasing number of high-powered chargers covering both urban areas and major routes. CPOs are responding to the growing demand for fast and accessible charging infrastructure, driving the transition towards more sustainable mobility.

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