Iberdrola invests in Wallbox to further innovation in sustainable mobility

Iberdrola is making strides in its strategy to promote innovative sustainable mobility to fight climate change by acquiring a stake in Wallbox.

Wallbox, Europe's leading electric vehicle charging solutions company, has completed a €15 million ($17.1 million) round of capital injections - led by Iberdrola, with other co-investors and some of Wallbox's current partners - which will allow it to reinforce its leadership and undertake global expansion.

The operation strengthens the business partnership between both companies and, fits into Iberdrola's Sustainable Mobility Plan, which includes rolling out 25,000 electric vehicle charging stations throughout Spain by 2021 and in the company's other global markets. Iberdrola has made this investment through its Perseo start-up programme, which supports emerging companies developing key technologies to future energy developments.

“The operation is one of our main strategies for continuing to lead the energy transition to a low-carbon economy: innovation to identify and develop new technologies that will enable us to improve the energy sustainability model; and our commitment to electrifying transportation, as a way to combat climate change,” explained Luis Buil, Iberdrola Smart Mobility manager.

“This capital increase allows us to continue the development of our ambitious product roadmap, accelerate the company's growth and become the leading global brand in charging solutions for electric vehicles and energy,” said Enric Asunción, CEO of Wallbox.

Iberdrola intends to drive and lead the transition to sustainable mobility and the electrification of transport as an effective way to combat climate change. The company has a Sustainable Mobility Plan that entails deploying 25,000 electric vehicle charging stations in Spanish homes, companies, urban and suburban areas with public access by 2021. The plan includes installing fast, super-fast and ultra-fast charging stations at least every 100 km on the country's main motorways and highways during 2019, making it possible to drive all the way across Spain in an electric vehicle. To achieve this, Iberdrola is working on several initiatives to mobilise all agents involved in sustainable mobility, from governments to institutions, companies and electric vehicle manufacturers.

Iberdrola has been collaborating with start-ups for over ten years through its €70 million ($79.8 million) Perseo Programme. Perseo helps the company to gain access to the technologies of the future and fosters the development of a dynamic, global ecosystem of technology companies and entrepreneurs that will improve the sustainability of the energy model. Through Perseo, Iberdrola has brought more than 2,000 emerging companies into its ecosystem, developed pilot projects, over 30 of them in the last two years, and invested in 15 start-ups in areas such as energy storage, drones, robotics and artificial intelligence.

Wallbox plans to become a global electric vehicle charging solutions supplier (smart chargers and the myWallbox platform) and is still at the forefront of the sector with the launch of a home DC charger in the second half of the year. The initiative will be top of its class due to its features and bidirectional technology. It has already been assessed by the market and agreements have already been signed with major car manufacturers. This new technology will bring a disruptive change to electric vehicle charging systems worldwide.