What’s Happening: Shell USA, Inc., a subsidiary of Shell plc, has completed the acquisition of Volta Inc. for approximately USD $169 million in an all-cash transaction. The deal has now made Shell the owner of one of the US’s largest public electric vehicle (EV) charging networks, with an existing public charging network of over 3,000 charge points at destination sites across 31 states and territories.
Why It Matters: As the demand for EV charging continues to grow, the acquisition of Volta will enable Shell to better participate in the long-term EV charging market opportunity within the US. The acquisition will also provide Shell access to Volta’s capabilities for developing, operating, and monetizing EV charging infrastructure, as well as its advertising capability, which generates non-fuel revenue from sites in the US and globally.
Key Points:
- Shell has completed the acquisition of Volta Inc. for approximately USD $169 million in an all-cash transaction.
- With this acquisition, Shell owns and operates one of the US’s largest public electric vehicle (EV) charging networks.
- Volta provides Shell with an existing public charging network of over 3,000 charge points at destination sites across 31 US states and territories, a development pipeline of more than 3,400 additional charge points, and capabilities to continue developing, operating, and monetizing EV charging infrastructure.
- Volta specializes in generating advertising revenues from screens embedded into the charge point, adding a source of non-fuel revenue from sites both in the US and globally.
- The acquisition enables Shell to scale its existing network and offerings to better participate in the long-term EV charging market opportunity within the US.
- The company aims to expand its EV charging offer to operate more than 500,000 charge points by 2025 and ~2,500,000 charge points by 2030, meeting customer demand at home, at work, or on the go.
Bottom Line: Shell’s acquisition of Volta provides the company with an existing public charging network and capabilities to further develop and monetize EV charging infrastructure. With this acquisition, Shell is expanding its footprint in the EV charging market and aims to meet customer demand for EV charging at home, work, and on the go.
