News
Blue Corner does not rest on its laurels!
Blue Corner continues European expansion together with buyer Blink Charging
Huge expansion of EV charging network in Belgium and neighbouring countries
Antwerp, 11 May – The Antwerp company Blue Corner, a leading player in the Belgian charge points market, is being acquired in its entirety by the American company Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK, BLNKW). The acquisition will give Blue Corner access to advanced product innovations and the resources to become a dominant player in the global EV infrastructure industry. The company wants to significantly strengthen its presence in Europe in the short term. Currently, Blue Corner has over 7,000 charge points in its network in Belgium, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, and France. It has more than 10,000 ‘charging customers’ who use its services every day.
Blue Corner is an innovative 360° player. On the one hand, it provides high-quality installations of charge points for electric cars at home and at work. On the other hand, it is also building a public charging network. Thanks to the acquisition by Blink Charging, a leading owner, operator, and provider of charging equipment and services for electric vehicles, the Belgian company will have significantly more resources to invest in its network in Belgium and neighbouring countries. Its ambition is to grow into a major player in the European market.
Strong investment in European network
“Blue Corner’s mission is to build a sustainable society and be ready for the driver of tomorrow. Blink Charging shares this philosophy, so it was a logical to join forces. I’m convinced that Blue Corner, as part of the Blink Charging group, can establish a strong market presence throughout Europe. This acquisition allows us to significantly strengthen both our financial and organisational structure. We will continue to innovate and also want to play a major role in the total energy management of households and businesses in the future. Our slogan applies more than ever: “Wherever you are with your electric car, we can help you!” In Belgium and now far beyond,” says Peter Buyckx, Managing Director of Blue Corner.
“Blue Corner’s ambition is to become a major pan-European player in the world of EV charging. OCTA+ is a strong, but mainly Belgian organisation. Which is why we decided jointly with the other shareholders to look for an international partner to collaborate in achieving Blue Corner’s ambitious plans. We’re extremely proud that we were able to help Blue Corner become the market leader in Belgium. We’re also convinced that Blink Charging Co. is the right party for the further growth of this innovative EV-charging pioneer,” says Thierry van Coppenolle, CEO of OCTA+ (former main shareholder of Blue Corner).
Blink Charging also sees a great opportunity in European expansion. Europe is a pioneer in the use of electric vehicles and in providing the infrastructure to anchor it in the daily lives of drivers. “We see this as a great opportunity to realise our mission: to create a clean infrastructure network that is accessible to all and helps advance the EV sector,” concludes Michael D. Farkas, founder and CEO of Blink Charging Co.
Blink Charging Co. (Nasdaq: BLNK, BLNKW) is a leader in electric vehicle (EV) charging equipment and has installed more than 23,000 charge points, many of which are networked so that EV drivers can easily charge at any of the company’s charge points worldwide. The main products and services of Blink Charging are the Blink EV charging network (‘Blink Network’), EV charging equipment, and EV charging services. The Blink Network uses proprietary cloud-based software that manages, maintains, and monitors the EV charge points connected to the network and the associated charging data. As the number of EV purchases worldwide is expected to rise from around 2 million in 2019 to 10 million in 2025, the company has forged key strategic partnerships to roll out charge points in a wide variety of locations, including car parks, apartment buildings, work premises, health care and medical facilities, schools and universities, airports, car dealerships, hotels, public locations, parks and recreation areas, religious institutions, restaurants, retailers, stadiums, supermarkets, and transport hubs.
The Belgian company Blue Corner started in 2011 as one of the pioneers for charge points for electric cars. From the perspective of sustainability, the supplier and manager of these installations wants to make electric driving easy and accessible. Blue Corner focuses on smart 360° complete solutions with subscriptions for professionals, consumers, and partners. The rapidly growing network has more than 7,000 charge points spread across Belgium, the Netherlands, Luxembourg, and France. The public charging card from Blue Corner provides access to 250,000 charge points that are also available in the rest of Europe. The company has 30 permanent employees and is headquartered in Antwerp.
