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Shell buys UK’s largest electric vehicle charging network

147 points by reddotX 6y ago

slg 6y ago
The article is paywalled, so I'm not sure if they cover this. I don't love a company owning two competing verticals when those verticals are impacted by network effects. Shell's gas business becomes less valuable the more they build out their EV business and vice versa. It creates a big potential conflict. What are the odds that a company like Shell would make the the decision that benefits society and prioritizes the EV business over their fossil fuel business?
- rlpb 6y ago
  I understand your concern. On the other hand though, if fossil fuel based business is going to shrink massively over the next few decades and their entire business resolves around this, switching while carrying across their brand and relevant expertise seems like a perfectly sensible thing for their shareholders to do.
  - slg 6y ago
    It isn't about what is sensible for the business. It is about what is sensible for society. These fossil fuel companies have routinely put their own short term financial interests above that of the planet. Maybe they have learned their lesson and will fully commit to a cleaner future. Maybe they will drag their feet on their EV business in order to give their gasoline business a few more great years. A majority of the legacy players in this space have a history of ignoring or actively slowing down the transition from ICE vehicles to EVs. If I was the UK government, I would need some guarantee that Shell wouldn't do this before I allowed this purchase to go through.
- notahacker 6y ago
  > What are the odds that a company like Shell would make the the decision that benefits society and prioritizes the EV business over their fossil fuel business? As certain as anything in business in the UK, since the UK government has a timeline to ban the sale of new fossil fuel powered vehicles, and no such plan to ban EVs.
  - jaggs 6y ago
    Hmm...I'm not sure you're 100% correct there. It seems likely that the long term goal will be to switch from private ownership of cars, EV or not, and switch to automated roaming vehicles like personal electric taxi/buses wherever possible. Cities cannot absorb many more vehicles? It seems somewhat similar to CD ownership vs streaming?
    - notahacker 6y ago
      I'm 100% certain the UK government's actual plan to force all new cars to be electric in a few year's time is more of an influence on a fossil fuel supplier acquiring UK car charging networks than your own speculation about a post-car world. Sure, there's no certainty the world won't be restructured to allow everybody to pool AGI taxis, but that's not really a factor in Shell backing EVs against the petroleum it made its fortune with.
- imtringued 6y ago
  100% guaranteed if there is a carbon tax.
- Zanni 6y ago
  If they're prevented from entering a competing vertical (electric charging), doesn't that guarantee a conflict? They'd be putting everything into protecting their existing vertical (oil and gas).
djohnston 6y ago
Will they just run it into the ground? Article is paywalled.
- skeeter2020 6y ago
  Shell has stated their plans to become the world's biggest supplier of electricity; running this as agoing concern seems in line with their new strategy.
  - stuaxo 6y ago
    Lets see if their actions follow their words.
- that_guy_iain 6y ago
  They already bought another electric vehicle charging company an EMSP which connects the users with the companies that have the charging stations. That seems to be going ok and the thing with the UK is the largest one owns like 90% of the stations so they basically have a stranglehold on the UK market. Also, I know one of their main (maybe largest) competitiors are running themselves into the ground. Source: I work for the competitor
  - rkangel 6y ago
    > [in the UK] the largest one owns like 90% of the stations This article says that Ubitricity has the largest network of electric charging points. I can't reconcile that with your statement about 90%. Which provider were you referring to there?
    - that_guy_iain 6y ago
      I can't remember the name, I've just sat in a bunch of business meetings where they kept saying the problem with the UK was we couldn't get access to the market because one company, whose name got mentioned a few times but not enough to remember, had 90% and wouldn't work with us or anyone because they make more money without partnerships. It could be the 90% are connected to a hub and the hub won't work with us. We have direct connections with CPOs (Charing Point Operators) and then we have connections with hubs, most of our CPOs come via a hub like Hubject.
ffpip 6y ago
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy Ubitricity, owner of the largest public charging network for electric vehicles in the UK, as the oil major expands its presence along the power supply chain. Shell said on Monday it would buy 100 per cent of the company for an undisclosed amount. Ubitricity, founded in Germany, is a leading European provider of on-street charging for electric vehicles. The company, which integrates electric car charging into street infrastructure such as lamp posts, has more than 2,700 charge points in the UK, giving it a market share of 13 per cent. Shell said the acquisition would help it expand into on-street charging. It already has more than 1,000 fast and ultrafast charging points at 430 Shell retail stations and a greater number including those owned by partners and affiliates at forecourts and motorway service stations. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close later this year. Street charging is expected to expand rapidly as customers who lack private driveways and those that wish to charge their vehicles overnight seek greater options. Istvan Kapitany, who heads Shell’s mobility business, said: “Working with local authorities, we want to support the growing number of Shell customers who want to switch to an [electric vehicle] by making it as convenient as possible for them.” Like peers such as Total and Repsol, Shell has been expanding along the electricity supply chain in recent years as it looks to build a business that will be resilient through an energy transition towards cleaner fuels. Investors and environmentalists have demanded that oil companies take greater responsibility for their role in enabling climate change, forcing Europe’s energy majors to make new pledges for cleaning up their businesses. Shell, like BP and other oil groups, said last year it would become a net-zero emissions business. It is expected to detail its plan for how to get there next month at its strategy update. While top leaders at the company plan to accelerate spending into cleaner businesses, they are also wary of abandoning lucrative legacy hydrocarbon divisions too soon. For example, while electric vehicle adoption is accelerating, the fleet is still dwarfed by those with traditional engines. Demand for petrol and diesel is expected to remain robust for decades to come. While Shell’s leadership insists it has been on the right path, some executives have said it is not moving fast enough given the rapidly changing demands of the public, investors and climate activists. The pressure to take climate action has grown over the past year, even as the coronavirus pandemic battered the balance sheets of international oil players. Lockdowns and travel bans dramatically cut demand for oil and led to a collapse in oil prices, hitting earnings. Shell cut its dividend for the first time since the second world war, slashed spending by billions of dollars and said it would cut 9,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring. The company is expected to announce its fourth-quarter results next week.
WJW 6y ago
Shell has been very open in the last few years that they see themselves as an "energy" company and that they don't care very much if the energy comes from fossil fuels or from renewables, as long as consumers buy it from Shell. They've seen the writing on the wall and are moving to where the money will be in the future. Apart from this acquisition, they have also invested in wind parks (their offshore expertise is quite handy apparently), hydrogen electrolysers for damping renewable production peaks and several other large and capital intensive projects that they are very well positioned to take on. The main concern seems to be whether they can make the cultural switch in management as there are quite a few "old hands" in middle management that are quite attached to the fossil fuel sector that they grew up with. On the other hand, the CEO and board seem fully on board so we'll see how it plays out. In the coming weeks with the annual report they are expected to present a new strategy document for the coming decade with more details on how they plan to go about it. This is a company that has tens of billions per year to invest in new energy projects, as well as some top tier talent. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with.
- rkangel 6y ago
  While this is a sensible strategy, I do retain some cynicism. "Have been very open about" can sometimes mean "our PR has been very good" while they privately lobby against anything renewable. Hopefully we can take what they're saying at face value though.
  - WJW 6y ago
    Cynicism is almost always a good idea. Companies like Shell (83k employees in 2019 according to wikipedia) are large enough that they can simultaneously have departments trying to diversify into renewables and also have different departments lobbying against renewables. Their willingness to invest billions of dollars in renewables and the surrounding infrastructure does make me hopeful though.
  - deleted 6y ago
    [deleted]
- nashashmi 6y ago
curiousllama 6y ago
Anyone know the purchase price? Hard to know what to think of this otherwise. Is this a defensive acquisition, to protect a fragile Shell charging business? Or is this speculative, where they want to pump in $ to accelerate and dominate? Will Ubicitry function as an R&D/experiments arm, or actual LoB?
- giantg2 6y ago
  I believe it will be a real LoB intended for growth. Shell has made it clear in shareholder communications that they will greatly expand thier renewables because they see that as the future.
btbuildem 6y ago
Cautiously optimistic that they're doing it in order to maintain their stranglehold on transportation energy networks (what a thing to be optimistic about!) and not in effort to dismantle it aka auto companies vs light rail / trolleys / etc in the US back in the day.
- giantg2 6y ago
  I think they are doing it for the right reasons. I think Shell has been working on next-gen fuels/tech for a while and even published a shareholder plan concerning their move to renewables. If they do dismantle it, I don't see how they could avoid antitrust issues.
  - Someone 6y ago
    Indeed. They have been clear they want to get into green energy. https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/shells-ambition-to-be-a-net-zero-emissions-energy-business.html https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-futur... (warning: loads slowly, crashes on iPad): Shell is aiming to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner. We intend to meet our customers’ demand for cleaner energy, keeping in pace with society
- cr1895 6y ago
  You can trivially find the sort of investments and projects Shell is working towards...they are heavily involved in offshore wind for electricity and green hydrogen. That they would be buying up EV charging in order to dismantle it can be dismissed outright. https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/new-energies.html https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/new-energies.htm... https://www.shell.nl/media/persberichten/2020-media-releases/grootste-groene-waterstofproject-van-europa-in-groningen.html https://www.shell.nl/media/persberichten/2020-media-releases...
  - jsight 6y ago
    IMO, the concern isn't so much dismantling it as mismanaging it. Some of these charge networks are moving to REALLY unattractive pricing models.
newsclues 6y ago
Oil companies buy systems to rent seek from future energy/transportation infrastructure. Not surprising.
- Ericson2314 6y ago
  "Punitive tax me all you want as long as you subsidize me more"
- throwaways885 6y ago
  Nothing wrong with that as long as the climate improves.
- itsoktocry 6y ago
  Oh brother, can anything please people? These gigantic corporations are trying to diversify away from oil. That is what we want. They already own a ton of real-estate and infrastructure; who else should run the "fuelling" stations?
  - 7952 6y ago
    Of course anyone could install charging points. It is much easier than running a petrol station and could be complimentary to a lot of other businesses. The opportunity for an investor is finding low hanging fruit. Or securing a higher price for electricity you intend to generate.
  - newsclues 6y ago
    They could have done this decades ago, and not resisted the end of fossil fuels while profiting from what they knew was bad for the planet. It’s great that they are finally investing heavily in renewables now they they are popular and economical, but if you expect me to cheer for the oil company, I’m expecting them to lead the charge to improve rather than follow the leaders before their business is toxic.
samwhiteUK 6y ago
FT is £33 a month?? Fuck off
- Mvandenbergh 6y ago
  If you're not paying for your news, you're a product being sold to advertisers.
  - dfgdghdf 6y ago
    Maybe you're paying for the news and the product being sold... Unless the publication is a non-profit, why would they leave this on the table?
  - sib 6y ago
    Pretty sure that most newspapers that charge for subscriptions also sell ads. Similarly with TV news channels.
- throwaways885 6y ago
  Ask your employer to pay for it.
helsinkiandrew 6y ago
In the UK the proportion of profit from petrol sales vs forecourt stores is already dropping fast. The petrol retailers are all increasing their forecourt stores with tie ups with retailers. 50% of some petrol station visits don’t involve petrol sales at all With the increased time to ‘fill up’ with electricity it would make this more appealing to the companies
- bdamm 6y ago
  Tesla has already built a handful of entire mall complexes around a core of rapid chargers. I guess the model is you plug in and then go choose from one of the immediate destinations to spend your 20 minutes.
  - mtmail 6y ago
    Does Tesla own and operate those malls? Or do mall/building companies work with Tesla to install chargers? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Supercharger#Large_Supercharger_stations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Supercharger#Large_Super...
    - jsight 6y ago
      No, the closest that I'm aware of is the cafe at Kettleman City.
      - olivermarks 6y ago
        It's inevitable that bigEnergy will dominate any EV charging infrastructure and pricing. Governments collect huge taxes from fuel for travel, some of which they use to maintain roads. Going from a 3 minute fill up of gasoline or diesel to a 20 minute minimum recharge and having to go to a shopping mall is a currently regressive and inconvenient step. Hopefully as battery and grid tech improves this will become less inconvenient.
        jsight 6y ago
mattbee 6y ago
Charging infrastructure in the UK is so bad - I have so many terrible apps on my phone to activate the many brands of different charging points. So I'm very happy to see consolidation if that's going to make charging more reliable. The mystery for me - why don't they all work on contactless payment? (like Instavolt does) That way, I don't need an app, account, tracking or anything else - just tap my card and start charging.
- oakesm9 6y ago
  How do they get your email address to remind you to use their charge rather than their competitors if you just seamlessly use a contactless card? They've got to get that marketing information!
- cogman10 6y ago
  It really shouldn't even need that, it should be what Tesla does with their supercharger network. Plug in your car, it does a tap/pay style negotiation, start charging. CCS just adopted a payment standard based on that and I hope it ends up killing the need to pull out your wallet to charge.
  - itsoktocry 6y ago
    >It really shouldn't even need that, it should be what Tesla does with their supercharger network. Plug in your car, it does a tap/pay style negotiation, start charging. That's a lot simpler when you only have a few cars on the road and standardized charging hardware. But this will get figured out in time. I mean, look at fuel pumps.
    - cogman10 6y ago
      It's already part of the CCS standard, so I expect that you'll start seeing manufactures slowly adopt it in the future. The trick is getting current stations updated. I still can't tap and pay everywhere and that's somewhat frustrating.
  - rsynnott 6y ago
FerretFred 6y ago
It makes sense (for Shell) because a lot of streets and buildings in the UK aren't charge-point friendly. Add to that the outdated electrical infrastructure in many places: any more power demand would necessitate upgrading wiring from substations to streets. What the real problem is though is that successive Governments have failed to properly invest in the right type of power stations, and I'm not sure if renewables could handle the extra projected load. See: https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/
- barrkel 6y ago
  Many lampposts in London have been converted into charging points; you increasingly see electric black cabs parked up and plugged in. I agree that some streets aren't friendly for parked cars, but the situation is better than e.g. old Roman cities on the continent, where you do see tiny city cars alongside scooters etc.
- ZeroGravitas 6y ago
  The National Grid has modelled this and thinks it'll be fine. It's had to issue a few media corrections because apparently the story that electric cars will melt the grid is just too clickbaity to miss out on. Renewables and electric vehicles are fairly synergistic, particularly wind in the UK.
- 7952 6y ago
  Domestic power load already fluctuates a lot and the grid handles that fine. Most people are not going to need to recharge fully every day and the load could be spread throughout the night.
gnicholas 6y ago
I don't know anything specific about this purchase, but this doesn't surprise me a ton in light of Shell's partnership with the impact-oriented Unreasonable Group. [1] I know the Unreasonable team through my work with them on literacy issues, and they are super dedicated to making a positive impact in the world. When they announced their partnership with Shell UK, the CEO sent out an email explaining to the community why they are working with such an unlikely partner. Hopefully this is another data point that trends in the same direction. 1: https://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2020/08/31/unreasonable-groups-shell-startup-engine-uk-pilot-to-launch-soon/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2020/08/31/unreasonab...
reaperducer 6y ago
There have been a lot of moves like this by the big oil companies lately. It reminds me of a Stephen King short story called "The Jaunt." The story is about the world after man has invented teleportation. Aside from being a handy way for the mafia to dispose of bodies, it also made burning dinosaurs unnecessary for transportation. So all of the big oil companies went into water. They became Shell Oil and Water, Exxon Oil and Water, British Fluids, etc.
- kaycebasques 6y ago
  I wonder if Stephen King's use of "jaunt" is an homage to The Stars My Destination?
- beambot 6y ago
  Already happening: "California Water Futures Begin Trading Amid Fear of Scarcity" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-06/water-futures-to-start-trading-amid-growing-fears-of-scarcity https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-06/water-fut...
gertrunde 6y ago
Not sure where they get the "largest" from... Apparently the largest is... BP. And their charging point network seems to be fairly slow, 3-5.5kW, fairly similar to basic home charging, but built into bollards and lamp posts.
gertrunde 6y ago
A non paywalled version of the story: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/25/shell-agrees-deal-to-buy-electric-car-charging-company-ubitricity https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/25/shell-agree...
- dang 6y ago
  Ok, we'll change to that from https://www.ft.com/content/8e69d4da-00d2-4ada-96f0-b5dc5c7ca40a https://www.ft.com/content/8e69d4da-00d2-4ada-96f0-b5dc5c7ca.... Thanks!
deleted 6y ago
[deleted]
codeulike 6y ago
Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy Ubitricity, owner of the largest public charging network for electric vehicles in the UK I've been driving EVs in the UK for 5 years or so and I've never heard of Ubitricity so is this bullshit, or do Ubitricity own someone lower down like ChargeYourCar or something like that? edit: Ah here we go, seems like they might be big in London https://insideevs.com/news/457155/ubitricity-largest-public-ev-charging-network-uk/ https://insideevs.com/news/457155/ubitricity-largest-public-... ubitricity's approach is slightly unusual, compared to the typical charging networks, as it uses a lamppost or bollard, equipped with Type 2 AC charging sockets. Because there is already an electricity connection, the company reduces the installation cost and time. It's quite interesting also from EV drivers' perspective (especially if they don't have their own parking space), as there are now streets in London where every lamppost has been retrofitted with an ubitricity charging point.
- LeoPanthera 6y ago
  They make most of the lamppost chargers in London.
- buro9 6y ago
  The majority of lamp post chargers in London are ubitricity. Of the multiple networks I've used, these are the cheapest and most reliable to use... pricing very close to domestic electric rates, and it's up to you to secure your parking (which is a good thing as something like Source London includes a parking fee even when a CPZ is not in action). The only issue with ubitricity to date is that whether or not they're in your area depends on your council being willing to work with them. Shell would help this a lot.
avrionov 6y ago
Some negative comments below, but this is good news. This is the sign that the electric cars on the streets have a critical mass big enough for Shell to invest. The second positive outcome is that if they are directly involved in the electric cars business, they will be one less company trying to stop the greener technologies. With more and more electric cars on the roads, the demand for the gas stations will decrease and some of them will close. Finding a gas station will become more difficult. It seems that most of the other owners are not thinking long term what will be the effect on their business.
- LatteLazy 6y ago
  I don't disagree entirely but... We will see a lot from shat Shell does next. If they invest and expand the network, they can be the dominant player. That will show they're transitioning to the new era etc. If they do nothing and let the network stagnate, that will delay Electric car introduction in the UK a lot. Kodak famously developed the digital camera but couldn't bring themselves to cannibalise their own market. Will Shell now have the balls to do that or will they take the safer option and delay?
  - avrionov 6y ago
    I think this is very different from the Kodak situation. They are responding to market forces - the electric cars. The charging stations will provide a new revenue stream for them and it help them to transition.
    - LatteLazy 6y ago
      We'll see I guess. Personally, I think it would be brave of shell to trade petrochemicals for the electric hookup market. They'd be a middle man, in a competitive market, with no "moat" protecting them. Kodak could at least have sat on their patents for a while. I honestly do hope I'm wrong.
  - sanp 6y ago
    I think there will be greater interest from Shell here because for a while now the margins from operating gas stations largely comes from the associated convenience stores. With the longer charging times (relative to filling up a tank of petrol) customers will spend more at this convenience stores.
youeseh 6y ago
This is their move to catch up with Chevron (and other large service providers) that has been building up their own charging network, I believe.
gambiting 6y ago
Great! Here in the UK their charging stations seem to be among the most reliable, coupled with the fact that you can actually pay with a card at the charging station, no stupid accounts/fobs needed. Just plug in, tap your card on the side, done. Easier than filling with petrol.
- noneeeed 6y ago
  That's acatually good to know. As I mentioned in another comment, faffing around with charging network accounts is one of the more minor issues that puts me off an electric car at the moment. (We don't have off-street parking, that's our major blocker at the moment, and that our car is only a few years old).
srijith259 6y ago
So whats stopping them from destroying the charging networks, so that they can keep the gas/petroleum demand up?
- jgalt212 6y ago
  Have you read about the General Motors Streetcar Conspiracy? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...
neonate 6y ago
https://archive.is/aepC5 https://archive.is/aepC5
Railsify 6y ago
Even Ferrari and Lamborghini are putting electric motors in their vehicles, crazy world.
jacobp100 6y ago
I think this is a good thing. About 7 years Shell bought First Utility - a 100% renewable energy company. It’s rebranded to Shell Energy now, but still 100% renewable. I imagine they just want to diversify outside of fossil fuels because they see the writing on the wall.

147 points by reddotX 6y ago

slg 6y ago

The article is paywalled, so I'm not sure if they cover this. I don't love a company owning two competing verticals when those verticals are impacted by network effects. Shell's gas business becomes less valuable the more they build out their EV business and vice versa. It creates a big potential conflict. What are the odds that a company like Shell would make the the decision that benefits society and prioritizes the EV business over their fossil fuel business?

rlpb 6y ago
I understand your concern. On the other hand though, if fossil fuel based business is going to shrink massively over the next few decades and their entire business resolves around this, switching while carrying across their brand and relevant expertise seems like a perfectly sensible thing for their shareholders to do.
- slg 6y ago
  It isn't about what is sensible for the business. It is about what is sensible for society. These fossil fuel companies have routinely put their own short term financial interests above that of the planet. Maybe they have learned their lesson and will fully commit to a cleaner future. Maybe they will drag their feet on their EV business in order to give their gasoline business a few more great years. A majority of the legacy players in this space have a history of ignoring or actively slowing down the transition from ICE vehicles to EVs. If I was the UK government, I would need some guarantee that Shell wouldn't do this before I allowed this purchase to go through.
notahacker 6y ago
> What are the odds that a company like Shell would make the the decision that benefits society and prioritizes the EV business over their fossil fuel business? As certain as anything in business in the UK, since the UK government has a timeline to ban the sale of new fossil fuel powered vehicles, and no such plan to ban EVs.
- jaggs 6y ago
  Hmm...I'm not sure you're 100% correct there. It seems likely that the long term goal will be to switch from private ownership of cars, EV or not, and switch to automated roaming vehicles like personal electric taxi/buses wherever possible. Cities cannot absorb many more vehicles? It seems somewhat similar to CD ownership vs streaming?
  - notahacker 6y ago
    I'm 100% certain the UK government's actual plan to force all new cars to be electric in a few year's time is more of an influence on a fossil fuel supplier acquiring UK car charging networks than your own speculation about a post-car world. Sure, there's no certainty the world won't be restructured to allow everybody to pool AGI taxis, but that's not really a factor in Shell backing EVs against the petroleum it made its fortune with.
imtringued 6y ago
100% guaranteed if there is a carbon tax.
Zanni 6y ago
If they're prevented from entering a competing vertical (electric charging), doesn't that guarantee a conflict? They'd be putting everything into protecting their existing vertical (oil and gas).

djohnston 6y ago

Will they just run it into the ground? Article is paywalled.

skeeter2020 6y ago
Shell has stated their plans to become the world's biggest supplier of electricity; running this as agoing concern seems in line with their new strategy.
- stuaxo 6y ago
  Lets see if their actions follow their words.
that_guy_iain 6y ago
They already bought another electric vehicle charging company an EMSP which connects the users with the companies that have the charging stations. That seems to be going ok and the thing with the UK is the largest one owns like 90% of the stations so they basically have a stranglehold on the UK market. Also, I know one of their main (maybe largest) competitiors are running themselves into the ground. Source: I work for the competitor
- rkangel 6y ago
  > [in the UK] the largest one owns like 90% of the stations This article says that Ubitricity has the largest network of electric charging points. I can't reconcile that with your statement about 90%. Which provider were you referring to there?
  - that_guy_iain 6y ago
    I can't remember the name, I've just sat in a bunch of business meetings where they kept saying the problem with the UK was we couldn't get access to the market because one company, whose name got mentioned a few times but not enough to remember, had 90% and wouldn't work with us or anyone because they make more money without partnerships. It could be the 90% are connected to a hub and the hub won't work with us. We have direct connections with CPOs (Charing Point Operators) and then we have connections with hubs, most of our CPOs come via a hub like Hubject.

ffpip 6y ago

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy Ubitricity, owner of the largest public charging network for electric vehicles in the UK, as the oil major expands its presence along the power supply chain. Shell said on Monday it would buy 100 per cent of the company for an undisclosed amount. Ubitricity, founded in Germany, is a leading European provider of on-street charging for electric vehicles. The company, which integrates electric car charging into street infrastructure such as lamp posts, has more than 2,700 charge points in the UK, giving it a market share of 13 per cent. Shell said the acquisition would help it expand into on-street charging. It already has more than 1,000 fast and ultrafast charging points at 430 Shell retail stations and a greater number including those owned by partners and affiliates at forecourts and motorway service stations. Subject to regulatory approval, the deal is expected to close later this year. Street charging is expected to expand rapidly as customers who lack private driveways and those that wish to charge their vehicles overnight seek greater options. Istvan Kapitany, who heads Shell’s mobility business, said: “Working with local authorities, we want to support the growing number of Shell customers who want to switch to an [electric vehicle] by making it as convenient as possible for them.” Like peers such as Total and Repsol, Shell has been expanding along the electricity supply chain in recent years as it looks to build a business that will be resilient through an energy transition towards cleaner fuels. Investors and environmentalists have demanded that oil companies take greater responsibility for their role in enabling climate change, forcing Europe’s energy majors to make new pledges for cleaning up their businesses. Shell, like BP and other oil groups, said last year it would become a net-zero emissions business. It is expected to detail its plan for how to get there next month at its strategy update. While top leaders at the company plan to accelerate spending into cleaner businesses, they are also wary of abandoning lucrative legacy hydrocarbon divisions too soon. For example, while electric vehicle adoption is accelerating, the fleet is still dwarfed by those with traditional engines. Demand for petrol and diesel is expected to remain robust for decades to come. While Shell’s leadership insists it has been on the right path, some executives have said it is not moving fast enough given the rapidly changing demands of the public, investors and climate activists. The pressure to take climate action has grown over the past year, even as the coronavirus pandemic battered the balance sheets of international oil players. Lockdowns and travel bans dramatically cut demand for oil and led to a collapse in oil prices, hitting earnings. Shell cut its dividend for the first time since the second world war, slashed spending by billions of dollars and said it would cut 9,000 jobs as part of a major restructuring. The company is expected to announce its fourth-quarter results next week.

WJW 6y ago

Shell has been very open in the last few years that they see themselves as an "energy" company and that they don't care very much if the energy comes from fossil fuels or from renewables, as long as consumers buy it from Shell. They've seen the writing on the wall and are moving to where the money will be in the future. Apart from this acquisition, they have also invested in wind parks (their offshore expertise is quite handy apparently), hydrogen electrolysers for damping renewable production peaks and several other large and capital intensive projects that they are very well positioned to take on. The main concern seems to be whether they can make the cultural switch in management as there are quite a few "old hands" in middle management that are quite attached to the fossil fuel sector that they grew up with. On the other hand, the CEO and board seem fully on board so we'll see how it plays out. In the coming weeks with the annual report they are expected to present a new strategy document for the coming decade with more details on how they plan to go about it. This is a company that has tens of billions per year to invest in new energy projects, as well as some top tier talent. It'll be interesting to see what they come up with.

rkangel 6y ago
While this is a sensible strategy, I do retain some cynicism. "Have been very open about" can sometimes mean "our PR has been very good" while they privately lobby against anything renewable. Hopefully we can take what they're saying at face value though.
- WJW 6y ago
  Cynicism is almost always a good idea. Companies like Shell (83k employees in 2019 according to wikipedia) are large enough that they can simultaneously have departments trying to diversify into renewables and also have different departments lobbying against renewables. Their willingness to invest billions of dollars in renewables and the surrounding infrastructure does make me hopeful though.
- deleted 6y ago
  [deleted]
nashashmi 6y ago

curiousllama 6y ago

Anyone know the purchase price? Hard to know what to think of this otherwise. Is this a defensive acquisition, to protect a fragile Shell charging business? Or is this speculative, where they want to pump in $ to accelerate and dominate? Will Ubicitry function as an R&D/experiments arm, or actual LoB?

giantg2 6y ago
I believe it will be a real LoB intended for growth. Shell has made it clear in shareholder communications that they will greatly expand thier renewables because they see that as the future.

btbuildem 6y ago

Cautiously optimistic that they're doing it in order to maintain their stranglehold on transportation energy networks (what a thing to be optimistic about!) and not in effort to dismantle it aka auto companies vs light rail / trolleys / etc in the US back in the day.

giantg2 6y ago
I think they are doing it for the right reasons. I think Shell has been working on next-gen fuels/tech for a while and even published a shareholder plan concerning their move to renewables. If they do dismantle it, I don't see how they could avoid antitrust issues.
- Someone 6y ago
  Indeed. They have been clear they want to get into green energy. https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-future/shells-ambition-to-be-a-net-zero-emissions-energy-business.html https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/the-energy-futur... (warning: loads slowly, crashes on iPad): Shell is aiming to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050 or sooner. We intend to meet our customers’ demand for cleaner energy, keeping in pace with society
cr1895 6y ago
You can trivially find the sort of investments and projects Shell is working towards...they are heavily involved in offshore wind for electricity and green hydrogen. That they would be buying up EV charging in order to dismantle it can be dismissed outright. https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/new-energies.html https://www.shell.com/energy-and-innovation/new-energies.htm... https://www.shell.nl/media/persberichten/2020-media-releases/grootste-groene-waterstofproject-van-europa-in-groningen.html https://www.shell.nl/media/persberichten/2020-media-releases...
- jsight 6y ago
  IMO, the concern isn't so much dismantling it as mismanaging it. Some of these charge networks are moving to REALLY unattractive pricing models.

newsclues 6y ago

Oil companies buy systems to rent seek from future energy/transportation infrastructure. Not surprising.

Ericson2314 6y ago
"Punitive tax me all you want as long as you subsidize me more"
throwaways885 6y ago
Nothing wrong with that as long as the climate improves.
itsoktocry 6y ago
Oh brother, can anything please people? These gigantic corporations are trying to diversify away from oil. That is what we want. They already own a ton of real-estate and infrastructure; who else should run the "fuelling" stations?
- 7952 6y ago
  Of course anyone could install charging points. It is much easier than running a petrol station and could be complimentary to a lot of other businesses. The opportunity for an investor is finding low hanging fruit. Or securing a higher price for electricity you intend to generate.
- newsclues 6y ago
  They could have done this decades ago, and not resisted the end of fossil fuels while profiting from what they knew was bad for the planet. It’s great that they are finally investing heavily in renewables now they they are popular and economical, but if you expect me to cheer for the oil company, I’m expecting them to lead the charge to improve rather than follow the leaders before their business is toxic.

samwhiteUK 6y ago

FT is £33 a month?? Fuck off

Mvandenbergh 6y ago
If you're not paying for your news, you're a product being sold to advertisers.
- dfgdghdf 6y ago
  Maybe you're paying for the news and the product being sold... Unless the publication is a non-profit, why would they leave this on the table?
- sib 6y ago
  Pretty sure that most newspapers that charge for subscriptions also sell ads. Similarly with TV news channels.
throwaways885 6y ago
Ask your employer to pay for it.

helsinkiandrew 6y ago

In the UK the proportion of profit from petrol sales vs forecourt stores is already dropping fast. The petrol retailers are all increasing their forecourt stores with tie ups with retailers. 50% of some petrol station visits don’t involve petrol sales at all With the increased time to ‘fill up’ with electricity it would make this more appealing to the companies

bdamm 6y ago
Tesla has already built a handful of entire mall complexes around a core of rapid chargers. I guess the model is you plug in and then go choose from one of the immediate destinations to spend your 20 minutes.
- mtmail 6y ago
  Does Tesla own and operate those malls? Or do mall/building companies work with Tesla to install chargers? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Supercharger#Large_Supercharger_stations https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tesla_Supercharger#Large_Super...
  - jsight 6y ago
    No, the closest that I'm aware of is the cafe at Kettleman City.
    - olivermarks 6y ago
      It's inevitable that bigEnergy will dominate any EV charging infrastructure and pricing. Governments collect huge taxes from fuel for travel, some of which they use to maintain roads. Going from a 3 minute fill up of gasoline or diesel to a 20 minute minimum recharge and having to go to a shopping mall is a currently regressive and inconvenient step. Hopefully as battery and grid tech improves this will become less inconvenient.
      - jsight 6y ago

mattbee 6y ago

Charging infrastructure in the UK is so bad - I have so many terrible apps on my phone to activate the many brands of different charging points. So I'm very happy to see consolidation if that's going to make charging more reliable. The mystery for me - why don't they all work on contactless payment? (like Instavolt does) That way, I don't need an app, account, tracking or anything else - just tap my card and start charging.

oakesm9 6y ago
How do they get your email address to remind you to use their charge rather than their competitors if you just seamlessly use a contactless card? They've got to get that marketing information!
cogman10 6y ago
It really shouldn't even need that, it should be what Tesla does with their supercharger network. Plug in your car, it does a tap/pay style negotiation, start charging. CCS just adopted a payment standard based on that and I hope it ends up killing the need to pull out your wallet to charge.
- itsoktocry 6y ago
  >It really shouldn't even need that, it should be what Tesla does with their supercharger network. Plug in your car, it does a tap/pay style negotiation, start charging. That's a lot simpler when you only have a few cars on the road and standardized charging hardware. But this will get figured out in time. I mean, look at fuel pumps.
  - cogman10 6y ago
    It's already part of the CCS standard, so I expect that you'll start seeing manufactures slowly adopt it in the future. The trick is getting current stations updated. I still can't tap and pay everywhere and that's somewhat frustrating.
- rsynnott 6y ago

FerretFred 6y ago

It makes sense (for Shell) because a lot of streets and buildings in the UK aren't charge-point friendly. Add to that the outdated electrical infrastructure in many places: any more power demand would necessitate upgrading wiring from substations to streets. What the real problem is though is that successive Governments have failed to properly invest in the right type of power stations, and I'm not sure if renewables could handle the extra projected load. See: https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/ https://www.gridwatch.templar.co.uk/

barrkel 6y ago
Many lampposts in London have been converted into charging points; you increasingly see electric black cabs parked up and plugged in. I agree that some streets aren't friendly for parked cars, but the situation is better than e.g. old Roman cities on the continent, where you do see tiny city cars alongside scooters etc.
ZeroGravitas 6y ago
The National Grid has modelled this and thinks it'll be fine. It's had to issue a few media corrections because apparently the story that electric cars will melt the grid is just too clickbaity to miss out on. Renewables and electric vehicles are fairly synergistic, particularly wind in the UK.
7952 6y ago
Domestic power load already fluctuates a lot and the grid handles that fine. Most people are not going to need to recharge fully every day and the load could be spread throughout the night.

gnicholas 6y ago

I don't know anything specific about this purchase, but this doesn't surprise me a ton in light of Shell's partnership with the impact-oriented Unreasonable Group. [1] I know the Unreasonable team through my work with them on literacy issues, and they are super dedicated to making a positive impact in the world. When they announced their partnership with Shell UK, the CEO sent out an email explaining to the community why they are working with such an unlikely partner. Hopefully this is another data point that trends in the same direction. 1: https://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2020/08/31/unreasonable-groups-shell-startup-engine-uk-pilot-to-launch-soon/ https://www.forbes.com/sites/annefield/2020/08/31/unreasonab...

reaperducer 6y ago

There have been a lot of moves like this by the big oil companies lately. It reminds me of a Stephen King short story called "The Jaunt." The story is about the world after man has invented teleportation. Aside from being a handy way for the mafia to dispose of bodies, it also made burning dinosaurs unnecessary for transportation. So all of the big oil companies went into water. They became Shell Oil and Water, Exxon Oil and Water, British Fluids, etc.

kaycebasques 6y ago
I wonder if Stephen King's use of "jaunt" is an homage to The Stars My Destination?
beambot 6y ago
Already happening: "California Water Futures Begin Trading Amid Fear of Scarcity" https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-06/water-futures-to-start-trading-amid-growing-fears-of-scarcity https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-12-06/water-fut...

gertrunde 6y ago

Not sure where they get the "largest" from... Apparently the largest is... BP. And their charging point network seems to be fairly slow, 3-5.5kW, fairly similar to basic home charging, but built into bollards and lamp posts.

gertrunde 6y ago

A non paywalled version of the story: https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/25/shell-agrees-deal-to-buy-electric-car-charging-company-ubitricity https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/jan/25/shell-agree...

dang 6y ago
Ok, we'll change to that from https://www.ft.com/content/8e69d4da-00d2-4ada-96f0-b5dc5c7ca40a https://www.ft.com/content/8e69d4da-00d2-4ada-96f0-b5dc5c7ca.... Thanks!

deleted 6y ago

[deleted]

codeulike 6y ago

Royal Dutch Shell has agreed to buy Ubitricity, owner of the largest public charging network for electric vehicles in the UK I've been driving EVs in the UK for 5 years or so and I've never heard of Ubitricity so is this bullshit, or do Ubitricity own someone lower down like ChargeYourCar or something like that? edit: Ah here we go, seems like they might be big in London https://insideevs.com/news/457155/ubitricity-largest-public-ev-charging-network-uk/ https://insideevs.com/news/457155/ubitricity-largest-public-... ubitricity's approach is slightly unusual, compared to the typical charging networks, as it uses a lamppost or bollard, equipped with Type 2 AC charging sockets. Because there is already an electricity connection, the company reduces the installation cost and time. It's quite interesting also from EV drivers' perspective (especially if they don't have their own parking space), as there are now streets in London where every lamppost has been retrofitted with an ubitricity charging point.

LeoPanthera 6y ago
They make most of the lamppost chargers in London.
buro9 6y ago
The majority of lamp post chargers in London are ubitricity. Of the multiple networks I've used, these are the cheapest and most reliable to use... pricing very close to domestic electric rates, and it's up to you to secure your parking (which is a good thing as something like Source London includes a parking fee even when a CPZ is not in action). The only issue with ubitricity to date is that whether or not they're in your area depends on your council being willing to work with them. Shell would help this a lot.

avrionov 6y ago

Some negative comments below, but this is good news. This is the sign that the electric cars on the streets have a critical mass big enough for Shell to invest. The second positive outcome is that if they are directly involved in the electric cars business, they will be one less company trying to stop the greener technologies. With more and more electric cars on the roads, the demand for the gas stations will decrease and some of them will close. Finding a gas station will become more difficult. It seems that most of the other owners are not thinking long term what will be the effect on their business.

LatteLazy 6y ago
I don't disagree entirely but... We will see a lot from shat Shell does next. If they invest and expand the network, they can be the dominant player. That will show they're transitioning to the new era etc. If they do nothing and let the network stagnate, that will delay Electric car introduction in the UK a lot. Kodak famously developed the digital camera but couldn't bring themselves to cannibalise their own market. Will Shell now have the balls to do that or will they take the safer option and delay?
- avrionov 6y ago
  I think this is very different from the Kodak situation. They are responding to market forces - the electric cars. The charging stations will provide a new revenue stream for them and it help them to transition.
  - LatteLazy 6y ago
    We'll see I guess. Personally, I think it would be brave of shell to trade petrochemicals for the electric hookup market. They'd be a middle man, in a competitive market, with no "moat" protecting them. Kodak could at least have sat on their patents for a while. I honestly do hope I'm wrong.
- sanp 6y ago
  I think there will be greater interest from Shell here because for a while now the margins from operating gas stations largely comes from the associated convenience stores. With the longer charging times (relative to filling up a tank of petrol) customers will spend more at this convenience stores.

youeseh 6y ago

This is their move to catch up with Chevron (and other large service providers) that has been building up their own charging network, I believe.

gambiting 6y ago

Great! Here in the UK their charging stations seem to be among the most reliable, coupled with the fact that you can actually pay with a card at the charging station, no stupid accounts/fobs needed. Just plug in, tap your card on the side, done. Easier than filling with petrol.

noneeeed 6y ago
That's acatually good to know. As I mentioned in another comment, faffing around with charging network accounts is one of the more minor issues that puts me off an electric car at the moment. (We don't have off-street parking, that's our major blocker at the moment, and that our car is only a few years old).

srijith259 6y ago

So whats stopping them from destroying the charging networks, so that they can keep the gas/petroleum demand up?

jgalt212 6y ago
Have you read about the General Motors Streetcar Conspiracy? https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_conspiracy https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/General_Motors_streetcar_consp...

neonate 6y ago

https://archive.is/aepC5 https://archive.is/aepC5

Railsify 6y ago

Even Ferrari and Lamborghini are putting electric motors in their vehicles, crazy world.

jacobp100 6y ago

I think this is a good thing. About 7 years Shell bought First Utility - a 100% renewable energy company. It’s rebranded to Shell Energy now, but still 100% renewable. I imagine they just want to diversify outside of fossil fuels because they see the writing on the wall.