Franklin Energy has signed an agreement with Fortum Charge & Drive, which will enable the energy provider to expand its EV charging network by using the Nordic firm’s cloud solution.
Franklin’s existing LiFe charging network EV points will be operated via Fortum’s Charge & Drive cloud system, and new chargers going forward will use the same system too. Currently primarily based in the North West, there are plans to expand LiFe to have points in every major city in England, Scotland, and Ireland.
Robert Byrne, CEO and Founder of Franklin Energy, said: “We selected Charge & Drive as our operating platform for two reasons. Firstly, Charge & Drive is the leading operator in the Nordic markets, which has seen mass adoption of electric vehicles, and it is experienced in all aspects of the value chain – from customer support to building new city EV charging networks.
“Secondly, Charge & Drive is charge point manufacturer-agnostic and has more than 15 charging manufacturers already integrated into the back end, allowing Franklin to adapt to a rapidly changing landscape and bring new emerging technologies to market before its competitors.”
Rami Syväri, Head of International Sales & Business Development, Fortum Charge & Drive, commented: “We are very pleased about Franklin choosing us as its system partner in the UK. The UK is a fast developing market and we believe that our cooperation will add value through our open standard, hardware agnostic system, which is also prepared to support interoperability in the market.
“We look forward to combining our Nordic experience with Franklin Energy’s local and ambitious team to provide a professional and refreshing solution for B2B and B2C clients.”
Find LiFe charging points on Zap-Map by using the Filter by Network function on the map.
