London’s Zenobē, a specialist in fleet electrification and battery storage, with depots in Battersea and Southall, has successfully landed £278 million in debt financing from a syndicate of seven international banks. This capital injection is set to accelerate the expansion of its electric vehicle (EV) fleet-as-a-service offering across Europe.
Founded by Nicholas Beatty and Steven Meersman in 2017, Zenobē will use the financing to support the deployment of up to 1,000 electric buses, trucks, and associated charging infrastructure across EU/EEA markets. The company currently operates in Germany, Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands, and Sweden, with local teams providing electrification services to transport operators.
Globally, Zenobē supports over 3,400 electric fleet vehicles across 120 depots. Notable UK contracts include 130 buses for National Express in Coventry and a partnership with Oxford Bus Comapny to design and deliver the charging infrastructure and act as a long-term battery management partner. In Europe, it has secured a £36 million package for Grupo Julià’s 44-bus fleet in Barcelona. This financing arrives as European transport operators face increasing pressure to decarbonise their fleets amidst capital constraints. Zenobē’s integrated approach, combining vehicle financing with charging infrastructure deployment, directly addresses key barriers to electric fleet adoption.
The company’s recent £446 million UK-Canada partnership to electrify Brampton’s transit network further demonstrates its capability to deliver large-scale zero-emission projects, a venture expected to support 5,000 direct and indirect jobs.
Zenobē initially focused on grid-scale battery storage before expanding into fleet electrification. The company now employs over 300 full-time staff across engineering, software development, and finance disciplines. Its European operations began in 2022 with battery storage projects in Belgium, including installations for construction company Aertssen to store renewable energy for equipment charging.
Steven Meersman, Founder Director at Zenobē, commented: “We not only offer financial backing but also provide the expert guidance necessary to empower fleet operators to switch to electric. This new facility will help us to make the cleaner option even more financially competitive – reducing any perceived green premiums and in some cases even achieving green discounts.”
The debt facility positions Zenobē for significant expansion of its European footprint, building on its existing position as the largest owner and operator of EV buses in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. The company currently manages 430MW of battery storage in operation or under construction, with 1.2GW of advanced development projects aiming for approximately 20 per cent UK market share by 2026.
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