The Electric Vehicle Charging Infrastructure Equity UCITS ETF (LSE:ELEC) is launching in London and other European stock markets to allow investors to track the growth of electric vehicle charging equipment and charging stations.
Providing exposure to listed firms that have their main field of business in the development and construction of electric vehicle charging infrastructure, the ELEC fund will track the Solactive EV Charging Infrastructure Index and be managed by HANetf.
The index is composed of two sub-industries: battery charging equipment manufacturing and electric vehicle charging stations.
Companies in the equipment segment include Blink Charging Co (NASDAQ:BLNK), Wallbox NV (NYSE:WBX) and Beam Global (NASDAQ:BEEM), with charging station specialists including ChargePoint Holdings (NYSE:CHPT) and EVgo (NASDAQ:EVGO).
The Solactive index also incorporates exclusionary ESG screens in its methodology that mean ELEC is classified as an Article 8 fund under the SFDR regulations, HANetf said.
Underpinning the launch of the ETF is the need for a large acceleration in the roll-out of charging stations in order to support the growth in demand for EVs.
With 130mln EVs forecast to be on European roads by 2035, compared with around three million now, the continent will need 65mln charging stations compared to 374,000 today, according to a report from EY earlier this year.
“Just as the growth of traditional cars in the 20th century required the building of gas and petrol stations, the electric car revolution in the 21st century will require abundant charging stations and home units,” said Hector McNeil, co-CEO and co-founder of HANetf.
“We are thrilled to be providing investors with a new thematic ETF to access this exciting growth area.”