The CEOs of Atlante, Electra, Fastned and IONITY - all major European ‘pure-player’ companies dedicated to EV charging - confirmed the collaboration this week at the Cercle de l'Union Interalliée in Paris.
The partners say the aim of the Spark Alliance is to create one seamless charging network, simplifying the experience and making EV ownership easier than ever.
They add that the Spark Alliance directly tackles the key challenges faced by EV owners today. Finding the best public chargers in the maze of different operators, apps, and pricing structures can be overwhelming, and successfully completing a charging session often requires downloading a new app or inputting a new payment method.
"The Spark Alliance will solve this confusion. EV drivers will soon be able to seamlessly access, charge and pay at any of over 1,700 Spark Alliance member stations, with simple and transparent prices - regardless of their EV’s brand or model. To do so, they can simply use their favorite charge point operator’s app, without the need to download a new one," the four companies said in a joint statement.
Drivers can go to any member’s charging station and use any of the other members’ apps to start and pay for their charging session. The partners say this applies seamlessly across all four companies, creating a unified, open network for all EV drivers.
Spark Alliance members will display their own stations in their app’s route planners, and also those of fellow members. This will make it easier than ever to find one of the members' combined 11,000 charging points across 25 European countries, all supplying 100% renewable power.
The statement added: "The Spark Alliance represents a major step forward in driver confidence and a pivotal change in the charging industry. This groundbreaking collaboration paves the way for the democratization of EV charging in public, setting the standards for mass adoption of EVs in Europe."
