ChargeEuropa CEO: “Advertising earns six times more than EV charging”

While traditional charging stations rely on electric vehicles (EVs) to generate revenue, ChargeEuropa’s do not.

This Poland-based charge point operator (CPO) achieves profitability by integrating DOOH technology and offering multimedia services to some of the world’s leading brands, including NETFLIX, BMW, Bolt, Stellantis, and OSHEE.

By strategically placing its stations in high-traffic locations — such as shopping centres, food courts, office complexes, and on-street car parks — its advertising content reaches up to 20 million people per month.

To learn more about the company’s strategy, Mobility Portal speaks with Matt Tymowski, CEO of ChargeEuropa.

What is ChargeEuropa’s main differentiator?

One thing that makes us special and truly unique is the fact that we are vertically integrated.

This means we design and manufacture the stations we then deploy and operate in the field.

Why did you choose to go down the manufacturing route?

We’re based in Poland where less than one per cent of the vehicle fleet is electric.

So, if we focused solely on EV charging, it would be difficult to generate sufficient revenue and keep the lights on.

That’s why we turned to manufacturing — to create an additional income stream.

Your stations feature large integrated digital screens…

Exactly — and that allows us to generate advertising revenue, which is fundamental to our business model. In general, it accounts for up to six times more than the income we get from charging.

The charging market is worth around €5 billion, whereas advertising exceeds €30 or even €35 billion.

It’s a giant when compared to the electric vehicle infrastructure business.

Regarding recent projects, you partnered with PKO Leasing. What does this partnership mean for your company?

It’s a great example of why ChargeEuropa developed a business model centred around advertising.

Any company looking to expand its network needs funding. Major players like Shell or BP can rely on internal capital, but for smaller firms like ours, the options are different: either raise equity by selling shares to investors or secure a bank loan.

The latter is preferable, as it’s non-dilutive capital — meaning you gain access to funds without giving up equity.

The challenge is that banks don’t fully trust revenue from electric vehicle charging yet, as it’s a relatively new industry with only about 20 years of transaction history.

By contrast, advertising has been around for over a century and is seen as a stable sector…

That’s why we leverage the advertising side of our business to work with Poland’s leading financial institutions.

The most notable has been PKO, which provided funding for the CAPEX of our stations.

This financial support enables us to compete with large-scale players and continue growing successfully.

Few companies in the EV charging space are able to secure bank financing, as most don’t have an additional and reliable revenue stream like advertising.

You are currently active only in Poland. Are there plans to expand into other markets?

Yes. Many of our current locations are in major supermarket chains such as Auchan or Biedronka. While these may not be well known internationally, they have a strong local presence.

We also work with global brands like Burger King, which operates not only in Poland but also in countries like the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Romania. These partnerships open the door for us to replicate our model in new markets by leveraging existing relationships.

If we’re working with Burger King in Poland, the plan is to do the same in neighbouring countries.

What do you see as the main demands from EV users today?

Without a doubt, what our users value most is simplicity — not having to download an app to charge. They can simply tap their phone or credit card and pay via contactless technology.

This ease of use has proven extremely convenient and is clearly becoming a trend.

Another key point is integration with local businesses. For instance, if a station is located outside a supermarket, users might receive a discount if they charge their car and then shop in-store.

Drivers tend to look for added benefits, and our goal is to make the experience as seamless as possible. Convenience remains our top priority.

What are ChargeEuropa’s main objectives for the coming year?

Everyone in the industry talks about growth and installing hundreds of stations. We aim for expansion as well, but with a different approach.

The current trend in EV infrastructure is towards higher power, more units, larger hubs. That makes sense on motorways — but not in cities.

ChargeEuropa operates in urban environments, where the logic is different.

We want to prove that ultra-fast stations aren’t always necessary for efficiency. Our devices provide 60 to 90 kilowatts (kW), which is more than enough for the settings in which we operate.

And we don’t believe every site needs ten units either; one or two can be perfectly sufficient when the model is designed to be sustainable.

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