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Finnish-based DC fast charger designer and manufacturer, Kempower, has seen strong growth in the last few years. Founded in 2017, the company has expanded from the Nordic region to North America and Europe and is beginning to enter Asian markets.
Kempower listed on the First North Growth Market Finland in 2021 raising EUR87 million (USD96 million), in June this year the company upgraded its listing to begin trading on the NASDAQ Helsinki. This listing upgrade is a testament to the growth it has seen over the past four years. However, in recent months, the apparent success of its expansion has been mixed with financial difficulties.
Kempower’s technology
Kempower manufactures DC charging solutions ranging from 100 to 600kW+ for passenger vehicles as well as heavy-duty vehicles. Towards the end of 2023, the company launched its Megawatt Charging System (MCS) for electric trucks, with a top charging capacity of 1.2MW. Operating across a range of vehicle segments, Kempower is well-positioned as a charging manufacturer for growth.
Kempower’s expansion into North America and Europe
In early 2024, Kempower secured a multi-year contract to supply fast chargers in California after receiving ETL certification for NEVI-compliant chargers in late 2023. By June, the company opened its first North American factory to scale production, and in August, it obtained California Type Evaluation Program (CTEP) certification for its EV chargers, strengthening its regional presence.
In Europe, Kempower formed a strategic partnership with TurboVolt, an Austrian charging infrastructure firm, to deploy its fast chargers across Slovenia and Croatia in June this year. In August it joined forces with Storm and Q8 to launch a high-power charging (HPC) network in Belgium, with plans to equip 200 sites over five years, activating 40 locations annually.
As well as this it has also been expanding its heavy-duty charging, through its Finnish “Heavy Electric Traffic Ecosystem” which received significant financial backing from the local government in February 2024. Additionally, it has partnered with Norwegian CPO, Fastcharge, and DFDS to establish heavy-duty charging infrastructure in Norway and parts of northern Europe respectively.
An expansion in addition to financial difficulty
Although the company’s expansion is promising, market conditions have proved difficult. In the company’s recent earnings call, it posted weak H1 performance, with revenue down 22% year-on-year and operating at a 20% loss.
Demand for DC chargers has been lower than anticipated. It acknowledged that a component shortage as a result of COVID-19 created a higher-than-normal demand for charging solutions. This combined with limited grid connectivity slowing down the rollout of charging infrastructure has negatively impacted its sales and hence worsened revenues. Poor growth in the market has led to a build-up of excess inventory with its customers further slowing Kempower’s sales.
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The insolvency filing of Tritium earlier this year, a key player in the charging equipment space, underscored the challenges of operating in this sector. Although Kempower is experiencing financial difficulties the company remains optimistic about the future. Its new customer acquisition has continued to grow but this has not yet been able to offset the decline in orders from existing customers. Most likely Kempower will not turn a profit this year however, as the industry continues to mature the company is set to benefit from it, provided it can navigate this time of difficulty.
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Sources: Kempower, Kempower, Kempower, Kempower
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