Royal Dutch Shell is buying the California-headquartered electric vehicle charging and software company Greenlots, the companies said Wednesday.
Why it matters: It's the latest sign of multinational oil-and-gas giants increasingly investing in the EV charging and battery space.
What they're saying: "Together, the companies will offer best in class software and services that enable large-scale deployment of smart charging infrastructure and integrate efficiently with advanced energy resources like solar, wind and power storage," the companies said in a joint statement.
- The companies did not disclose the size of the deal, which is focused on U.S. operations.
- Greenlots will be a subsidiary of Shell New Energies U.S., but "Greenlots will retain its brand identity and leadership team," the announcement states.
The big picture: Oil majors, especially the European-headquartered players, have made a suite of moves in EV charging and related tech in recent years, including:
- Shell's 2017 purchase of the European charging company NewMotion.
- Total's 2018 acquisition of the charging firm G2mobility.
- Last year, BP bought the U.K. charging network Chargemaster.
- U.S.-based Chevron is among the investors in ChargePoint.
The bottom line: It's part of the industry's wider diversification into renewables and low-carbon tech, even though oil-and-gas remains the overwhelming majority of their portfolios.
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