Egg has bought the solar car park construction arm of 3ti Energy Hubs, as the company expands its ambitions to deliver integrated solar, storage and EV charging infrastructure across the UK.
The deal hands the Liberty Global-backed clean-energy specialist an enterprise pipeline of live projects, proprietary design software, intellectual property and a dedicated team of solar carport engineers. 3ti’s portfolio has already generated more than 20 GWh of electricity, and Egg believes the extra capacity will let it scale quickly into the fast-growing solar-car-park market.
Why solar car parks are set to be hot
Solar car parks (or carports) combine a shelter for vehicles with a rooftop PV array, creating a fresh source of on-site green power while giving drivers welcome shade. These systems are already mandated in several countries, including France. That’s where Europe’s largest example can be found, in the form of the Disneyland Paris car park, which is now covered in solar canopies that can produce 31 GWh of electricity a year.
There have been calls for the UK to follow France’s lead by mandating solar car parks, and this is something currently under consideration by the Government, following a consultation period that ended last month. Given the recent heat wave in the UK, a new solar car park mandate would have a dual purpose of providing shade to vehicles, while also helping the UK reduce its carbon emissions from the electricity it generates. If the mandate goes ahead, it’ll also significantly boost the business that Egg’s newly acquired division will be doing.
Paul Almond, Director of B2B at Egg, said, “This acquisition lays the foundation for growth in a hugely relevant market. Car parks represent a major untapped energy resource, but complexity and capital costs often delay progress. We now have advanced software that lets us quickly design solar car port layouts, calculate expected generation and CO₂ savings, and combine this insight with our financing solutions to build compelling business cases in minutes.”
The software Almond references originates from 3ti and streamlines every stage of a solar car park project, from concept drawings to performance forecasts. Bringing that tool in-house, together with the developers who built it, lets Egg promise customers faster feasibility studies and clearer return-on-investment calculations.
For 3ti, the sale frees up resources to focus on its Papilio3 rapid-charging hub – an all-in-one containerised EV charger designed for sites where network capacity is constrained.
“This strategic move represents a pivotal moment for 3ti as we focus our resources on what we do best – delivering rapid, reliable EV charging solutions through our patented Papilio3 technology,” said Alex Tupman, CEO of 3ti.
“Egg’s backing from Liberty Global and their experience in the clean energy sector makes them the perfect partner to continue serving our enterprise solar car park clients.”
What happens next
Egg already offers rooftop solar, battery storage and domestic EV charging solutions. Adding solar car ports gives the company another route to aggregate on-site generation and vehicle charging.
The two companies will also continue to work together where technologies overlap, ensuring existing customers experience no break in service. In practice, that means Egg will take on design and build responsibilities for solar car ports, while 3ti concentrates on rolling out Papilio3 chargers – often on the same sites.
