Rail freight operator CargoBeamer has raised 65 million euros in financing. The money will go to the construction of two terminals: one in Kaldenkirchen, Germany, the other in Domodossola, Italy. It is not the first capital raise over the past 12 months. Earlier, the company raised 140 million euros from shareholders and grants.
The 65 million euros come from Orion Infrastructure Capital (OIC). Part of it consists of equity financing, whereas the remainder comes from taking on debt. An earlier 50 million euros were raised from shareholders, and German and Swiss government institutions supported the company with 90 million euros for a total of 205 million euros in 12 months.
CargoBeamer is now looking to support the construction of two of its terminals in Kaldenkirchen and Domodossola with the money. The work is supposed to start in 2025 and finish by 2026. Once finished, the two terminals will bring the total number of CargoBeamer terminals in Europe up to three. The company already has a terminal in Calais, France.
Boosting the modal shift
“We are excited for our capital partnership with OIC, in which we have laid important cornerstones to make CargoBeamer the intermodal champion that drives the much-needed modal shift of freight from road to rail,” commented Nicolas Albrecht, CEO of CargoBeamer.
“From the first day, OIC has proven to be a visionary partner dedicated to help realising state-of-the-art infrastructure that allows to decarbonise land-based transportation in Europe. Our terminals in Kaldenkirchen and Domodossola are perfectly placed on the ends of the most-frequented intermodal corridor in Europe, and the unmatched density and speed of our rail connections in between will be instrumental in shifting freight to rail at scale.”
For its part, OIC had some kind words to say about CargoBeamer as well. “CargoBeamer’s proprietary technology will be instrumental to enabling the road to rail freight transition, which aligns with our objective to build cost-advantaged logistics solutions that also enhance decarbonisation efforts,” said Jeremy Glick, Investment Partner and Head of Infra Growth at OIC. “We are confident that CargoBeamer will drive the modal shift to rail in Europe with its two extremely innovative new intermodal terminals.”