Last checked at 
STOCKHOLM, Feb 1 (Reuters) - Shell is open topartnerships with carmakers to expand electric vehicle (EV)charging beyond its petrol stations, one of the oil major'sexecutives said on Friday.
As part of efforts to compete with rival BP in thegrowing EV sector, Shell this week bought U.S. charger providerGreenlots - a supplier for Volvo and Volkswagen'sU.S. subsidiary as well as for utilities andresidential sites - for an undisclosed sum.
"We recognise that the customers are not just necessarilygoing to go to recharge just at retail sites, they're going towant to charge at work and home, so we're moving into thisspace," the executive vice president for Shell's New Energiesoperation, Mark Gainsborough, told Reuters.
Shell made its initial foray into electric mobility in 2017by acquiring NewMotion, the owner of one of Europe's largest EVcharging networks, and securing a supply deal with the IONITYjoint venture between BMW, Daimler, Fordand Volkswagen.
The International Energy Agency estimates that the number ofelectric cars on the road will increase to 125 million by 2030,boosting demand for chargers. There were almost 3 millionprivate chargers at homes and workplaces and about 430,000public chargers in 2017, it says.
Oil companies are growing increasingly aware of thepotential threat to parts of their downstream business from theelectrification of transport and Shell expects about a quarterof the world's car fleet to be electric by 2040.
Gainsborough said that EV charging is still a "small" marketopportunity and it was investing less in the area than in someother new-energy solutions such as renewable power generation.
"It's difficult to be specific on how much we will investbecause the market is so young. But if we see EV charginggrowing and the opportunities growing faster, we're ready todirect more of our investment into that."
Shell is also talking to vehicle makers as potentialcustomers or partners on EV charging infrastructure,Gainsborough said
"We talk to all of the auto manufacturers ... They're allpotential customers and partners for us ... This is a spacewhere we will have lots of partnerships, they won't always beexclusive," he said.
"For the most part it's difficult to have fully exclusiverelationships and the industry will develop through partnershipsand consortiums involving several manufacturers that worktogether for fast charging."
(Reporting by Esha Vaish in StockholmEditing by David Goodman)
