Electrifying Europe

Featuring Bart Lubbers from Fastned

Episode 11 of the Building the Dream podcast, hosted by Leopold van Oosten, titled "Electrifying Europe" was published on March 28, 2025 and runs 74 minutes.

March 28, 2025 ·74m · Building the Dream

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Summary

In this 11th episode of Building the Dream, my co-host Gideon van Kleij and I had a conversation with Bart Lubbers, co-founder of Fastned – Europe’s fast-charging network for electric vehicles, fully powered by 100% renewable energy.Bart shares the full story: from bootstrapping Fastned with 200 highway locations and zero capital, to growing it into a 350+ station network across Europe with €100M+ in annual revenue.We talked about:How Bart and his co-founder turned a bold idea into reality – starting with nothing but timing and belief.Why infrastructure is really about location, and how they secured public land along highways.Building a mission-first company culture that prioritizes kindness, vision, and accountability.Raising capital from everyday investors through bonds instead of traditional VC.How Fastned navigates grid congestion, public regulation, and geopolitical headwinds.What’s ahead: scaling to 1,000 stations by 2030, entering new countries, and staying focused on long-term impact.Bart also reflects on his earlier ventures, including Metro Holland, and lessons learned from his father – former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers – on leadership, dreaming big, and building trust.An inspiring and pragmatic episode for any founder building infrastructure, impact, or both! 🎧 Listen now. This Episode is recorded in Dutch.

Episode Description

Bart shares the full story: from bootstrapping Fastned with 200 highway locations and zero capital, to growing it into a 350+ station network across Europe with €100M+ in annual revenue.

We talked about:

How Bart and his co-founder turned a bold idea into reality – starting with nothing but timing and belief.
Why infrastructure is really about location, and how they secured public land along highways.
Building a mission-first company culture that prioritizes kindness, vision, and accountability.
Raising capital from everyday investors through bonds instead of traditional VC.
How Fastned navigates grid congestion, public regulation, and geopolitical headwinds.
What’s ahead: scaling to 1,000 stations by 2030, entering new countries, and staying focused on long-term impact.

Bart also reflects on his earlier ventures, including Metro Holland, and lessons learned from his father – former Dutch Prime Minister Ruud Lubbers – on leadership, dreaming big, and building trust.

An inspiring and pragmatic episode for any founder building infrastructure, impact, or both!

🎧 Listen now. This Episode is recorded in Dutch.