A new partnership between E.ON and ALD Automotive will see Europeans getting EV charging so smart it will fill up your boss’ car before yours. The fleet-vehicle charging systems being planned as part of the collaboration will also make sure electric vehicles that are needed urgently get priority charging, said Markus Nitschke, E.ON spokesperson for e-mobility. “The customer can define, for every single car, a hierarchy of charging,” he promised. “Our software will manage this.” The utility’s E.ON Drive smart charging systems will run on software developed by the Finnish company Virta. They will even let you charge your company car at home using a rate negotiated by your employer, Nitschke told GTM. The charging stations will avoid peak charging and grid congestion by integrating large-scale batteries for renewable energy storage, he added. These batteries, along with those within the EVs connected to the charging systems, will be able to make money by selling energy back to the grid.

At the same time, E.ON is studying the feasibility of using secondhand EV fleet batteries for large-scale energy systems. “Currently we are running a project with used EV batteries at the university in Aachen, [Germany]” Nitschke said. “After evaluating the results, we will know if there is a business model.” A new strategic partnership E.ON announced its alliance with ALD Automotive, a full-service leasing and fleet management services company operating across 43 countries, earlier this month. The two companies said the strategic partnership is aimed at jointly developing and marketing digital enhanced mobility, financing and energy services for corporations, municipalities and private customers in Europe. The joint offering will include consultancy and planning, installation, and the operations and maintenance of charging infrastructure, E.ON said. One of the first fruits of […]