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E-mobility in companies
Load management: 7 tips to get off to a good start
The number of fully electric vehicles in Germany is growing steadily. According to the Federal Motor Transport Authority (KBA), a total of 470,559 battery-powered electric vehicles, or BEVs for short, were registered in Germany in 2022 – an increase of 32% compared to the previous year. This means that Germany has passed the one-million electric vehicle mark. In this article, we explain why and how electromobility pays off, especially for companies, and what factors should be considered when selecting a load management system.
E-mobility? Yes, please!
The climate targets of the German government can only be reached if the mobility transition is a success. The boom in electric vehicles and the expansion of public charging stations are key building blocks of the energy transition. While charging used to be an essential reason for many people not to purchase an electric vehicle, this argument is becoming less and less relevant. The number of public charging points in Germany has seen a steep rise. According to the German Association of Energy and Water Industries (BDEW), there were almost 80,500 publicly accessible charging points in January 2023 – a rapid increase of 35% in just one year.
The continuously expanding charging infrastructure is one reason why the purchase of electric vehicles is becoming increasingly attractive both in the private sector and for companies.
Another reason is the funding scenario, offering a further financial incentive. Not only is money paid out for the purchase of electric vehicles, but the development of charging infrastructure is also subsidized by the state. In addition, vehicle tax is significantly lower for electric vehicles.
Funding for electromobility
To further increase the number of electric vehicles in Germany, funding and other incentives are still needed in order to ensure that both private individuals and companies can bear the relatively high purchase costs. Planned for the autumn, the funding program announced by Federal Transport Minister Wissing is thus a step in the right direction. It includes two components intended to accelerate the expansion of electromobility in private homes and businesses. Owners of all-electric vehicles will receive financial support to set up a self-supply solution in private residential buildings with a PV system, battery storage, and the necessary intelligence to manage the energy flows. The funding of such overall concepts is an important key factor in achieving the mobility transition. In addition, companies receive support in setting up a fast-charging infrastructure and the necessary grid connection. Here, too, the consideration of technologies for better utilization of the available grid capacities is an important building block for making the expansion future-proof.
Our tips for a profitable EV fleet
Charging at a wall box or charging station is convenient – whether at home, at a public charging station or at the workplace. E-mobility is becoming increasingly popular, not least in companies with their own fleets. If you rely on intelligent, dynamic load management solutions such as Lobas (Load Balancing System) when setting up a charging infrastructure, you can not only further reduce your costs, but also ensure optimally coordinated charging cycles within your fleet. For this reason, we recommend:
Avoid running costs
The focus is on using available resources as efficiently as possible with the aim of protecting the climate while acting economically at the same time. Running costs reduce profitability and thus the motivation of companies to push the mobility transition forward. They should therefore be avoided.
Rely on PV surplus charging
An EV fleet is particularly climate-friendly if renewable energies like solar power are used to charge the electric vehicles. A dynamic load management system that supports PV surplus charging in combination with bi-directional charging is a worthwhile investment for office buildings with solar power generation. Such a system is an equally sustainable and cost-effective way to supply the electrically powered vehicle fleet with energy from the building’s own PV system as soon as the building’s electricity needs are covered.
Pay attention to modular expandability
When setting up their charging infrastructure, companies that are making a gradual switch to e-mobility should ensure that the load management system they have selected will support a later expansion. This is the only way to avoid the need for a cost-intensive replanning and upgrading of the existing infrastructure should an expansion become necessary.
Ensure transparent billing
Whether it’s by way of a PV system or conventionally generated power: Transparent and fair cost accounting for the charging current consumed is always a must. To guarantee this, the dynamic load management solution must provide the data required for billing in a way that ensures compliance with calibration law – and this applies both to the charging processes of the company’s own fleet and to private electric vehicles.
Take a user-oriented approach
A user-friendly interface offers a further benefit. To ensure that even users with no affinity to technology can access the most important information and make settings on their own, the user interface for visualizing the current charging currents and their configuration must be designed to be user-friendly.
Choose solutions that can be integrated quickly
In addition to being easy to use, a dynamic load management solution should also be quick and uncomplicated to install. State-of-the-art systems like Lobas are manufacturer-independent and, with the aid of specialists, are easy and fast to integrate into both existing and newly installed charging infrastructures.
Make it possible for your employees to charge at home
Companies can increase their attractiveness as an employer brand by promoting electromobility both at work and in the private sphere and by providing their employees with electrically powered company cars. As with company vehicles with conventional combustion engines, companies can cover the costs of charging the batteries for electrically powered company vehicles – both at the company location and at the employee’s own home. Lobas makes it possible to track the amount of power charged outside work by employees and to bill it transparently by forwarding it to a backend.
Conclusion: E-mobility in companies as an essential component of the energy transition
If you consider the total number of vehicles registered in Germany at the end of 2022 (48.5 million), the proportion of alternative drive systems remains negligible. According to the KBA, fully electric vehicles account for 2.1%. When combined with hybrid, plug-in hybrid, and LPG and natural gas vehicles, the percentage grows to 7.8%. However, to achieve the 2030 climate targets of the German government, the share of electric vehicles in the overall market must reach 30% to 40%.
This means that there is still a lot to be done to make the energy and mobility transition happen.
Modern load management solutions like Lobas load management are in demand, which help to make e-mobility more economical and therefore more attractive, especially for companies. It must ultimately be easier for companies with their own vehicle fleet to switch to electric vehicles, as well as allowing flexibility and a significant cost savings.
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