Daimler AG is acquiring a minority interest in energy services company The Mobility House AG (TMH). As a provider of vehicle charging solutions and installation services and an operator of stationary battery storage units, Daimler says The Mobility House spans a bridge between the automotive industry and the energy sector.
With its strategic commitment Daimler is expanding existing cooperation activities with The Mobility House even further and is taking another important step forward in the implementation of “CASE” – in particular with regard to its new EQ product and technology brand, under which in future the company plans to focus its entire know-how in all aspects of electric mobility from Mercedes-Benz. EQ plans to offer a comprehensive electric mobility ecosystem comprising products, services, technologies and innovations. The spectrum ranges from electric vehicles and wallboxes to charging services and home energy storage units. The investment forms part of the latest round of financing entered into together with Japanese trading company Mitsui, and as such supplements its investments in the energy sector.
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A close business relationship has existed between Daimler and The Mobility House since as early as 2012. Since then, The Mobility House has been providing Mercedes-Benz electric vehicles and plug-in hybrid vehicles plus fleet operators a comprehensive service supporting the individual charging infrastructure. The two companies are also cooperating intensively in the field of stationary energy storage units and recently launched the world’s largest second-life battery storage unit to be connected to the grid as part of the joint venture Enbase Power GmbH.
Alongside innovative charging and energy storage solutions, the product portfolio from The Mobility House also includes projects in the area of Vehicle-to-Grid technology, which fleet operators in particular are set to benefit from in the future. The technology enables the integration of electric vehicles into the power grid as pooled swarm storage units comprising parked electric cars. “We are working towards an emission-free future. With our technology we are supporting the energy revolution and helping the electric car to make a breakthrough,” explains Thomas Raffeiner, founder and CEO of The Mobility House.
Daimler’s vision: to enable bi-directional use of vehicles connected to the power grid. Under this vision, electric cars would only charge when the grid is not overloaded. However, if the vehicle were to remain unused for a longer period while connected to a socket, if necessary power could be fed back to help absorb grid peaks. Dr. Frank Spennemann, at Daimler organisational unit CASE responsible for fleets charging solutions, sees a great deal of potential in integrating electric fleets into the power grid in particular: “Together with The Mobility House, we are working intensively on the integration of electric vehicles into the power grid. With an intelligent electricity charging network, not only can we charge vehicles in such a way that expensive peak loads are avoided, but we can also use the vehicle batteries to act as an ideal buffer for grid stabilisation, thus also providing fleet operators with monetary added value.”
Daimler says it continues to have its sights firmly set on smart charging solutions in the area of Vehicle-to-Grid.
