E.ON’s international electromobility network is growing. The company acquires a stake in Virta, a Finnish developer and supplier of IT systems for charging electric cars. A group of Finnish Energy companies led by Helen have grown Virta. Together with Helen E.ON holds now the majority.
Virta is one of the international technology leaders in both individual billing and control of charging processes. In particular the Finns want to provide an answer to increased fluctuations in the energy system caused by the growth of renewable energies via steering EV-charging (e.g., load management, vehicle-to-grid technologies). For this, the software platform optimizes the energy flow behind the charging stations, avoids energy peaks, reduces costs, and enables extra profits for auxiliary grid services for vehicle owners. This is particularly important for the conversion of public and commercial vehicle fleets to electric mobility.
“The future of mobility will to a large extent be IT-driven. With our stake in Virta, we belong to a small group of companies with access to development expertise. In this way, we can help shape the future of mobility,” says Frank Meyer, Senior Vice President B2C Solutions, E-Mobility & Innovation at E.ON.
At the working level, E.ON and Virta have been cooperating since the beginning of the year. The E.ON Drive charging network in Europe already uses Virta’s digital platform in markets from Romania to Norway. In addition, the companies are conducting commercialization of bi-directional charging, where electricity from the car battery can flow back into the grid. The common goals of E.ON and Virta are to make it easy for private and business customers to switch to electric mobility and to develop smart charging into the industry standard in Europe.
