The course has been set for electromobility. Recent political decisions predict a highly dynamic market ramp-up, which is already reflected in a significant increase in new registrations. However, expanding the urgently needed charging infrastructure is often a lengthy and difficult process for tenants and homeowners. The ELEMENT research project, funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Protection, has been working since last fall on a holistic solution that puts users, electromobility and sustainability in a common context. The aim is to develop an intelligent overall system for the real estate industry in order to make charging infrastructure accessible to everyone while keeping the impact on the power grid as low as possible.

The energy transition is also a question of the interaction between the various elements of the energy system. Under the consortium leadership of Die Stadtfelder Wohnungsgenossenschaft, two Magdeburg sites are each being equipped with charging infrastructure, a photovoltaic system, battery storage and a hydrogen block-type thermal power station. The green electricity generated on site will be consumed at the sites themselves, temporarily stored and used to charge electric vehicles.

The consortium’s first milestone meeting on 12 May 2022 in Magdeburg marked a turning point: while the system concept was developed in the first project phase and is about to be implemented, the focus is now on developing suitable optimization approaches. For example, tenants will be able to determine various parameters such as charging requirements and charging times themselves, while an incentive system will encourage grid-friendly and solidarity-based charging.

“As the real estate industry’s partner for charging solutions, we are delighted to be taking part in the project, as the sector urgently needs new impetus when it comes to charging infrastructure,” explains Moritz Matthies, Managing Director of GETEC mobility solutions. “Especially in rental apartments, there is an absolute need to catch up when it comes to charging infrastructure. The exciting thing about ELEMENT for us is that the project takes such a holistic approach that also focuses on the important issue of grid stability,” Matthies continues.

The project name ELEMENT stands for “Energy management system for the controlled charging of electric vehicles in multi-party buildings, also using self-generated electricity to reduce the cost of grid expansion”.

In addition to GETEC mobility solutions GmbH the Chair of Innovation and Financial Management at Otto von Guericke University Magdeburg, the Institute for Automation and Communication (ifak), the start-up DiLiCo engineering GmbH, Netze Magdeburg GmbH and Die Stadtfelder Wohnungsgenossenschaft are contributing their experience and areas of expertise to the project.

The GETEC mobility solutions GmbH (GMS) supports property owners and managers in the development and integration of economically effective and scalable electromobility solutions. As an innovative part of the GETEC Group, which operates throughout Germany, GMS offers a unique range of services from mobility to complex energy management solutions.