Phoenix Contact Smart Business GmbH (a wholly owned subsidiary of Phoenix Contact) and Telekom Deutschland GmbH are pooling their expertise in the development of e-charging solutions for company cars. The focus of the partnership is the e-mobility service “Charge Repay”. The overall solution consists of pre-checking and installation by experienced Telekom technicians and the Charge Repay Service from Phoenix Contact, which customers can use to settle the charging costs with their employer in a legally compliant manner.
The solution enables existing wallboxes to be retrofitted. This means that wallbox models that are already installed in employees’ homes do not need to be replaced. They can be retrofitted for simple, fully automated and and calibration law-compliant billing of electric company vehicles. This solution is unique on the market.
“More and more companies are converting their company car fleets partially or completely to electric vehicles. However, due to the heterogeneous wallbox landscape, billing for company cars charged at home is problematic. Company car drivers who want to charge their vehicle at the home wallbox usually have to request reimbursement of the costs for the charged energy from their employer manually and without legal certainty. This is prone to errors and causes costs for employees and fleet management,” explains Mathias Weßelmann, General Manager of Phoenix Contact Smart Business. “Together with Deutsche Telekom, we are simplifying the expansion and conversion of an infrastructure for billing home charging processes.”
Phoenix Contact provides the Smart Service, the scalable e-mobility service, Charge Repay. With its nationwide network of certified electrical engineers, Telekom is responsible for setting up the new service and installing the Charge Repay gateway including SIM card. The data is reliably transmitted to the Phoenix Contact Smart Business billing service via the Telekom network.
Both companies have been active in the e-mobility market for more than ten years with a focus on charging infrastructure. The combination of both competencies represents a unique selling point in the market. Further synergies and expertise will be bundled as part of the partnership with the aim of providing the best possible Charge@Home experience for customers.
“For digitalization to become part of everyday corporate life, innovation must be application-oriented and easy to integrate,” says Klaus Werner, General Manager Business Customers at Telekom Deutschland GmbH. “Our joint charging solution with Phoenix Contact is a good example of this and a clear win-win situation for employees and employers. In this way, we are not only promoting digitalization, but also making a contribution to the attractiveness of sustainable mobility.”
The Charge Repay Service, which is at the heart of the initial phase of the partnership, collects billing-relevant data from home charging stations and enables kWh-accurate billing of the electric company car’s charging processes at home. This enables billing in compliance with calibration law, regardless of the home charging station. From onboarding to billing, the company car driver is guided through an automated process by the web app and does not need to worry about anything else.
The employer’s fleet management receives an overview of the business charging processes. If desired, the reimbursement to employees is carried out fully automatically via the service. The company car drivers get an overview of their charging processes and reimbursements in the intuitively designed web app at all times. You have the option of distinguishing between private and business charging processes and recording other data, such as the electricity price or the vehicle’s mileage.
The Phoenix Contact Group based in Blomberg has been a leading component and solution provider in the industry for more than a hundred years and is known for its high-quality standards. In this context, the cloud and data analytics experts at the Phoenix Contact Smart Business subsidiary are successfully developing scalable cloud services for industry, as well as for the mobility sector with a focus on charging infrastructure.
As the market leader for business customers in Germany, Telekom Deutschland provides services for software-based, secure and globally available fixed and mobile networks. The portfolio also includes services for cyber security, the Internet of Things (IoT) and applications for digitalization. The team supports small and medium-sized companies in their digitalization and builds on partnerships with leading technology providers.
The partnership was announced as part of Digital X, Europe’s leading digitalization initiative. The format of Deutsche Telekom strives for innovation and inspiration and relies on the strength that comes from a network and the exchange of ideas. Mehr Informationen: www.phoenixcontact.com ; https://charge-repay.io/
About Phoenix Contact Smart Business
Under the global family brand, Phoenix Contact offers innovative products, solutions and digitalization expertise for the electrification, networking and automation of all sectors of the economy and infrastructure. Thus, the family-run company enables industry and society to transform into a sustainable world with long-term growth prospects for all. The group of companies currently employs around 21,700 people worldwide and generated sales of € 3.4 billion in 2023. Phoenix Contact Smart Business is a wholly owned subsidiary of the group and develops application-oriented cloud services for industry as well as e-mobility services. More information: www.phoenixcontact.com ; https://charge-repay.io/
About Deutsche Telekom
With around 252 million mobile customers, 25 million fixed-line and 22 million broadband connections, Deutsche Telekom is one of the world’s leading integrated telecommunications companies.
The group offers products and services in the areas of fixed-line/broadband, mobile communications, Internet and Internet TV for private customers as well as information and communications technology solutions for large and business customers. More information: www.telekom.com/konzernprofil
