02 May 2023: BMW Group and E.ON have announced their first ever pan-European collaboration to develop a comprehensive home charging solution for their electric vehicles. The collaboration aims to establish an integrated ecosystem known as ‘Connected Home Charging’, which will enable customers to link their BMW or MINI electric cars to their home energy systems, assisting in developing a sustainable, climate neutral household. The BMW Group and E.ON’s joint initiative seeks to unlock the vast potential of electric vehicles for the transition to fully green energy usage. This unique cross sector partnership aims to provide a seamless, efficient, and eco-friendly charging experience for EV users.
The collaboration will primarily centre around home charging, which currently represents and will remain the primary use case for charging electric vehicles. To enhance the home charging experience, E.ON and the BMW Group are jointly developing a comprehensive ecosystem that will integrate three distinct and previously disparate systems: electric vehicles from BMW Group, smart homes belonging to customers, and the energy market.
In a joint press release by E.ON and BMW Group, Frank Weber, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Development stated that, “BMW represents the ‘Ultimate Electric Driving Machine’. But for us, e-mobility is much more than electric driving: green energy, sustainably-sourced raw materials, charging, recycling – we are driving all these key factors forward at the same time. Together with E.ON, we will make the car an intelligent element of the smart home. This will bring more balance to the private energy ecosystem, with lower costs and an improved carbon footprint, and will enable smart integration into the energy market in the future.”
Starting from the second half of 2023, the ‘Connected Home Charging’ system will be launched as the first customer offering in multiple European countries. This offering will include a complete hardware and networking solution as a unified package. Beyond added convenience, the development and implementation of this ecosystem will also provide customers with the potential to reduce costs, enhance self-sufficiency, and optimise their carbon footprint. In addition, the cooperation aims to establish the essential prerequisites for implementing bidirectional charging in the future.
The collaboration between BMW and E.ON to develop an ecosystem for smart charging is a promising step towards a sustainable and efficient electric vehicle infrastructure. By integrating renewable energy sources, battery storage, and intelligent charging solutions, this ecosystem has the potential to provide cost savings for EV owners.
