Austrian Post is the leading logistics and postal service provider in the country. In order to switch to a fully electric fleet by 2030, they needed the corresponding charging infrastructure, as well as a smart energy management system to make it feasible.
As a forward-thinking postal and logistics company, Austrian Post realized the importance of guaranteeing sustainable delivery by transitioning to a fully electric fleet by 2030. This involved replacing their entire fleet, as well as installing over 8,000 electric vehicle charging stations. An additional challenge, however, was the added electricity demand from charging fleets and the added strain on the grid.
Rather than undergoing expensive grid extensions, Austrian Post chose to rely on XENON for a dynamic load management solution, which intelligently controls charging processes and prevents overloads to ensure that operations are not interrupted. XENON's modular architecture allowed the seamless integration of the existing charging stations, in cooperation with the manufacturers, directly on site within just one week. This meant that all systems were compatible with XENON and charging processes could be optimized across all charge points.
The charging requirements for logistics differs from many other use cases. Because most electric vehicles are used throughout the day, the EV charging stations are effectively all occupied at night. Robust local connections ensure that no network outages affect charging and thus cannot jeapardize the tours for the following day.
In addition, the limited availability of electricity and high charging requirements of many of the delivery trucks – at least 6 amps on average – not all vehicles can be charged at the same time. Our XENON platform, in combination with the Grid Protector module, allows users to define their own charging strategy to meet individual needs. Austrian Post was able to define a sequential charging strategy that ensures each car is sufficiently charged overnight. This guarantees that the entire electric fleet is always ready to complete the next day's tour.
The Stuttgart-based charging infrastructure specialist plans, installs and operates holistic charging solutions. To be able to offer their customers the full spectrum of services, they rely on our XENON platform.
As electric vehicle adoption accelerates, grids face increasing pressure while electric vehicle (EV) owners look for simple ways to reduce charging costs and use the flexibility of their vehicles to support a stable energy system – without the need to invest in additional assets such as rooftop solar.
With Slim Laden (Smart Charging), essent helps its customers charge their electric vehicles intelligently at home. Customers who participate and keep their EV plugged in for at least six hours can benefit from our flexibility solution and earn up to €300 per year through bonuses or reduced electricity costs. All without changing their daily routine.
At the heart of the proposition is automated energy optimization. Charging processes are shifted to the most cost-efficient hours based on day-ahead electricity prices, ensuring that EVs are charged when electricity is cheapest and the energy system is under less strain.
To deliver this proposition at scale, essent relies on gridX’s advanced energy management system. The platform connects, monitors and controls electric vehicles via a cloud-to-cloud architecture, enabling seamless integration without additional hardware at the customer site.