Eon can check whether the technology of the new subsidiary works in front of its own headquarters in Essen. The start-up Grid X has set up an energy management system there. This should help to intelligently charge electric cars in the parking lot: If the glass office building requires little electricity, the system lets more batteries “fill up” at the same time – or with a higher output. Of course, all of this also works the other way around. And “almost in real time,” as Eon emphasizes.
The technology seems to have done Germany’s largest energy supplier so much that it is now taking over the majority of Grid X. Eon communicated that. Because the number of e-cars in this country is gradually increasing – and with it the demand for smart charging systems. Ideally, as many batteries as possible should be charged when a lot of green electricity is available: for example, during stormy night hours or on sunny weekend days.
Grid X is one of the many start-ups that the university location Aachen has produced. After it was founded in 2016, Grid X found several investors and well-known customers such as the heating manufacturer Viessmann or Eon. Most recently, Grid X generated annual sales of a few million euros with around 70 employees. Eon does not want to comment on the financial details of the takeover. Only the Grid-X founders David Balensiefen and Andreas Booke should remain involved in the company as minority owners.
Eon is making progress with the new subsidiary on the way “to the decentralized and, above all, digital energy world,” says head of strategy Thomas Birr. Instead of large coal and nuclear power plants, more and more wind turbines and solar cells are generating electricity – with all the fluctuations that go with it. Gradually, more houses are using photovoltaics to supply themselves with energy – or they are charging the aforementioned e-cars. In connection with Grid X, Eon wants to sell more energy management systems for houses or entire neighborhoods against this background.
The Dax group largely made its own departure from large power plants a few years ago: through the sale of its subsidiary Uniper and a billion-dollar swap with rival RWE. Since then, Eon has been almost exclusively a network and sales company for electricity and gas. CEO Leo Birnbaum describes Eon as an “infrastructure company” that is connecting more and more wind turbines and solar systems, but also charging stations, to the grid.
Nonetheless, Eon is far from the records of yesteryear on the stock market. The share price has been between eight and eleven euros per share for several years. On Friday, Eon temporarily lost just under one percent of its market value.