How to Transfer Expertise to a New Market
Interview with Dr. Hannes Schwarz, Project Leader of msu solutions GmbH
As a billing specialist for the energy and water sectors, msu solutions GmbH has made a name for itself throughout the German-speaking area for 20 years. Seven years ago, it entered the growth market of e-mobility and developed m8mit, a mobility network for the energy, transport, and real estate sectors, which is intended to be extended to Europe in the coming years.
msu solutions is a billing specialist for the energy and water sector. The company, with locations in Halle, Erfurt, and Emsdetten, provides services in the areas of consumption billing, financial and accounting, asset accounting, and project management for municipal utilities, water and sewage associations, and public law institutions in German-speaking areas.
In addition, msu solutions is active in the growth market of e-mobility with its own brand, m8mit. m8mit is a mobility network for the energy, transportation, and real estate industries, and includes a cloud platform with a web portal and app for billing e-mobility, fleet management, car sharing, parking space management, and other transportation options.
"In 2017, e-mobility emerged as a new field of business," explains project manager Dr. Hannes Schwarz, who has completed his doctorate on the optimization of decentralized energy systems and helped to establish the e-mobility sector. "E-mobility is an important part for our mobility, especially in urban areas. However, we are fundamentally open to technology, for example, also for hydrogen." m8mit offers billing solutions for registered customers with a charging card, but also for ad-hoc customers who can pay via PayPal, credit card, SMS, or mobile phone bill.
Strong Alliance
msu solutions has always thought of e-mobility in an integrated consortium to provide operators with a unified system. For example, it cooperates with Stromnetz Hamburg, one of the pioneers in the field of e-mobility. "We combine many different partners with extensive know-how on modern mobility," says Dr. Schwarz, from whose perspective charging in public spaces should no longer pose a problem. "The challenge lies with tenants, as the owner must install the charging infrastructure."
In April, the Charging Stations Ordinance will be replaced by the European AFIR Regulation (Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation), after which installations over 50 kW will have to be equipped with a credit card terminal. "This is a challenge for many operators," says Dr. Schwarz. Since msu solutions comes from the billing sector, it significantly distinguishes itself from the market. "Our expertise lies in automated billing processes including audit-proof financial accounting." In addition, with expertise in billing, we bring various tariffing options for customers, an all-in-one solution for fleet operators and company car owners, including the m8mit app for charging station and user management as well as budget and performance monitoring.
"We offer one of the best complete solutions for e-mobility in the entire DACH region," says Dr. Schwarz. We plan to place the m8mit system throughout Europe this year, as Dr. Schwarz explains. "Technologically, this is not a problem, but regulatory implementation is difficult. However, we will be able to make this possible in the coming years."