The future of e-mobility is being shaped in Bayreuth

It took Marius Körlin and Tom Hillgruber, both students of industrial engineering at the University of Bayreuth, only eight months of preparation time to found eLadeinfrastruktur GmbH with the company Richter R&W Steuerungstechnik GmbH from Ahorntal. They were supported by the start-up consultancy of the Institute for Entrepreneurship & Innovation at the University of Bayreuth. The young company was launched in June.

"The number of registrations, subsidies, and models in the field of electromobility has been rising steadily for months. However, the number of charging options is still lagging behind significantly. We aim to change that," explains Marius Körlin. Since the issue of charging infrastructure is very complex and constantly growing in urgency, there is a need for specialists to make the right connections at the interface of automotive and energy supply companies, and provide a comprehensive offering of advice, planning, installation, and competent service. "This is where eLadeinfrastruktur GmbH comes in to the picture.

The picture above shows from left: Roland Regus and Bernd Zeilmann, Managing Directors of Richter R&W Steuerungstechnik GmbH, Marius Körlin and Tom Hillgruber, Managing Directors of Bayreuth eLadeinfrastruktur GmbH.

The Bavarian Minister for European Affairs, Melanie Huml, says:

Starting a business while studying is ideal for both students, as their current living expenses and risk are low, while the range of advice and support offered by the University is very broad. "Dr. Andreas Kokott from the start-up consultancy of the Institute for Entrepreneurship and Innovation introduced us to Bernd Zeilmann from Richter R&W Steuerungstechnik GmbH - the perfect match! We have common goals and visions," says Körlin. "We are three people with different profiles, who together make an unbeatable team," adds Hillgruber. Bernd Zeilmann, Head of Guild , is just as enthusiastic about the unique constellation of partners, which brings together experience, competence, and know-how with economic, market-oriented, and innovative thinking.

The newly-founded eLadeinfrastruktur GmbH advises private customers on individual and commercial solutions. For commercial customers, the focus is on comprehensive consulting, which often includes fleet and profitability analyses and the development of use cases. In order to be able to use electric cars for energy storage, the demand for networked charging points in the private and commercial sectors is set to increase exponentially, according to the founders' assessment.

The installation of so-called wallboxes for charging vehicles at home is always an individual matter. "Is the domestic connection’s power rating high enough, or will load management need to be implemented? Will the house connection have to be supplemented? Would it be worth installing an additional photovoltaic system or to network the existing one with the wallbox for intelligent surplus charging? These are the classic questions that arise when purchasing electric vehicles and where we have identified a need for advice among customers," explains Tom Hillgruber. In practical terms, as soon as the demand situation has been clarified, we will also deal with minor details such as the planning of sub-distribution, the extension of the distribution box, the coordination of the installation route, the selection of the installation site, and much more. "The goal is to provide a transparent and fairly-priced offering to make it easier for as many people as possible to switch to electric mobility. Moreover, the installation and subsequent support is also carried out by the company itself and not outsourced to subcontractors," say the young entrepreneurs.