The Mobility House sells its North American subsidiary
PowerFlex, the American subsidiary of EDF, is acquiring The Mobility House North America through a share swap: The American arm of The Mobility House will merge into PowerFlex, while the German technology company will become a minority shareholder in PowerFlex.
The restructuring phase at The Mobility House continues. We recently reported the completed sale of its fleet division, The Mobility House Solutions, to Edenred. Now movement is also occurring at its American subsidiary: PowerFlex is being acquired by a subsidiary of EDF’s offshoot, EDF Renewables North America. EDF itself is a French energy conglomerate. Meanwhile, through its investment in PowerFlex, The Mobility House remains indirectly present in North America as a new minority shareholder of PowerFlex.
"This merger combines a leading position in intelligent charging management for bus and fleet depots with a comprehensive platform for charging infrastructure, solar energy, and battery storage," writes the Munich-based company. In fact, The Mobility House tried for several years to establish itself, especially as a specialist in depot charging in the U.S. and Canada, but like many competitors, politically driven delays in the advancement of eMobility in the U.S. hindered the company’s progress. Instead of developing its business independently in North America, The Mobility House now aims to "shift its strategic focus to the energy business with vehicle-to-grid and vehicle-to-home applications in Europe."
The Mobility House exits ChargePilot
PowerFlex is a cleantech company that generates revenue through ecosystems involving charging infrastructure, solar energy, and battery storage. By integrating The Mobility House North America, PowerFlex aims to strengthen its market position in smart charging for school buses, public transportation, and fleet facilities, while leveraging the expertise of TMH’s subsidiary in integrating electric vehicles into energy systems. The Mobility House is best known for its smart charging and energy management system, ChargePilot, which will now be distributed in the U.S. and Canada under the PowerFlex brand. In Europe as well, ChargePilot is no longer marketed by The Mobility House but by Edenred, following the sale of its Solutions division.
In North America, ChargePilot currently manages over 100 megawatts of charging capacity for more than 150 fleet operators in the U.S. and Canada, according to its officials. “Additionally, The Mobility House North America is implementing seven projects for vehicle-grid integration using electric school buses in several U.S. states from the East Coast to the West Coast,” it adds. PowerFlex complements these capabilities with a comprehensive platform for fleet charging, charging infrastructure, solar energy, battery storage, and cross-location energy management.
The Mobility House describes the transaction as another decisive step in the company’s strategic direction: “Going forward, The Mobility House will further concentrate its operational resources and technology development in Europe, focusing there on the energy business with Vehicle-to-Grid and Vehicle-to-Home applications. The priority will be the aggregation and optimization of vehicle and stationary batteries in energy markets.” The sale of the Solutions division was also carried out for similar reasons recently.
“Right move for the next growth phase”
Thomas Raffeiner, founder and CEO of The Mobility House, commented: “We built The Mobility House North America from scratch and, together with the team, achieved a leading position in smart charging for large bus and fleet depots. With PowerFlex, this business gains the reach, resources, and additional capabilities it needs for the next phase of growth. That’s why we are integrating our North American business into a larger platform while remaining involved as shareholders in its further development.” At the same time, Raffeiner and his team aim to “align The Mobility House more clearly with our European energy and V2G/V2H business.”
Gregor Hintler, CEO of The Mobility House North America, added, “Through this merger, we can now combine our solutions with additional development and project capabilities, along with extensive expertise in solar energy, battery storage, and energy management. This is the right platform to further scale our business and vehicle-grid integration in North America.”
Continuity for Partners and Customers
According to its partners, PowerFlex currently manages over 70,000 charging points and has already installed commercial solar installations in the U.S. with a capacity of more than 500 megawatts, as well as battery storage systems with a capacity of over 50 megawatt-hours. Additionally, the EDF subsidiary is said to hold a strong position among large commercial fleets in North America.
Continuity is to be ensured for customers and partners of The Mobility House North America in the meantime: “Existing contracts, services, and contact persons will remain intact,” it states. In particular, the current CEO, Gregor Hintler, is moving to PowerFlex while continuing to work with customers and partners.