Enabling the e-Mobility Evolution in Energy
In 2021, the EU Commission presented the Fit for 55 proposal. This ambitious, comprehensive set of climate policies has been compiled to ensure that a 55% reduction in greenhouse gas emissions is achieved by 2030. The EU successfully reached agreements on the proposal’s key policies, including the goal that only zero-emission cars will be sold from 2035 onwards. Meeting the 55% GHG reduction target will be a crucial milestone on the journey to achieving Net Zero by 2050, and organisations are eager to maintain momentum. Recognising the challenging nature of these targets, a multinational utility company that offers B2B and public charging services faced a key question. The organisation wanted to understand whether its proprietary B2B charging platform would be able to scale to handle the anticipated increase in B2C charging customers.
The Challenge
The multinational European utility company in question operates an e-Mobility business, offering end-to-end services from infrastructure and hardware installation to software and connected services.
In recent years, the e-Mobility business unit has specialised in B2B and public charging, with a limited focus on the B2C mass market.
This approach resulted in a different setup for B2C charging in commodity regions, and varying levels of integration with the central e-Mobility business unit.
With B2C charging becoming increasingly critical for the client’s commodities business, the organisation wanted to reinforce its status as an integrated utility provider, and to unlock additional benefits.
There is a regional expectation that central e-Mobility business units will provide services and support in delivering B2C charging in commodity regions, but the respective costs and IT investments must be carefully considered.
The Approach
As part of an integrated team, BCG Platinion conducted a technology review for the client over the course of three weeks. This effort was carried out to determine whether the existing proprietary CPO-backend would be required for B2C connectivity services, and whether it was fit to be linked to a large number of B2C charging points.
During this process, we also sought to pinpoint the IT investments the client would need to make to achieve full regional integration with the central e-Mobility business unit. We mapped out possible connectivity scenarios, covering charging and HEMS, and developed strategic positioning options for e-Mobility solution sales.
The Impact
We conducted the analysis and determined that the client’s CPO-backend is fit for the large number of charging points they expect to support in the next few years. We also discovered opportunity for the existing platform to be scaled further by increasing infrastructure resources.
Having examined potential future value pools, we recognised however, that a shift towards HEMS and smart charging will be highly likely by 2030, an area not being addressed by the central e-Mobility business today. The team also determined that the client would need to adapt commodity markets with varying levels of maturity, regulations, and customer requirements.
Because of the conclusions outlined above, it was evident that a harmonized, short-term extension of the client’s proprietary CPO-backend would be highly challenging. Moreover, the team estimated that full regional integration with the central e-Mobility business unit would likely cost a low 8-figure sum and take up to five years to complete. A redesign of the central e-Mobility business unit’s operating model would also be required to achieve this outcome, which would dilute its current focus and limit regional autonomy.
Further supporting our position, the client was also yet to define the strategic long-term direction of HEMS, which would be a challenging task given the significant competition. The existing level of uncertainty and the present outlook of the business meant that significant investment and expansion would not be the correct move to make.
Looking Into the Future
With our analysis in mind, the integrated BCG and BCG Platinion team recommended that the client shifts from a ‘hybrid’ approach to a ‘local’ B2C operating model and enter strategic partnerships with white label solution providers.
These partnerships will enable the client to leverage momentum in commodity regions and maximise business impact.
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