Smatrics set for international expansion

The Austrian mobility service provider has set up an electric vehicle charging grid covering Austria with 450 charging points no more than 60 km apart. Smatrics now plans to expand beyond Austria and is looking at even faster charge rates. Moreover, they formed a new executive team, electrive.com learnt.

Smatrics describe themselves as the first and only operator of a comprehensive electric car charging grid in Austria. Indeed Smatrics 450 fast chargers are spread across the country with no more than 60 km distance between stations and are powered by renewables to 100 percent as they use locally produced hydro-electric power.

Now, the company wants to expand and has been moving posts around. Hauke Hinrichs, who was the Technical Manager of the German utility Smartlab prior to joining Smatrics at the beginning of 2017, will be promoted from Chief Technology Officer to Chief Operating Officer at the executive level. Together with CEO Michael Viktor Fischer, Hinrichs thus forms a new leading duo at Smatrics, insiders told electrive.

The next steps will see the company focus on B2B solutions for companies, energy providers and gas stations around the globe. CEO Fischer stated that the charging network and the processes accompanying the construction and operation also work as a proof-of concept, showcasing their knowledge and capabilities. They plan to offer holistic solutions from construction to operations and even payment options from a single provider, lowering the entry barrier to e-mobility for companies. They also aim to improve the charge capacities of their HPCs, with 350 kW mentioned as the next step.

Their operations are also backed by shareholders Siemens, OMV and Verbund, and is a technology partner for EU projects. Smatrics also mentions several German energy providers being interested in the technology, and the lack of a language barrier makes this a logical first step towards international operations.