On Monday, Ideanomics, the publicly listed, fintech-slash-disruptive-mobility-investor that earlier this summer acquired EV tractor maker Solectrac, announced that it has made a strategic investment in Prettl Electronics Automotive (PEA), a division of German family-owned electronics conglomerate Prettl Group that makes various systems and components for the automotive, energy and electronics industries . Under terms of the deal, Ideanomics will pay EUR 7.5 million (around $9 million) for a 30 percent minority ownership stake, plus exclusive sales and distribution rights for PEA charging infrastructure products and solutions in North America.
German-based PEA was formed to develop hardware and software for a modular, scalable public charging park solution for electric vehicles, with capacity up to 2.0 MW. PEA’s charging systems are expected to be rolled out on a broad scale from 2023, pending ongoing field testing and the completion of various certification requirements.
“The opportunity to work with Prettl brings together two companies with a global perspective for what is required to bring EV Mobility solutions to global markets. The PEA team’s innovative approach, both in terms of potential to deploy high-power charging infrastructure and the dynamic load balancing of charging by energy requirements at an individual vehicle level, is among the most progressive EV charging solutions we have seen,” said Ideanomics CEO Alf Poor, who will join the board of PEA.
“PEA fulfills a critical component of our EV enablement strategy, and we look forward to supporting them as both an investor and as a regional partner. PEA greatly adds to the family of products, services, and technologies we are assembling that are synergistic, in-demand, and high-value, and ultimately positions Ideanomics to capture revenues and market share throughout the commercial EV value chain,” he added.
Untapped Market
“North America is still an untapped market for us and represents a tremendous growth opportunity for PEA,” said PEA CEO Carsten Ellermeier, adding that his firm is “strategic aligned” with Ideanomics. “When we looked for a potential partner in North America, it was clear that Ideanomics was the perfect choice based on its strong focus on commercial fleet applications and the unique ecosystem of synergistic subsidiaries. From innovative charging products to strategic financing solutions, the Ideanomics partnership will allow PEA to scale our business and accelerate product development and sales of our charging solutions in the United States by year-end 2022 to meet demand.”
The minority stake in PEA will add to Ideanomics’ growing EV charging infrastructure platform, including Wireless Advanced Vehicle Electrification (WAVE), a Salt Lake City, Utah-based maker of inductive charging systems for medium-sized and heavy duty EV trucks that Ideanomics acquired in January of this year. That company’s client list includes the largest EV bus system in the United States, California’s Antelope Valley Transit Authority, along with several blue-chip partnerships and custom fleet solutions for mass transit, logistics, airport and campus shuttles, drayage fleets, and off-road vehicles at ports and industrial sites.
The addition of PEA will provide Ideanomics with robust charging infrastructure solutions which can rapidly deploy with or without grid connectivity, which the company says will allow it to meet the needs of electric vehicle fleet operators and offer a full range of charging infrastructure products for commercial and public applications. It will also provide the opportunity to create a modular charging solution configured and tailored specifically for the U.S. grid and focused on EV fleet deployment.
