Berner Group commissions first "green power charging station" in Europe's longest underground car park and expands charging points for e-cars nationwide

"Sustainability is deeply rooted in our DNA for the Berner family due to our corporate responsibility," says Christian Berner CEO of the Group, which with around 8,200 employees in 23 European countries turns over more than one billion euros with the sale of workshop materials, specialty chemicals and professional tradesmen's supplies. "When the German government was still speculating about the right drive strategy, we were the first in the industry and ahead of our competitors to convert our management's car fleet to electric mobility. There were neither adequate vehicles nor were car park operators immediately enthusiastic. But we just did it and convinced everyone. Also because I think we can't rely on politics and have to set an example," Berner continues.

Charging points put into operation in Europe's longest underground car park

In the course of the project throughout Germany, the installation of the charging points at the second main location of the Berner Group, in the Rheinauhafen in Cologne, turned out to be a particular challenge, because legally and structurally new territory was being entered. Together with the companies TankE, Rheinenergie and The Mobility House, the charging points could now be put into operation at various locations.

"We would like to thank our partners and are proud that, after a very long planning phase, we have now managed to complete the implementation in just a few months together with TankE GmbH, Rheinenergie AG and The Mobility House," says Michael Duttle, project manager for the topic of electromobility at the Berner Group. "To ensure that the whole undertaking is really sustainable in the end, all of our electric company vehicles are of course fueled exclusively with green electricity. Making this minimum requirement possible in an already existing underground car park was not always easy, but in the end the staying power paid off."

Michael Krystof, Managing Director of TankE, also emphasizes the challenges of expanding the electric charging infrastructure. "The fact that we are relying on e-cars in the fight against climate change in the area of mobility is clear to all of us. But without the appropriate charging points, especially in public spaces and in car parks at employers, we will not achieve this mobility turnaround. I am therefore all the more pleased that the Berner Group has chosen TankE as a 360° full-service provider for charging infrastructure to equip its parking spaces and has set a clear signal for e-mobility here in Europe's longest underground car park with 12 charging points.

Germany-wide network with Europe-wide charging strategy

In addition to the twelve charging points implemented in Cologne with TankE GmbH, charging points were put into operation at three other main German locations of subsidiaries of the Berner Group together with the company Mobility House. With 18 charging points in Künzelsau for Berner Germany, 14 in Ingelfingen for BTI and four in Duisburg for the Caramba Chemicals Group, a Germany-wide, company-internal charging network is being created.

"The possibility of charging many e-cars must be well planned and thought through," says Sebastian Karrer, Head of Key Account Management at The Mobility House. "In this context, the embedding of the charging processes in the operational processes and the respective existing energy landscape is of particular importance. Therefore, both intelligent control of the charging processes and their internal billing should be covered. With our intelligent charging and energy management system ChargePilot, we offer an uncomplicated and fully integrated solution. We are very happy about the successful project, which from now on allows all 150 Berner Group executives to charge their company cars at all main German locations in a cost- and energy-efficient way."

"With the charging network for the Berner Group we have achieved a very important intermediate step," says Christian Berner, CEO and owner of the Berner Group. "In the spirit of our corporate value b.responsible, it is therefore particularly important to me to continue on this path towards reducing CO2 emissions throughout the Group, i.e. throughout Europe. Whether in the Netherlands, in Austria, France or in Scandinavia: we continue to drive the charging infrastructure forward."

The Berner Group

The Berner Group is a family-run European commercial enterprise. Our vision is: “We keep the world together and moving.” This means we are the central B2B trading partner for all materials in the maintenance, repair, and production segments for our customers in the building, mobility, and industry sectors. With more than four channels we create an integrated omni-channel purchasing experience for our customers. In the steel and C materials as well as chemicals segments we are also an innovative manufacturer. We are represented in over 23 countries for our customers with more than 200,000 items and 8,200 employees.

TankE GmbH

TankE stands for nationwide services around e-charging infrastructure. For commerce, industry, the housing industry, municipalities and fleet operators, we offer everything from a single source, from consulting, planning, installation, operation, maintenance, IT backend to the billing of charging points and company car charging at home. True to the motto: "One partner. All services. Nationwide."

Contact:

TankE GmbH, Methweg 6-8, 50823 Cologne, Germany.
E-mail: info@tanke-gmbh.de | Tel.: 0221-47 447 447 | Web: www.tanke.io

The Mobility House

Shaping an emission-free energy and mobility future - that is the goal of The Mobility House. Our technology connects the automotive and energy sectors. We integrate vehicle batteries into the power grid through intelligent charging and energy solutions. In this way, we promote the expansion of renewable energies, stabilize the power grid and make electromobility more affordable.

The technology company The Mobility House was founded in 2009 and is active worldwide from its locations in Zurich, Munich and Belmont (CA). We support our private and business customers in their entry into electromobility by planning, setting up and operating an individual charging infrastructure. In doing so, we work as a neutral provider with many partners such as charging infrastructure manufacturers, installation companies, backend systems, energy suppliers and car manufacturers. Our intelligent charging and energy management system ChargePilot and the underlying EV Aggregation Platform enable our customers and partners to integrate electric vehicles in a beneficial and future-proof way. For more information: mobilityhouse.com.

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