Members introduce themselves 07/04/2025

Close-up Amperfied GmbH

In the "Members introduce themselves" section, companies and research institutes from the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West provide an insight into their activities: they talk about their current activities, look into the future and show how they are advancing cooperation in the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West. Focus on: Amperfied GmbH. The company provides an insight into current projects and future plans, and shows how it is helping to shape the mobility of tomorrow. In the interview, Managing Director Robin Karpp gives an insight into the preconceptions, progress and prospects of electric mobility.

What aspects of electromobility is your company currently working on?

We have evolved from a pure hardware provider to a full-service provider for charging infrastructure. In the future, it will be less about pure technology and more about services such as operational management, billing and service. When it comes to DC fast-charging, we focus on the availability of charging points. After all, money is only made when the charging points are up and running. For operators of charging hubs or logistics sites where high charging capacity and availability are important, we want to offer availability-based contract models. So that our clients can focus on their customers rather than on technology operations.

Which topics are currently particularly challenging for your company?

Electromobility is currently progressing more slowly than predicted, especially in Germany. As a result, fewer charging operations are taking place than expected. In addition, the existing infrastructure is still under-utilised in many locations. This limits investment security for manufacturers and operators. In the future, the professionalisation and industrialisation of charging infrastructure operations will become more important as usage increases. The focus will be on operational management costs and risks rather than investment risks. Currently, both the technical availability of infrastructure and the reliability of complete charging processes are sometimes well below industry standards.

How did you overcome this challenge?

We position ourselves as a partner that uses technology and comprehensive services to make the ongoing operating costs of the installed infrastructure predictable. Our parent company, HEIDELBERG, has many years of experience in the operation of capital goods and performance-based service offerings, which we are now able to adapt to our industry.

From the operators' point of view, the most important performance criteria will be the availability and reliability of charging points for cars and trucks. Based on a preventive maintenance concept and implementation by our europe-wide service organisation, these features will be reflected in a contract model that includes performance promises over the entire lifetime of the charging points. This creates an alignment of interests between customer and supplier – the customer only pays when they have something to sell.

Interview with Amperfied Managing Director Robin Karpp

In this interview, Robin Karpp talks about preconceptions about electromobility, positive developments - and the next steps towards sustainable mobility.

I can no longer listen to this preconception against e-mobility:

"The usual objections are: electric cars have a limited range, their environmental impact is questionable, or there is not enough electricity. This completely overlooks the rapid development of technology, charging infrastructure and the expansion of renewable energy. Many of these criticisms have long been refuted or are in the process of being resolved. If you compare this with the long development of combustion technology and the associated ecosystem, then we are still at the beginning with electric cars. So the potential is far from being fully utilised."

That makes me optimistic:

"In the end, the most efficient technology for decarbonising transport will prevail, with or without subsidies. Studies consistently show that electric vehicles are the most climate-friendly option. Even under current conditions, electromobility is economically viable for most scenarios and users. As the uptake continues, more people will be able to afford an electric car thanks to falling prices."

This is my vision for the mobility of the future:

"I see a future, in which there is no longer any discussion of charging infrastructure because it is as commonplace as petrol stations are today. Charging options will be simple, reliable and widely available, with different levels of performance depending on the application."