Munich leads the German city in terms of electric mobility, with 1,100 charging points – but, like many other cities, it lacks high-performance chargers. The startup Jolt Energy addresses this problem with its flexible, mobile charging stations. The founders explain how in an interview.
Munich Startup: Who are you and what do you do? Please briefly introduce yourself and your product!
Jolt: We are a Munich-based e-mobility startup founded in 2018 by ten industry experts led by Maurice Neligan with the goal of bringing mobile fast chargers to major cities. Our international management team brings decades of experience in various industries and comes from Siemens, MAN, and other major companies in the energy technology and IT industries.
The planned network is based on our specially developed Merlin high-performance charger, which functions like a giant power bank for electric cars: A battery pack is charged in an energy center and can then be used practically anywhere, e.g. in front of restaurants, shopping centers or gas stations, to charge up to ten electric cars with a maximum of 150 kW of direct current.
Mobile charger and grid energy storage in one
Munich Startup: But that's been around for a long time!
Jolt: Our USP is that the chargers can be deployed anywhere and don't require access to the power grid. This means no time is lost on planning, regulatory approval, or excavation. It also avoids the need to expand the grid, as our energy centers are typically located in industrial areas where medium-voltage lines are available. Furthermore, our Merlins can be charged when the grid is ready. Conversely, they are also able to feed energy into the grid, thus stabilizing it (so-called primary control power). We believe that as the share of renewable energy increases, grid stability will fluctuate more, making it increasingly important to balance over- and under-supply in the grid to avoid power outages. This is also one of our four sources of income, alongside electricity sales, charging as a service, and renting out the screens as advertising space.
Munich Startup: What has been your biggest challenge so far?
Jolt: Honestly, our biggest challenge is money. We have good ideas, a wonderful team, and strong support from all our industry partners, but to get the first Merlins on the road, we obviously need money. Neither banks nor public institutions have helped so far, so we rely on private investors.
Munich Startup: Let’s get to the point: How is business going?
Jolt: Well, this question is a little premature, as there's no sales yet. We plan to launch our first pilot project in the fourth quarter of this year and place 16 Merlins near Mittlerer Ring in easily accessible locations; however, there are no firm details yet.
Jolt tests devices in Munich
Munich Startup: What does Munich mean to you?
Jolt: Munich is, of course, our home base, and we will conduct our pilot project here as well. Considering that there are currently only two fast chargers in operation in Munich, we believe there is, and will be, high demand once the number of electric vehicles increases. We are already in close contact with the city of Munich, which has set itself the goal of becoming one of the spearheads of e-mobility in Germany, and we are truly proud to be part of this story.
Munich Startup: How can your startup become the next unicorn? Or will we see you soon at Epic Fail Night?
Jolt: After the first project, we plan to expand our network to all major German cities with more than one million inhabitants. Our business model is perfectly scalable, allowing us to further develop it in line with the e-mobility market. We also plan to become active in other European countries and the USA, where electric cars already have a larger market share.
Munich Startup: Hiking or beer garden?
Jolt: Since we are ten founders from different countries, you can find all kinds of leisure activities, but as a team we especially enjoy the beer gardens in and around Munich.
