19.03.2021
Virta bringing smart and easy EV charging to the Western Balkans
Sustainable transport is slowly but surely gaining ground also in the Western Balkan region. Belgrade-based company MT–KOMEX is building electric vehicle charging network in the region. Thanks to the partnership with Virta, MT–KOMEX can offer companies the opportunity to enter the growing EV charging market in an easy, smartand reliable way. Together with Virta, they are helping companies such as Gazprom Neft, BMW and Heineken to futureproof their business.
The world is moving full force towards electrification. In Europe, Norway, Iceland and Sweden are leading the charge. In 2020, plug-in electric vehicles accounted for 74.8%, 45% and 32.2% of the car registrations, respectively. At the same time in Serbia, only about 300 fully electric cars are cruising throughout thecountry, together with 2000 hybrid vehicles.
But the future of mobility is electric also in the Western Balkan region. The Serbian government has announced that the purchases of electric and hybrid vehicles will be subsidized with one million euros in 2021, the same as in 2020.
“Sustainable transport is slowly but surely becoming mainstream in our country, too. E-mobility and EV charging business is expanding in Serbia and we are proud to be at the center of it”, says Miloš Kostić, the CEO of Belgrade-based company MT–Komex.
MISSION: BUILD A CHARGING NETWORK
MT–KOMEX is the undisputable forerunner in bringing e-mobility to the Western Balkan region. The company has almost three decades of experience in the construction of solar power plants. In the past ten years, they have gradually expandedtheir core business to include electric vehicle charging and have actively participated in building the charging network for electric vehicles in the Western Balkans.
Early on, the company realized that it is not enough to just install the chargers. The EV drivers need an easy way to find the charging locations & charge their cars. In order to put this idea into practice, MT–KOMEX started looking for a partner.
SOLUTIONS, SUPPORT AND SERVICE IN ONE PACKAGE
Virta’s commitment to merge renewable energy and mobility as well as the extensive experience of running 1000 professional charging networks made Virta an interesting option for MT–KOMEX. Virta is also an expert in EV energy demand response solutionsthat will become increasingly important when EV markets expand and energy systems transition to renewables.
“Virta – as a global innovation leader and one of the world’s leading vehicle-to-grid technology providers – stood out. We were also impressed by the extensive support and service solution package that Virta offered”, says Kostić.
Kostić and his team contacted the Finnish Embassy in Belgrade, Serbia and the embassy helped MT–KOMEX to get in touch with the Virta team. And the rest is history.
“Soon the process of acquiring know-how started. Together we found the best approach to integrate Virta’s Charging Solution into MT–KOMEX’s business model. We are glad to say that the cooperation has been great, and our team has gotten valuable training”, states Kostić.
THE FIRST DIGITAL EV CHARGING EXPERIENCE IN THE REGION
In cooperation with Virta, MT–KOMEX launched in 2020 the charge&GO platform, and a mobile application. The web platform gathers all the information about the charging network, charging methods, electric cars and MT–KOMEX service offering. Kostić is even more proud of the branded charge&GO mobile app which makes it easy for EV drivers to find available charging stations, start and end charging sessions as well as make in advance payment and reservation of the chosen charger.
With a help of Virta, MT–KOMEX is able to offer the only integrated EV charging solution in the Western Balkans region.
“The results of our cooperation with Virta are already fantastic: We have entered the market with our own brand and gotten clients and customers in a short time span. This is a tremendous outcome concerning the fact that EVs are still scarce in Serbia. As the number of EVs in Serbia is growing, we are getting more and more inquiries and new clients”, says Kostić.
Read the full case story on Virta’s web page:
