Etecnic: end-to-end electric mobility management

Guardiola de Berguedà (887 inhabitants), Espolla (425 inhabitants), Capmany (672 inhabitants)... All these towns have in common their modest size and that they have electric vehicle charging points. In all three cases, the company responsible for installing and managing these charging stations is Etecnic, a company based in Reus (Tarragona) that manages more than 7,000 chargers in total. The company also sells its own software abroad to manage this type of installation. An internationalization that has had the support of ACCIÓ, the agency for business competitiveness of the Generalitat de Catalunya.

When it comes to the installation, management, and maintenance of charging stations, Etecnic has two types of clients. On the one hand, municipal entities and public companies. Among this group, the company has great capillarity and presence in very small towns, such as those mentioned above, but also works with the city councils of larger municipalities ---Tarragona, Reus, Sabadell, Terrassa, and Figueres, to name a few examples--- and is a supplier to B:SM, a public company of the Barcelona City Council.

Beyond the public sector, private companies are increasingly important in Etecnic's client portfolio. "2023 will be the first year in which the private sector will already represent 50% of the business, with prominent clients such as SIXT, Galp, Hospital Teknon, or Mercabarna," explains Jorge Ríos, founder and CEO of the company.

Etecnic was born as an engineering firm specialized in electric mobility and, in fact, part of its business still comes from consulting in the field of sustainable mobility. In 2015, however, it decided to go a step further and began to design and execute projects.

The company continued to evolve its business model and, currently, is capable of developing the activation of a charging point from start to finish: from the identification and processing of subsidies, through the preparation and execution of a customized executive project and the subsequent maintenance of the facilities.

In addition, the management of the chargers is carried out with software developed by the company itself. This platform has been, precisely, what has facilitated Etecnic's internationalization. "Representatives of a Colombian company came to our website and contacted us because they were interested in our charging station management technology. We accepted and, from there, we have been growing organically. Currently, we have a presence in very diverse countries such as Romania, Nicaragua, Portugal...", Ríos reviews.

SaaS Platform and Internationalization

The great advantage of this SaaS business model (Software as a System, that is, subscription to a technological platform) is that it is very scalable. In addition, in Etecnic's case, its technology ---marketed under the brand EVcharge--- is constantly evolving and improving because it is the one the company itself uses in its role as a charging point manager. The system developed by Etecnic consists of a control platform for managing companies and public entities, as well as an application that also offers services for end-users, such as locating charging points.

One of the latest companies to contract the EVcharge platform has been the British PlusCharge. Thanks to Etecnic's software, PlusCharge can manage the collection of payments for electric vehicle charging services, control their maintenance status, and offer remote assistance and customer service, among other functionalities. To make this sale, Etecnic had the advice of ACCIÓ's Foreign Office for Trade and Investment in London.

The Catalan SME expects to bill 7 million in 2023, 80% more than the previous year, and has a workforce of 40 employees. Since its foundation, no new shareholders have entered Etecnic's capital but, according to Ríos, they would be willing to consider the entry of a partner, especially if it were industrial and contributed to the internationalization of the business.

A step towards electromobility at different speeds

Comparisons are odious, but sometimes necessary. When we talk about electric mobility, there are numerous European countries that are already in an advanced phase of transforming their car fleet. Although the numbers vary slightly depending on the source consulted, the Nordic states lead the way: 83% of registrations in Norway in the first half of 2023 were electric vehicles, followed by Sweden (37%). The progress of major European powers by economy and population, such as France and Germany (15% in both cases), is also noteworthy.

And what about Spain? Well, the situation is quite different: only 5% of registrations were electric cars. Evidently, the Spanish economy, with a significantly lower GDP per capita, is not comparable to that of the aforementioned countries. However, the comparison that leaves Spain in a worse position is with Portugal, where the population's income is similar and electric registrations are 15%.

Regarding the map of charging points in Spain, there is some progress. According to the Business Association for the Development and Promotion of Electric Mobility (AEDIVE), the public charging network for electric vehicles in Spain reached 25,106 points in the first half of 2023, 16.4% more than in the same period of the previous year.

Network of Foreign Trade and Investment Offices

ACCIÓ has 40 offices worldwide that facilitate the commercial and productive implementation of Catalan companies in foreign markets. These offices operate as an extension of the companies and can offer advice on landing in a hundred international markets, either with direct implementation, initiating exports, or launching sales through digital channels. In parallel, these offices also help identify new technological partners and buyers worldwide, and access international public procurement processes. Another mission of ACCIÓ's international network is to attract new foreign investments to Catalonia.