Power Plus Communications

Power Plus Communications Logo

Twitter Pitch

Smart grids enable the energy market to increase efficiency, integrate renewables & reduce CO2 emissions. PPC brings the smart to the grid.

Company Information

  • ECO12 Award category: Startup
  • Company name: Power Plus Communications AG
  • Country of origin: Germany
  • Company address: Am Exerzierplatz 2, 68167 Mannheim, Germany
  • Founding year: 2008
  • Company status: private company
  • Website: www.ppc-ag.de
  • Contact person: Simon Begaße, Finance Manager, PPC, s.begasse@ppc-ag.de
  • CEO: Ingo Schönberg (Photo)

Ingo Schönberg Photo

Elevator Pitch

In order for smart metering and smart grids to become a reality, it is essential to have a powerful communications platform which is able to transport all key energy data in realtime. This system needs to be IP-based and broadband while offering secure encryption. Our Broadband Powerline (BPL) technology fulfills all of these requirements and much more, by transporting the data directly over the existing power grid. Power Plus Communications (PPC) was founded as a joint venture of MVV Energie AG and ABB. The management Ingo Schönberg (CEO) and Eugen Mayer (COO) did a Management-Buy-Out in 2008 and gave PPC the new focus toward smart grids. We have made significant advancements in the development of Broadband Powerline Communications technology for smart grids and have successfully established the largest BPL network worldwide to date. Today, our BPL systems can be found in smart grids throughout Europe and the Middle East. As technology leaders, our BPL technology was selected for both the German smart grid beacon project E-Energy as well as the British Low Carbon Network Fund.

Smart Green Product

Our solution turns low (230-400V) and medium voltage networks (1-36kV) into efficient broadband communications infrastructures. Modern encryption algorithms and authentication methods offer maximum security for transporting the data, ensuring maximum data protection. BPL technology uses the best, tried and tested data transfer standards from the field of telecommunications, guaranteeing flexibility and future reliability. With the European political energy and environmental objectives paving the way for a complete transformation of our energy supply, we see a clear movement away from coal and nuclear power plants and a move in the direction of renewable energy sources and electric vehicles – offering a reduction in CO2 emissions. We are looking towards wind and solar power, which are able to feed clean energy into the grid, but their dependence on the weather means that they are not always available. In order to preserve the security of supply that we have become so accustomed to, it is necessary to ensure that a balance between the electricity supply and its consumption is successfully maintained. Therefore, it is vital to have accurate data covering energy production as well as the ability to monitor and automatically control its subsequent usage. PPC’s Broadband Powerline communication solution brings the smart into smart grids.

Milestones