After many years of experience in the automotive industry, Thomas Kubbe provides corporate customers with the high-tech company INOMO Technologies GmbH battery storage from used vehicle batteries as a series product. AI-based technology for battery diagnostics and battery storage monitoring are indispensable here — especially because major automotive manufacturers are now also interested in INOMO. One thing above all is important to them: trustworthy partners where their old batteries are in safe hands.
Thomas, how did you personally come to specialize in battery storage from vehicle batteries?
I worked for a long time as an overall project manager at AUDI, and at that time I was involved in the beginnings of electromobility, from bicycles to scooters to cars. Later, I joined Streetscooter Schweiz AG, a former subsidiary of Deutsche Post that developed transport vehicles as well as stationary battery storage systems. In the end, this is where IMONO came from. In the meantime, we have created a generic infrastructure that allows us to use not only our own batteries from Streetscooter vehicles, but also used vehicle batteries from many well-known car manufacturers in a second life in battery storage.
Who are your customers?
We target corporate customers, e.g. fleet operators, energy suppliers, supermarkets and, more generally, companies with their own photovoltaic systems. Our storage systems are used there for peak load capping, self-consumption optimization and as a backup for possible power outages.
What role does NOVUM’s AI-based battery diagnostics play for you?
We can assess the health of our own batteries very well using the telematics units in the batteries from Streetscooter vehicles. As soon as we use batteries from other manufacturers, we have to rely on test systems for battery diagnostics. We have therefore contacted a well-known recycling company that already cooperates with NOVUM. The batteries will be tested there before being used at INOMO. Defective batteries can be disposed of directly on site without the need for further costly and time-consuming transport. For us, this is the most straightforward solution.
You are currently in negotiations with several major car manufacturers. Do you have the impression that topics such as battery diagnostics and battery recycling have become more important for decision-makers?
Yes, definitely! Solutions are increasingly being sought. And in my perception, this is by no means just about finding the cheapest offer. Companies want to find partners who offer quality and where their spent batteries are in good hands.
Why is that?
Automakers have a reputation to lose! No one can use headlines because a memory causes problems with their own brand batteries. Battery diagnostics and battery storage monitoring are thus becoming increasingly important, especially in the context of recycling used vehicle batteries. NOVUM and INOMO complement each other perfectly in this sense!
