Kathrein DLM
Kathrein DLM
Company description
Kathrein is a renowned German company with a deeply rooted tradition and a pioneering role in the production of radio antennas in Germany. Over the years, the company expanded its business into electromobility and modern charging infrastructure for electric vehicles, strengthening its cooperation with companies such as Ericsson and Nokia. Among the companies belonging to the Kathrein Group is Kathrein Solutions GmbH, which specializes in the production of modern ev chargers and AC charge point devices for cars and other electric vehicles.
The company is based in Rosenheim, Bavaria. KATHREIN Solutions GmbH focuses on the production of various types of AC charging stations, with an emphasis on devices using alternating current and compatible with different suppliers and charger types. Its customers include private homeowners, hotels, companies, property managers, and parking operators who want to offer ev charging as a modern service to their customers and employees. Kathrein’s solutions cover not only the installation of stations, but also integration with the customer’s energy infrastructure and the implementation of other services related to the efficient use of charging infrastructure.
Dynamic load management for EV charging
Dynamic Load Management (DLM) for Kathrein is an advanced energy management system that optimizes power distribution between multiple ev chargers. The solution was designed for efficient ev charging and efficient charging of electric cars in different locations, from private homes to company car parks and fleets of vehicles.
The project aimed to create an intelligent system enabling dynamic control of energy depending both on user needs and on current consumption in a household, a company, or an entire internal network.
Project goals
Optimize the use of cheaper energy sources, for example photovoltaic energy, and reduce consumption from the grid during peak hours, while monitoring energy use and costs for the entire system.
Enable companies, property managers, and fleet operators to support efficient charging of electric vehicles and employee cars.
Promote the use of renewable energy and reduce CO₂ emissions through optimized electricity consumption and intelligent use of DLM algorithms.
Dynamic Load Management
The DLM system enables advanced management of charging devices by assigning them to the system, setting priorities, and integrating them with the existing infrastructure. It supports account registration and user identification, including the identification of users and employees, which makes it possible to divide employees into teams and define priorities for their charging, for example by giving the highest priority to the sales department. As a result, the process of charging electric vehicles can be linked to an employee’s role in the organization or to loyalty programs for selected groups of customers.
The system also manages energy sources and available power, allowing users to choose a charging mode: solar only, hybrid mode (solar panels plus grid), or limited power drawn from the grid. DLM continuously monitors electricity consumption and adjusts charging power depending on the vehicle battery level, the available capacity in the building, and other loads. This makes it possible to charge vehicles efficiently while maintaining installation security.
The system also analyzes future electricity prices and optimizes the charging schedule for cheaper periods, which has a direct impact on lowering electricity costs. It offers tools to monitor and report energy use both at the entire household level and within the charger system itself, generating clear reports and analytical functions. Users and operators receive detailed information about consumption, costs, and charging history, which makes settlements, invoicing, and internal settlements between departments or fleets easier.
This is the basis of smart ev charging, where available power is evenly distributed across connected devices and where operators can better manage ev chargers in different locations.
System for charging electric vehicles
Initially, Kathrein’s software was designed to support individual chargers, with each one operating as an independent unit, without central management of charging stations. As part of the implementation, a central management system was introduced. It supervises and controls the charging process of electric vehicles across the whole cluster of devices, enables remote management and real-time control of charger power, and facilitates integration with other services and back-office systems such as charge and billing. As a result, property managers, fleet operators, and companies have full control over how ev charging is performed and how the available power is used.
In practice, this central platform works as ev charging software and management software for a growing ev charging network, helping customers and operators effectively manage their chargers, usage policies, and energy allocation in one place.
Charging station management
DLM supports the management of chargers across multiple locations, enables remote operation, and provides full control over the charging infrastructure through an application and an operator panel. The system can support identification through RFID cards, QR codes, and login in the application, ensuring safe use of charging devices and the related energy infrastructure. The solution is compatible with OCPP, the open charge point protocol, which simplifies integration with different hardware providers and other systems on the electromobility market.
This makes the DLM environment easier to connect with a wider ev charging network or ev network, and gives operators the ability to manage ev chargers in a more consistent way. It also helps charge point operators and other business users maintain better visibility and stronger operational support across multiple sites and connected chargers.
Challenges
During the project, several important challenges appeared, including the need to integrate the new supervisory system with Kathrein’s existing software, which originally worked independently on each charger. The system had to be adapted to work with different hardware providers and different customer installation configurations.
In addition, many companies did not allow chargers to be connected to the Internet. This limited network access, prevented central monitoring, and made real-time diagnostics more difficult. It was therefore necessary to design the architecture in such a way that the operator could still maintain control over the infrastructure and have access to key information without violating security policies.
These limitations mattered because connected devices and central diagnostics are important for delivering the full value of an ev charging network. Without broader remote visibility, some advanced functions and the full ev charging experience are harder to provide at scale, even when the technical system itself is ready.
Results
- Effective control of the charging process and optimization of energy costs.
- Increased efficiency of energy management in companies.
- Improved operation of the mobile application.
- Further development of the system dependent on improved access to monitoring and diagnostics
- The challenge of convincing customers to integrate the system with the Internet so that its full potential can be realized
- Improving sustainable energy management and environmental protection
- It supports companies, property managers, and fleet operators in managing their charger environments more effectively, while helping to reduce costs, improve the use of available power, and support the continued growth of ev charging and electromobility.
- In practical terms, the project delivered a stronger platform for ev charging, a more scalable management system, and a solid basis for further development of ev charging software.