DGAP-News: KION Group invests in AI-based energy management platform for greater sustainability

KION Group invests in AI-based energy management platform for greater sustainability

- Intralogistics Group KION acquires a stake of just under 20 percent in ifesca GmbH, a specialist in software for the energy industry.

- The KION Group's investment in the company comes to around €5 million

- ifesca's forecasting software offers customers a one-stop energy management solution

Frankfurt/Main, October 4, 2021 - KION GROUP AG, whose intralogistics solutions come with strong green credentials, is acquiring a stake of just under 20 percent in ifesca GmbH, a specialist in software for the energy industry. The Group's investment, totaling around €5 million, makes it the second-largest shareholder in ifesca.

Founded in 2016 in Ilmenau, Germany, ifesca specializes in digital energy management solutions. This still relatively young company employs a team of 35 people and has developed ifesca.AIVA(R), an innovative forecasting software that uses artificial intelligence to help manage energy grids more efficiently in near-real time. The algorithm-based application learns more quickly the longer it is used, which means that it is continually improving the predictive power and quality of the data. The end result is that users are able to make better forecasts. This specialist software has been designed to predict how much energy will be consumed and generated - particularly from renewable sources - and to efficiently manage and optimize production based on the supply and use of energy.

"Thanks to ifesca's AI-based software, we will be able to offer our customers a complete solution for their energy management needs," explains Stefan Prokosch, Senior Vice President of Brand Management at Linde Material Handling, a subsidiary of the KION Group. "The platform's ultra-precise forecasts will allow customers to plan the optimum operating times for their fleets of industrial trucks, to avoid peaks in loading and unloading, and in doing so to significantly reduce their energy costs. The platform also has open interfaces, which means it can be easily and flexibly integrated into existing energy management systems. This adds genuine value for our customers and therefore for us too," says Prokosch in its praise.

"Our goal is to provide optimum support for decision-making processes through our innovative software solutions, particularly in the area of forecasting and optimization as well as related services," says Sebastian Ritter, CEO of ifesca. "The focus is on ease of use and the intuitive integration of business processes. We are delighted to have found, in KION GROUP AG, a strategic investor for whom our AI-based software will provide huge customer benefit."

Strategic focus on sustainable energy systems

Under its KION 2027 strategy, the KION Group is placing particular emphasis on sustainable energy and energy efficiency, as these are topics that it believes will have a significant influence on intralogistics and material handling. The Group's global research and development activities are focused on the drive technologies of the future. KION's product portfolio already comprises all manner of drive technologies, from internal combustion engines to lead-acid and lithium-ion batteries, and even fuel cells. Electric drive systems are of particular importance given that the KION Group, through its brand companies, is a leading provider of electric-powered forklift and warehouse trucks. Electric-powered industrial trucks already account for around 87 per cent of order intake in the Group's Industrial Trucks & Services segment. And in June of this year, KION subsidiary Linde Material Handling unveiled new state-of-the-art electric forklift truck models (Linde X20 - X35) with a load capacity of 2.5 to 3 tonnes whose power output is comparable with IC trucks driven by internal combustion engines.

The Company

The KION Group is among the world's leading suppliers of industrial trucks and supply chain solutions. Its portfolio encompasses industrial trucks, such as forklift trucks and warehouse trucks, as well as integrated automation technology and software solutions for the optimization of supply chains, including all related services. Across more than 100 countries worldwide, the KION Group's solutions improve the flow of material and information within factories, warehouses, and distribution centers.

The Group, which is included in the MDAX, is the largest manufacturer of industrial trucks in Europe in terms of units sold in 2020. In China, it is the leading foreign manufacturer (as measured by revenue in 2020) and number three overall. The KION Group is also one of the world's leading providers of warehouse automation (as measured by revenue in 2019).

At the end of 2020, more than 1.6 million of the KION Group's industrial trucks and over 6,000 of its installed systems were in use by customers of various sizes and in numerous industries on six continents. The Group currently has in excess of 36,000 employees and generated revenue of €8.3 billion in 2020.

Current KION Group images can be found in our image database at https://mediacenter.kiongroup.com/categories and on the websites of our various brands.

(fgr)

Disclaimer

This release and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and do not constitute a prospectus or an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any securities in the United States or in any other jurisdiction.

This release contains forward-looking statements that are subject to various risks and uncertainties. Future results could differ materially from those described in these forward-looking statements due to certain factors, e.g. changes in business, economic and competitive conditions (including with respect to further developments in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic), regulatory reforms, results of technical studies, foreign exchange rate fluctuations, uncertainties in litigation or investigative proceedings, and the availability of financing. We do not undertake any responsibility to update the forward-looking statements in this release.
 

Further information for the media

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