57 BMW Group Report 2024 To Our Stakeholders Combined Management Report Group Financial Statements Responsibility Statement and Auditor’s Report Remuneration Report Other Information Overview of the BMW Group The BMW Group is also committed to promoting hydrogen tech- nology at a supranational level and is involved in international organisations and associations such as the ↗ Hydrogen Council. As an associated partner of ↗ H2 Mobility Deutschland GmbH, the BMW Group is also supporting the development of hydrogen in- frastructure in Germany. Reliable, comprehensive charging opportunities An expanded, customer-friendly charging infrastructure will pave the way for the rapid and widespread use of electric mobility. With the adoption of the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation (AFIR) in 2023, the EU resolved to set up a basic network of both electric charging stations and hydrogen filling stations by the end of 2030. From the BMW Group’s point of view, this is a first key step towards providing a customer-friendly charging infrastruc- ture. The BMW Group remains committed to achieving standardised framework conditions and develops and encourages offers that enable comprehensive and customer-friendly charging opportu- nities. Customers will be offered solutions for charging at home. The BMW Group also supports the expansion of public charging infrastructure through its cooperations. At its German locations, the BMW Group offers its own large charging network for its em- ployees. Charging should be as convenient as possible. The BMW Group is therefore also working on digital solutions. Up-to-date charg- ing information can be found on the Connected Charging appli- cation and the charging process can be managed with the push of a button. The eRoute function also helps customers to plan their charging stops on long-distance trips. With offers such as the BMW eDrive Zone and suitable electricity tariffs for driving, we are helping drivers of plug-in hybrids to drive electrically as frequently as possible and over long distances. Integrating electrified vehicles in the energy system The BMW Group is conducting its own research and develop- ment work with the aim of integrating electrified vehicles in the power grid. Smart charging technologies such as load- or solar- optimised charging are at the centre of this research. ↗ BMW ChargeForward enables customers in the USA to synchronise their charging behaviour with the current grid load and the use of re- newable energy. The technology has been available to all drivers of electrified vehicles in the USA since November 2023. Our new joint venture ChargeScape LLC, USA, was founded in this context in the reporting year with our partners Ford and Honda. ChargeScape will provide an open software platform for OEMs and energy providers that allows US customers to intelli- gently charge their electric vehicles at home. This should opti- mise the use of renewable energies and help to stabilise the grid. At the same time, the customer can be compensated for their contribution to reduced carbon equivalent emissions. Customers in Europe can use the BMW Connected Home Charging service to make use of solar- or load-optimised charging for their vehi- cles at home in Germany, Italy, Austria, Denmark, Norway and Sweden. The aim here is to establish a Europe-wide ecosystem for smart charging at home by means of a strategic cooperation with the grid operator E.ON. There are plans to steadily expand the service offering over the next few years, with cost-optimised charging introduced in the reporting year, at this point only in Germany. The next step forward: bidirectional charging In developing its charging services, the BMW Group is also work- ing on bidirectional charging. Bidirectional charging, which is to be launched with the NEUE KLASSE, allows the all-electric vehi- cle’s high-voltage battery to be used as an energy store and the buffered energy to be used in the household or fed back to the grid at a later time. Vehicle to Home, Vehicle to Grid and Vehicle to Load will provide new functions that allow part of the battery’s capacity to be made available externally on optimised terms (Ve- hicle to Grid) or allow the energy stored in the vehicle to be used for external electrical devices (Vehicle to Load). The NEUE KLASSE can therefore be used as a mobile power bank, for ex- ample to charge e-bikes or power electrical devices when camp- ing. Access to public charging networks With BMW and MINI Charging, we offer attractive electricity tariffs and convenient charging solutions – whether on the road, at home or at work. Customers can use a large number of public charging points via their BMW or MINI charging card and the My BMW and/or MINI app. Digital Charging Solutions GmbH (DCS) provides broad access to various charging networks throughout Europe. DCS is one of Europe’s leading providers of digital charg- ing solutions and a joint venture between the BMW Group, Mer- cedes-Benz and bp. BMW and MINI customers have access to 2.6 million charging points worldwide* through the navigation system or the relevant vehicle app. In Europe alone, we provide easy access to a net- work with over 820,000 charging points through the public BMW/MINI Charging service, covering over 90% of the region. These also include fast-charging stations from IONITY, a com- pany launched by the BMW Group, with a charging capacity of 350 kilowatts (kW). IONITY currently operates 720 stations with more than 4,800 charging points in a total of 24 countries, which are publicly accessible, brand-independent and designed in ac- cordance with the European Combined Charging System (CCS) charging standard. * Total number of charging points displayed on BMW front-ends (vehicle and app). The network can be accessed by registered customers wherever a local partner is available.