Press Release

Leinfelden-Echterdingen/Leipzig – Arvato Systems and active EMT will cooperating in the area of Controllable Local Systems (CLS)-based applications behind the Smart Meter Gateway (SMGW) of smart metering systems. The aim of the partnership is the joint development and provision of holistic energy industry solutions for data exchange and administration in switching and control actions as well as smart submetering. To this end, the solution worlds of both companies will be combined: On the CLS side, this is the ISO 27.001 certified data platform of aktiver EMT GmbH together with upstream Internet of Things (IoT)-based hardware and Long Range Wide Area Network (LoRaWAN) technology. Arvato Systems is contributing the myBusiness smartEnergy (MBSE) energy market platform, which maps all classic energy market processes including gateway administration and market communication, to the partnership. The system coupling is technically realized by a standard CLS connector developed by Arvato Systems.

The Act to Restart the Digitization of the Energy Transition (GNDEW) will massively advance the rollout of smart metering systems and the digitization of energy industry process chains. Section 14a of the EnWG is a major game changer in this context, regulating the universal ordering process and the grid-serving control and switching of the corresponding hardware such as photovoltaic systems, wallboxes, electricity storage systems and heat pumps via FNN-compliant control boxes, as well as submetering. This opens up a variety of new energy industry applications that require close interaction between IoT and classic IT. With their partnership, active EMT and Arvato Systems are able to provide their customers with end-to-end solutions for CLS-based applications - from data acquisition via LoRaWAN, for example, to billing.

Both partners have extensive industry know-how

Customers benefit from the long-standing industry expertise of both companies. aktiver EMT GmbH is one of the pioneers in the field of CLS management and in performing the market role of active external market participant (aEMT). Only an aEMT certified by the German Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) is allowed to receive, send and process data via the CLS channel of the SMGW. This is where aktiver EMT GmbH comes into play as an appropriately legitimized and specialized service provider. Its certified aEMT platform is already used to administer a large number of external customers' devices and processes. Arvato Systems, on the other hand, provides its multifunctional MBSE platform and other IT services to well-known other software houses and utilities via Software as a Service for the mapping of more advanced processes.

Enabling utility customers to act quickly

With this cooperation, both IT service providers are not only expanding their competencies in the smart metering business area, but also extending their radius of action. Utility customers of both companies benefit from end-to-end support in the area of CLS management and from being able to act quickly. After all, this area of digitization will play a decisive role in determining how quickly sector coupling will succeed and how the energy transition goals will be achieved. The combined solutions and data services of both companies enable numerous digital business models with seamless data management. An additional plus is that the connected new time series management system from Arvato Systems, in which all data streams converge, provides a powerful analysis tool that enables environmental or sustainability reporting, for example. It can also be used to implement tenant electricity projects.

"Advancing the practicality of CLS solutions"

Sebastian Heß, Managing Director of aktiver EMT GmbH, explains the added value of the partnership: "The main aim of the cooperation is to further advance the practicality of CLS solutions. With the partners' know-how, we can develop solutions for grid-serving switching operations that are fully adapted to the needs of the market and the grids. In addition, other business models can be successively implemented using the same infrastructure. This accelerates market maturity and enables an economical smart meter rollout for our energy industry customers."

"Cooperation increases flexibility"

André Hoffmann, responsible for MBSE product management at Arvato Systems, says: "The increasingly important CLS processes behind the smart meter gateway are an area that MBSE does not cover. Relying on a high-performance partner here is in line with our strategy of focus. We are convinced that an ecosystem of different special solutions is the most successful way, because cooperation increases flexibility and leads faster to the goal. For Arvato Systems, the partnership with aktiver EMT GmbH is a first step on the path to CLS process integration, which will be followed by further cooperations."