Porsche Digital’s New Startup Helps You Charge Your EV For Free

What started as a idea to earn e-mobility credits from every-day purchases has turned into a new startup founded by Porsche Digital.

“&Charge” is a new company based in Frankfurt am Main in Germany that created what it says is Europe’s first e-mobility loyalty program. The &Charge service enables users to earn credit for online purchases made on their platform and trade them for electric mobility services, such as electric vehicle charging or free trips with public e-scooters and car-sharing services.

There are 600 restaurant, travel, and retail partners with &Charge offers, and conducting a transaction on their smartphone app or website earns “kilometers” that can be redeemed with eleven mobility providers. For example, shoppers can earn 1 kilometer for every 2€ spent at Ikea and redeem them for rides on Uber Green or charge stations. Customers can also use their collected “kilometers” to support certified climate protection projects.

The &Charge platform is currently available in Germany, Austria, Belgium and the Netherlands, and the company says new countries will soon be added to its roster. The company didn’t immediately respond to an email inquiring about availability in the U.S.

Porsche Digital is a subsidiary of Porsche AG, and is responsible for finding and scaling new digital business models and optimizing existing products. The group has been actively scouting startups and ideas relating to mobility, customer experience, and digital lifestyle, and exploreing blockchain, AI, Quantum Computing and IoT technologies.

Last year Audi Electronics Venture spun off technology its engineers developed into what is now the Holoride entertainment group, which plans to bring Virtual Reality entertainment to the backseat of Porsche production vehicles in 2021.