👊 They intend to solve the hassle of charging electric cars

"Consumers are annoyed over finding charging posts and paying for them. You need to have eight apps and four plastic cards. And still it doesn't work", says Fredrik Billing.

"Personally, I don't want to wait for everyone else to solve the problem. I want to fix it myself", says Tore Stenbock.

As in all major technology shifts, there are some teething issues in the beginning. For electric cars, it is the charging infrastructure that's lagging behind. Both the number of charging stations and how they work. Only Tesla owners have a well-developed charging network that works smoothly.

According to a survey from Mobility Sweden, about half of Swedish EV owners find the number of charging providers and associated apps complicated.

This is something that Fredrik Billing and Tore Stenbock intend to solve.

"We are building a digital payment platform for booking and payment of electric mobility. Not only to find charging stations, but also answer the question: 'How can you transport yourself in a modern, urban way?'"

From large companies to a startup

Fredrik Billing is in his third paradigm shift. He first worked at the Swedish postal service, where he digitized physical letters for digital fax services and email and co-created PostNet in 1992. From there, he was recruited to Telia and became responsible for building up the Swedish IP network. When he left Telia, he joined InnoEnergy and worked in digital energy. A field he wanted to stay in, so when the work was done there, he started sketching out his own idea.

To make it a reality, he needed someone with technical skills who could build a digital platform. Via Antler, a startup hub, he came into contact with Tore Stenbock. He also had a background in a large company, Ericsson. There he worked to keep track of where the technology would be in five years, to enable Ericsson to position itself correctly in the market.

"There was a lot of talk about AI and automation, but I was behind blockchain and wrote the first business case about it for Ericsson", he says.

Builds a blockchain solution

It is using blockchain technology that Fredrik and Tore's joint company, Eljun, is now building its platform. As a means of payment on the platform, they have created a token. This means that users can not only pay, but also easily get paid. This could potentially add thousands of chargers, which already exist but today are only used by one household.

"If you have your own charger, you should be able to let others charge on it, as a sharing service. Then you can receive income for that charge. That way you earn tokens, which you can then use to charge yourself", says Fredrik Billing.

Eljun doesn't just have electric cars in its sights. Their scope is greater than that. Because when you leave the car in a parking spot and charge it, you may need to take an electric scooter to the meeting, and yet again you'll need a number of different apps. Or you take the subway, tram, or commuter train. Eljun is also working on incorporating these companies into their network, thus becoming a complete solution for mobility.

What can the Warp community do to help you succeed?

"There are two things", Fredrik Billing answers. "We will soon raise a new financing round and we will use crowdfunding, so even small investors are welcome."

"The second is that we will soon need beta testers of our service, both the app and private individuals who want to rent out their charger."

If you are interested, fill out their contact form on the website.

"We must solve the whole energy issue"

Fredrik Billing is the one who spoke most during the interview, but when I ask about their driving force, why they started Eljun, it is Tore Stenbock who immediately starts talking:

"We must solve the whole energy issue. We can not continue on the same path, we must do something new. I think we have a unique solution to the problem of electrifying transport."

Fredrik Billing agrees and adds:

"Modern humans do not want to reduce convenience and comfort. Things need to get better than they are now. Being able to find that is incredibly cool."

Mathias Sundin