Earlier this year, HiQ acquired Headlight Group, consisting of Headlight and Relight. This acquisition is an important part of HiQ’s expansion journey and will bring new job opportunities to the cities of Västerås, Örebro and Borlänge due to the great recruitment need. The news comes just weeks after the acquisition was announced and is an important part of HiQ’s effort to become Northern Europe’s leading tech consulting firm. u0022We’re so excited to be expanding to Borlänge and in the cities of Örebro and Västerås! This merger enables us to expand further in the Swedish market and bring new jobs to all three cities while also affording us the opportunity to work together with companies in these areas. This is a good step for us on our expansion journey. Let’s go big!,u0022 says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

In mid-April this year, HiQ announced the acquisition of IT specialists the Headlight Group, consisting of Headlight and Relight, as part of HiQ’s mission to position itself as the leading tech consulting firm in Northern Europe. Headlight AB was founded in 2001 and is a consulting firm that has established itself through strong growth as an IT partner for successful companies and authorities. Through their areas of expertise, leadership, business and system development, they offer a holistic concept for digitalisation by helping their customers every step of the way, from strategy and management to development and administration. HiQ is now saying hello to 100 new employees from Headlight, based in the cities of Örebro, Västerås and Borlänge. In Örebro and Västerås, they are joining existing HiQ offices, while Borlänge is the first office in that city. Headlight will be part of HiQ’s expansion journey, enabling the company to take on even more customers and increase expertise in leadership as well as business and system development.

“Through the merger with Headlight we’re gaining fantastic new staff with invaluable expertise, as well as a customer base and merits that make HiQ stronger. Having an even greater presence in the Swedish market is fundamental to our expansion and an important building block, not only for growth in Sweden but also in Northern Europe. I’m sure we’ll work wonders together,” says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

The acquisition and merger also means a change of name, as Headlight AB will now be known as HiQ. The name change also benefits existing customers, who now have even more expertise to call on in most cities. It also enables the possibility to welcome more customers. Headlight will play an important role in expanding HiQ further into the Swedish market and making it the leading tech consulting firm in Northern Europe. Västerås, Örebro and Borlänge play a significant role providing job opportunities in the cities as Headlight joins HiQ on its expansion journey. These areas are also important university cities and business hubs. This means that in addition to job opportunities, students have a potential path into working life via HiQ Leap, the company’s trainee programme, which will be launched in spring 2022.

Locally in the region, HiQ will be an even stronger player after the acquisition of Headlight, with a broad offering in IT, business development, system development, project management and web development for both private businesses and the public sector. HiQ’s clear position in industrial technology development is also boosted by strong investment in the business area of Research & Technology, an area based on Research & Development, but which for HiQ has resulted in a greater focus on technology. The business line director at HiQ is Hanna Pehrson.

“HiQ is well established in Mälardalen industry and is now a strong partner for many leading players in the manufacturing industry in the area. The merger with Headlight means that we will be able to offer even more in areas such as sustainability, Industry 4.0, autonomous, product development and 5G application development. We can welcome more customers and create even more jobs. This makes us an even more important player for industry and business in Mälardalen,” says Hanna Pehrson, Business Line Director for Research & Technology at HiQ.

“This will really benefit Mälardalen. Together we have a very exciting position and are building a fantastic workplace for everyone who wants to be at the forefront of digitalisation. We have a great recruitment need, which will lead to many new jobs in all three cities. We need more skilled people to join us,” concludes Per-Olof Rosén, former CEO of Headlight, now site manager for HiQ in Västerås, Örebro and Borlänge.

HiQ wins framework agreement with the Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education (MYH). The procurement refers to consulting support regarding system development, architecture, and change management. "So great for HiQ to win this framework agreement, areas in which we are incredibly strong. Contributing with this kind of competence is the core of what we want to do, and the public sector is an important area for us," says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education’s (MYH) IT unit works with system development regarding the internal, self-developed business and case management system, websites, and e-services. MYH has two offices in Sweden, one in Västerås and one in Hässleholm. The procurement refers to consulting support regarding system development, architecture, and change management, primarily regarding business and case management systems, websites, and My Pages, but also for general needs. Additionally, the IT unit is responsible for the operation, management, support, and development of the IT environment. HiQ now wins the framework agreement.

“After a lot of hard work from our team with the tender, it feels incredibly good to win the framework agreement. We have solid experience in system development, architecture, and change management, so it’s great that we get to be part of the journey with MYH and to help them develop,” says Åza Solomon, Client Responsible at HiQ.

The framework agreement covers a period of two years with the possibility of two extensions of one year each.

About MYH:
Swedish National Agency for Higher Vocational Education’s (MYH’s) main area of responsibility includes Higher Vocational Education in Sweden (HVE) and the key function is to ensure that the HVE programmes meet the labor market’s needs for qualified workforce. MYH analyzes the labor market, decides which programmes qualify to be offered as HVE, allocate government grants, conduct reviews, produce statistics, and promote quality improvement in HVE. Additionally, other areas of responsibility include two types of post-secondary educations: arts and culture courses and interpretation courses and programmes.

BatteryLoop, a company which gives electric car batteries a second life as energy storage systems, launched an energy storage system in the spring of 2021 which makes it possible, among other things, to build charging infrastructure in places where the electricity grid suffers power shortages. In collaboration with HiQ, BatteryLoop is now developing a digital platform that makes it possible to maximize power in the charging infrastructure. The digital platform enables an estimate as to how long a battery has left to live, thus its economic value in a circular business model. "It is fantastic that our team is joining BatteryLoop on this journey. Circular business models and sustainability are important to us at HiQ, and it really shows with this project. There is an incredible amount to do to streamline the use of energy in society and this solution is an important contribution to that process," says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

In recent years, electric cars have increased in popularity. Calculations made by the electricity industry’s interest group, Power Circle, show that there will be 2.5 million rechargeable vehicles in Sweden by 2030. In line with this development, the need to manage used batteries will increase. BatteryLoop is a Swedish company which gives electric car batteries a second life as energy storage systems. These energy storage systems are suitable for use in properties, logistics centers or harbors – places where we know that many electric vehicles will share the electricity grid in the near future. The idea around BatteryLoop came about in 2017 with the aim of finding a business model for reusing used batteries – when an electric vehicle is at the end of its life cycle, the battery still has a large degree of its capacity left. Even if the battery can no longer power a car, it is often possible to use it in an energy storage system and thus extend its life by many years.

But BatteryLoop’s solutions are not only about the energy storage system itself, which is a very technically advanced solution, but also about developing and offering software solutions that contribute to better energy efficiency and savings for customers. One example of this is the digital platform that BatteryLoop is developing together with HiQ, which enables the charging infrastructure to deliver more power. The digital platform enables operational monitoring of the energy storage system and makes structured data available for use in determining battery life. The data that HiQ and BatteryLoop gather can be used together with AI to estimate how long a battery has left to live, and thus its economic value in a circular business model.

By combining energy storage with a digital solution such as this one, a property owner can make both financial and environmental gains. For example, in an office building with charging points and an energy storage system, electricity supply costs can be reduced for the property, and the solution enables greater revenues from charging infrastructure and support services for the electricity grid. At the same time, climate-related emissions are also reduced through the increased electrification of vehicles and through the more efficient extraction of energy from the electric grid.

“We are just at the beginning of electrification in society. The charging infrastructure will need to be expanded and this will place tough demands on electricity grids. Having an energy storage system and smart digital solutions can be the key for companies that want a secure system for customers, employees, drivers and others who want to be able to charge safely and smoothly without interruptions or long waiting times. What we are now creating together with HiQ is an important piece of the puzzle in the development of electrification for our customers,” says Rasmus Bergström, CEO of BatteryLoop.

About BatteryLoop:
www.batteryloop.com

Examples of economic and environmental benefits:
In an office property of 8,500 m2 with 55 charging stations and a 300 kWh energy storage system, the electricity supply costs for the property are reduced and the solution enables increased revenues from charging infrastructure and support services for the electricity grid. At the same time, climate-related emissions are reduced by about 40 tons of CO2 per year through the increased electrification of vehicles and the more efficient extraction of energy from the electricity grid.

HiQ wins the Swedish Higher Education Authority (UKÄ) procurement of a web agency for digital communication services. "It's great that HiQ wins UKÄ's procurement. This shows HiQ's breadth and expertise in various segments and that we are a strong partner as a web agency in government operations. Fantastic team effort from the team who worked on this," says Sven Ivar Mørch, CEO of HiQ.

UKÄ is an independent government agency in the higher education area, located in Stockholm. It is responsible for quality assurance, efficiency review, follow-up, supervision and developing management in the higher education sector. The vision is for the organization to contribute to strengthening Sweden as a knowledge society.

UKÄ needs a strategic and innovative partner who works proactively with the development of their digital communication and who can deliver digital services with the highest quality and accessibility in close collaboration. They want a modern and creative web agency with good experience in working with government operations and that puts UKÄ’s needs first. The website and digital services must comply with the law on accessibility to digital public service.

The procurement includes production, management and development of UKÄ’s existing website with associated technical solutions as well as digital communication for the web and other digital communication. The procurement also includes the analysis and accessibility services used on the website (eg Google Analytics, Solr and Readspeaker). The assignment also pertains to overall advice, support and guidance as well as the possible development of new digital services.

“We are building the Nordic region’s best web agency and I would like to extend a warm welcome to UKÄ. Web, innovation and digital services for the public sector with high demands on accessibility are areas we at HiQ are incredibly strong in, and that is growing,” says Linda Woxneborn, Head of Design, Innovation & Communication at HiQ.

The framework agreement applies from the time of signing the agreement and for two years with the possibility for UKÄ to extend the framework agreement by one + one year, for a maximum of up to four years.