Showcases electric mobility – demonstration and research. This is the headline at the homepage of German government. For this reason there are 40 projects in the Showcase Bavaria-Saxony Electric Mobility Connects in successful realization. Main topics here long distance mobility, urban and rural mobility, international cooperation as well as education and qualification. The project volume is representing 130 Mio. € and funding of 70 Mio. €.
Next to the support of the German government and the free states, the industry is giving a lot of money into it. Starting the projects in 2013 it is time for half time results.
Research and development in the showcase Bavaria-Saxony serves in special the customer and technology driven market preparation, with the target supporting building up the market in a next step. Concrete goal of the projects is to generate new insights for main challenges of electric mobility and pushing basic conditions. For the broad market acceptance with state three most important working fields: Infrastructure & range, costs and efficiency as well as the consequent realization of electric mobility as holistic concept.
For the working field of infrastructure and range running projects are delivering important insights up to now. The range of electric cars must be discussed differentially and in the context of reasonable applications. First results can be shown in private individual and commercial mobility. So the daily oscillation to working place is a perfect match for electric cars as long as the user has the possibility to charge there or at home. A critical point for using electric cars in urban surroundings is in contrast charging in inner city areas. Here is on the one hand a demand-oriented infrastructure necessary on the other hand rules for not blocking charging stations in limited parking situations. For commercial mobility we can also state that using electric cars in fleets as well as in supplier services & as utility vehicle in appropriate applications can be practicable and without additional costs.
Costs and efficiency is the second working field for the broad use of electric mobility. Preliminary results can be stated here for research in fleet management, mobility and cost analysis as well as in consulting and education. For fleet management it is about modeling and application concepts for the organization, purchase and operation of communal fleets up to cost and efficiency calculations. Insights of finished mobility analysis are showing that in the research underlying regional public facilities over 75 % of the company rides can be done with an electric car. In addition the positive aspects of driving experiences and power of electric cars generated light bulb moments with the stuff. For organizations which are needing consulting in realization and efficiency using electric cars there is already a service for well-founded supply.
Third essential working field is the consequent realization of electric mobility as holistic concept. If you think electric mobility in a global way, this means a systemic approach out of vehicle, energy and traffic system. First big step for this was the initiation of the showcases electric mobility as in appearance and impact new, big applied R&D projects with a lot of different players. For the underlying projects this means new, innovative partner combinations with all their challenges and chances. On the one hand there is the development of a master plan – incl. urban development, infrastructure and traffic planning – for electric mobility in big cities together with research institutions, industries and urban administration. On the other hand there are working universities in both free states together for the academic qualification of engineers and qualified workers, for a mid- & long-term base for electric mobility. One point must be clear. The showcases can only leave a contribution for the holistic concept. Everybody in charge hast o look after sustainability and broad effects of this mobility concept for the future.
As stated at the beginning, the four German showcase regions are doing demonstration and research for electric mobility. So they deliver an important basis for preparation and running up the market. To sum up we want to mention the fast charging project on the A9 as an example. Here we are doing for the first time a CCS-infrastructure system on German wide motorways. The delivered insights are used in a next step for higher-level activities like a costumer oriented e-roaming as well as the consequent step of a broad roll-out.
Author
Dr. Johann Schwenk
Bayern Innovativ
www.bayern-innovativ.de
