All participants at the first Electro-Mobility Summit in Berlin agreed that one hundred years after the automobile was invented, it is now time to reinvent it. Electric engines are to play an important part as one of several innovative technologies.
At the summit meeting, which brought together the electro-mobility branch, the research community and politicians, it also became clear, however, that more is at stake than simply a new engine type. We need innovations that are intelligently coordinated and networked, from the engines themselves to a reliable infrastructure (charging points) and well trained experts who can deal with highly complex technologies.
Germany is in an "excellent position” to become an international leader in the field, declared Chancellor Angela Merkel. Industry and government stand together as "partners with the shared responsibility” to achieve this promising goal. The German government is determined to put in place an enabling environment for this branch of the future.
Under the terms of the German government’s second rescue package, for instance, 500 million euros are to be used to promote electro-mobility: 115 million euros of this sum is to go to eight model regions and 190 individual projects. Players from the fields of research, industry and the local authorities involved are working together within the framework of these model projects to establish an infrastructure and to anchor electro-mobility in the public consciousness. A system for the future is needed – financial incentives to encourage consumers to buy electric vehicles are not to be part of the package though.
The chase to catch up is underway
In future mobility must be "more independent of natural resources, more environmentally friendly and more sustainable,” said Angela Merkel speaking to the National Platform experts. Today seven billion people around the world are already striving for individual mobility. That alone forces us to look for new options.
Those essential fields of technology, where Germany still has ground to make up, must be the focus of "concerted action” on the part of politicians and industry. The universities, for instance, have already reinstated the faculties of electrical chemistry closed many years ago. These faculties develop the know-how that is essential to develop effective battery systems.
New thinking for a new era
Angela Merkel sees one of the elementary tasks of the National Platform for Electro-Mobility as gearing the criteria for research promotion to results. The education system must become pro-active and take determined action to counter the shortage of engineers. Equally, new occupational profiles must be developed in good time for the new technologies.
Federal Research Minister Annette Schavan pointed to the initial success achieved in attracting more young people to science-based university degree courses. At the same time she stressed the increased importance of inter-disciplinary research and development concepts for cross-sectoral technologies such as electro-mobility.
Germany in a uniquely good position
Federal Economics Minister Rainer Brüderle reminded his audience that the German industrial set-up is almost perfect for assuming technological leadership in this field. Nowhere else in the world can we find such high-performance clusters combining automobile manufacturers, suppliers and research facilities. "Now we will reinvent the car,” he declared resolutely.
At the recent Hannover Messe visitors could see how businesses are responding to the challenge – from automobile manufacturers to battery producers and suppliers of major charging technologies. German businesses are not the only ones to see the opportunities though.
The National Platform for Electro-Mobility brings together representatives from the realms of politics, industry and research, local authorities and consumers. It is mandated to coordinate the National Electro-Mobility Development Plan and translate it into practice. In seven working groups, experts from the automobile and energy sectors are initially exploring the market openings for electro-mobility. Other topical issues include the further development of power storage technology and the establishment of international standards and norms.
The goal is to make Germany a leading market for electro-mobility in the long term, and by 2020 to get one million electric vehicles onto German roads.
A Joint German Government Electro-Mobility Unit (GGEMO) focuses the activities of the German government internally and supports the National Platform for Electro-Mobility. It is based within the Federal Economics Ministry.
