National Platform for Electric Mobility presents progress report to Federal Government
Joint press release issued by the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, the Federal Ministry of Transport, Building and Urban Development, the Federal Ministry of Education and Research and the Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety
The National Platform for Electric Mobility (NPE) today presented its progress report to the Federal Government. In this report, it states that Germany is well on its way to becoming a lead provider of and a lead market for electric mobility by 2020. At the same time, the NPE provides the Federal Government with further recommendations for its future policy in the sphere of electric mobility. The Federal Government thanks the NPE's experts for their work. The Federal Government will now consider the NPE's recommendations, observe market trends and continue to support them by establishing an appropriate policy framework, in order to keep Germany "on course".
The progress report shows that the Federal Government's approach of focusing on research and development in the current phase of preparation for commercialization is the right one. In particular, the NPE considers the establishment of the four "electric mobility showcases" to be a key measure. In these four regions, electric mobility is to be made part of people's driving experience by means of large-scale demonstration and pilot projects. Another objective is to gain valuable intelligence that can be used to address unresolved issues. The Federal Government wants to further boost research and development in the field of electric mobility. For this reason, it today named lighthouse projects in this sphere. These are especially innovative research projects to which the Federal Government provides financial assistance.
The Federal Minister of Economics and Technology, Dr Philipp Rösler, stated: "The findings of the progress report show that the name says it all. We have already achieved a great deal in the field of electric mobility. However, we still have a long road ahead of us. There can be no doubt that competition and the market are the best drivers of innovations, and that it is therefore up to our businesses to progress electric mobility. The Federal Government's task is to establish the right framework and provide an impetus. That is what we are doing with our government programme, especially in the sphere of research and development. I am delighted that today we are naming lighthouse projects in this field. These flagship research projects are designed to demonstrate how innovative the German research base is."
The Federal Minister of Transport, Building and Urban Development, Dr Peter Ramsauer, stated: "The National Platform's report clearly shows that we have made good progress with electric mobility in the last two years. German manufacturers have already developed attractive electric cars. We have seen, not just in the pilot regions and projects, that electric cars are already fit for everyday use in many areas of application. Targeted research and development activities are now required to further drive down the cost of electric vehicles and make them even more attractive. The Federal Government's financial assistance activities are supporting this."
The Federal Minister for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety, Peter Altmaier, stated: "Electric mobility is a major building block in the transformation of our energy system. The future of mobility is based on renewable sources of energy. I wholeheartedly welcome the fact that the National Platform for Electric Mobility has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring that the energy supply industry provides the electricity required by electric vehicles from additional renewable energy sources. This will produce valuable synergies. Electricity from the wind and sun is an ideal partner for flexible consumers, such as smart-charging electric cars. These, in turn, need renewable energy to enhance their climate benefits."
The Federal Minister of Education and Research, Prof. Annette Schavan, stated: "The National Platform for Electric Mobility has rightly focused on research and development. Today, the technological foundations must be laid to ensure that commercially viable electric vehicles can be produced in the long term. The research programmes launched by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research are addressing two of the major challenges: battery capacity and whole vehicle energy efficiency."
The NPE will continue its activities. In the spring of 2013, the Federal Government will join forces with the NPE to stage an international conference on electric mobility in Berlin.
