The municipal level is the basis. That’s where the people live. They even feel a direct benefit of electric mobility due to better air quality and less noise. NOW GmbH supports the cities and municpalities in adapting concepts for public and private local transport to their circumstances. For example, we coordinate the accompanying research as well as the exchange of results among all participants. We also involve and support industrial companies with research and development projects that serve to optimise vehicles and promote innovative drive systems.

Through its “Local electric mobility” (“Elektromobilität vor Ort”) funding programme (the BMVI’s electric mobility funding guideline), the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is supporting the collaboration of industry, science and the public sector in further driving forward the market ramp-up of electric mobility and in anchoring it in everyday life.

The BMVI provides subsidies for the procurement of electric vehicles as well as the charging infrastructure required for their operation. Municipal fleets, vehicles and charging infrastructure that are used in a municipal environment are funded, as well as the establishment of application-oriented municipal electric mobility concepts. Procurement funding is issued under the “Clean air” immediate action programme within “Standard funding for local electric mobility”. The concept funding is particularly oriented towards municipalities that receive no master plan funding from the “Clean air 2017-2020” immediate action programme.

Aside from this kind of investment funding, the ministry also supports research and development that is open to all kinds of technology and to all modes of transport on core electric mobility issues. Together with the BMVI’s overarching accompanying research (coordinated through the NOW) on the programme, insights on the funding programme level can be gained and absorbed. In addition market requirements can be reacted to in a targeted way within the programme (including in the form of annual funding calls).

Funding Measures EM

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Accompanying Research in the Electric Mobility Programme

The BMVI’s accompanying research represents a key component of the programme’s implementation. Its goals are the amalgamation and evaluation of project results from all three funding areas (vehicle procurement, electric mobility concepts and R&D projects). A regular exchange takes place together with all participating companies and organisations. It is the network for knowledge transfer on the project and programme levels and thereby makes an important contribution to integrating the individual results of projects into the overall programmatic level. It was adjusted to market requirements in the context of the publication of the 2015 electric mobility funding guideline. With the clear goal of supporting the market ramp-up, four important thematic fields were established, which constitute the pillars of the ongoing accompanying research to the programme.

There has been a focus on the bus vehicle class within the topic of “Innovative drives and vehicles” over the past few years. The invitation to tender and commissioning of the accompanying research “Innovative drives in road-based local public transport” took place in 2018. The consortium, comprised of thinkstep, Ingenieurgruppe IVV, Fraunhofer IVI, VCDB VerkehrsConsult Dresden Berlin, hySOLUTIONS and SEK Consulting, began in the autumn. The focus of the accompanying research in terms of content is on the one hand, monitoring, and on the other, the evaluation of the use of electric buses currently in operation which have been funded by the BMVI through comprehensive data acquisition. The specific determination of the data points to be collected was already established in 2017 in the framework of “Minimal data sets for the survey of research data in electric mobility”.

The focus of the accompanying research is not just on battery buses. Fuel cell buses will also be examined. The data collected will be evaluated comprehensively. Evaluations of the respective bus operators will be made available. Of particular relevance here are the availability, energy consumption and real range of the buses, among other factors. In addition, in terms of data evaluation, data from research and development projects as well as electric mobility concepts with a focus on local electric mobility will be taken into account.

Accompanying research on framework conditions and market 2021-2023

The focus of the accompanying research on framework conditions and market is to investigate the interaction of market development and political and social framework conditions in the field of electromobility. How do funding programmes, market incentives, privileges, social discourse and social developments affect the spread of electric vehicles? To answer these questions, the accompanying research analysed the market development in Germany and in selected international markets. In addition, it observed and evaluated the implementation and impact of political support programmes and incentives as well as legal framework conditions. The mobility behaviour and mobility needs of a potential clientele from the private, public and municipal sectors were also analysed against the background of the benefits and costs of using electric vehicles.

With the measures adopted in autumn 2019 as part of the Climate Package 2030, efforts to establish sustainable mobility have been intensified once again. The ambitious goal is to have up to 10 million electric vehicles registered in Germany by 2030.

The market development for electric vehicles has gained significant momentum in 2020. Compared to petrol and diesel vehicles, the stock figures are nevertheless still low. In the coming years, development will continue to depend to a large extent on government subsidies and the political and social framework conditions. The biggest factor currently hampering the market ramp-up of electric vehicles, the lack of vehicle availability, will be solved in the next few years with the announced model offensive of the car manufacturers and the obligations arising from the EU’s fleet consumption limits.

Based on the analysis of the political and regulatory framework conditions, the evaluation of essential funding measures and specific incentive instruments as well as the monitoring of vehicle supply and market trends, the course of the market development for electric vehicles in Germany until 2030 will be forecast and necessary funding needs identified. Over the next two years, the ISME (Institut Stadt|Mobilität|Energie) will take on this task together with the Fraunhofer ISI, EE Energy Engineers and Noerr LLP, and accordingly conduct the accompanying research in the funding programme “Elektromobilität vor Ort” of the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure.

The focal points:

  • Forecast of the market development until 2030 and necessary funding requirements.
  • Analysis of market development in the field of electromobility in seven international markets and “lessons learned” for German development
  • Preparation of an application and implementation-oriented action guideline and establishment of the working group “Procurement and integration of e-vehicles in fleets”.

Accompanying research on framework conditions and market 2016-2018

The consortium of TÜV Rheinland, Institute for Innovation and Technology and the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) commissioned with the accompanying research on framework conditions and market from 2016-2018 presented its final report in July 2018. The report shows that in an international comparison, Germany was not yet able to fulfil the lead market claim in 2018 with regard to the number of existing and new registrations of electric vehicles. The situation is different when it comes to the ratio of electric vehicles to charging infrastructure. Here, Germany was able to demonstrate a particularly good ratio of 5.5 electric vehicles to one charging point. With regard to the market potential of battery electric vehicles, it was shown that current electric vehicles can fulfil existing mobility needs and can be used economically despite the known restrictions (higher acquisition costs, limited range). Within the framework of the accompanying research, the implementation of the Electric Mobility Act (EmoG) in municipalities was systematically recorded for the first time.

The “Networked Mobility” thematic area of accompanying research has set itself the task of, on the one hand, investigating the networking of various electric mobility applications and different modes of transport. On the other hand, it also examines the networking between electric mobility and the energy industry with regard to the increasing number of electric vehicles. The aim of this thematic field is to build up and expand competencies at the municipal level.

As part of municipal mobility strategies, the networking of various electric mobility applications and different modes of transport will be examined in detail and a catalogue of measures compiled. The linking of the transport sector with the energy system will be discussed on the basis of the stakeholders comprising municipalities, municipal utility companies, distribution network operators and transport companies. Both areas will be supplemented by the experiences gained from the municipal electric mobility concepts as well as from the municipal perspective on the basis of the city survey.

The municipal level is the basis. That’s where the people live. They even feel a direct benefit of electric mobility due to better air quality and less noise. NOW GmbH supports the cities and municpalities in adapting concepts for public and private local transport to their circumstances. For example, we coordinate the accompanying research as well as the exchange of results among all participants. We also involve and support industrial companies with research and development projects that serve to optimise vehicles and promote innovative drive systems.

Through its “Local electric mobility” (“Elektromobilität vor Ort”) funding programme (the BMVI’s electric mobility funding guideline), the Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) is supporting the collaboration of industry, science and the public sector in further driving forward the market ramp-up of electric mobility and in anchoring it in everyday life.

The BMVI provides subsidies for the procurement of electric vehicles as well as the charging infrastructure required for their operation. Municipal fleets, vehicles and charging infrastructure that are used in a municipal environment are funded, as well as the establishment of application-oriented municipal electric mobility concepts. Procurement funding is issued under the “Clean air” immediate action programme within “Standard funding for local electric mobility”. The concept funding is particularly oriented towards municipalities that receive no master plan funding from the “Clean air 2017-2020” immediate action programme.

Aside from this kind of investment funding, the ministry also supports research and development that is open to all kinds of technology and to all modes of transport on core electric mobility issues. Together with the BMVI’s overarching accompanying research (coordinated through the NOW) on the programme, insights on the funding programme level can be gained and absorbed. In addition market requirements can be reacted to in a targeted way within the programme (including in the form of annual funding calls).