Federal Minister Dr. Volker Wissing today opens the 2023 Electric Mobility Conference of the Federal Ministry for Digital and Transport (BMDV) in Hamburg. The conference is one of the largest electric mobility events in Germany. More than 500 participants are expected in the Curio-Haus in Hamburg. First Mayor Dr. Peter Tschentscher will participate in the opening ceremony on behalf of the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg.

The two-day conference programme offers podium discussions, presentations and workshops. These will cover both user perspectives as well as the issues and solutions of industry-oriented research.

Dr. Volker Wissing, Federal Minister for Digital and Transport: “We are making rapid progress in the ramp-up of electric mobility. There are than one million purely electric vehicles already on the road today – 64 per cent more than last year. The number of public charging points has grown by a good third to more than 80,000, within just a year. Charging points are becoming increasingly more powerful, making charging much faster. We want to keep up this pace, continue to support fleet operators in electrifying their fleets and foster innovative research projects, like in the areas of sharing and second-use of energy storage systems. And we’re working intensively on implementing the Charging Infrastructure Master Plan II. Consistent implementation of the measures is critical to success – and this is just as much as challenge for the departments involved as it is for the automotive industry, the energy industry and local authorities. Charging e-cars has to be simple, fast and available everywhere. We need the best solutions here in Germany to shape the climate-neutral mobility of the future.”

Alina Hain, Chief Operating Officer (COO) of NOW GmbH: “In the ramp-up phase of electric mobility, knowledge-sharing among the fields of business, technology, energy and resource policy is of key importance. Experts from municipalities, industry, science and politics must keep talking to one another so they can jointly conquer the huge challenges involved. And this is precisely one of the main missions of NOW GmbH: we connect people, we share knowledge, we are committed to supporting the BMDV on the road to climate-neutral mobility.”

More than 1 million euros for the BELLE project in Hamburg

During the conference, Federal Minister Wissing will present a funding grant to the Hamburg research and development project, BELLE, in the amount of more than one million euros. Project partners hySOLUTIONS, ABB E-Mobility, HAW Hamburg, Stadtreinigung Hamburg and Stromnetz Hamburg are developing solutions for city cleaning and city logistics, focussing on how heavy commercial vehicles with battery-electric drives can be integrated into local operations. The project is part of the implementation of the BMDV overall concept for climate-friendly commercial vehicles. The findings are then to be applied across all sectors.

New funding calls for the procurement of electric vehicles and charging infrastructure

The focus of the BMDV’s electric mobility funding guideline are municipalities and companies. Because of their high mileage and visibility, their fleets play an important role in the ramp-up of electric mobility. In one of the guideline’s current calls, the BMDV is supporting companies, associations and organisations in electrifying their vehicle fleets. A total of 14 million euros in funding is earmarked for the procurement of vehicles and the associated infrastructure. The deadline is 20 April 2023. On 21 April 2023, a separate funding call will follow for local authorities and public institutions, for which 10 million euros are allocated.

Comprehensive support for the ramp-up of electric mobility

The results of the electric mobility funding guideline are positive. Since 2015, 35 research and development projects, 346 electric mobility concepts, around 19,700 e-vehicles and approx. 8,800 charging stations have been approved for about 424 million euros. The Charging Infrastructure Master Plan II is a governmental concept for comprehensive support of the expansion of charging infrastructure by the federal government. In parallel, the BMDV is driving forward the market ramp-up of climate-friendly buses, commercial and rail vehicles, each with their own funding guidelines. With the already funded electric buses alone, the number will triple over coming years.

The conference will be recorded and made available on the Youtube-channel of NOW GmbH after the event.

During the conference, NOW GmbH will present:

 

Further information:

Procurement calls of the Electric Mobility funding guideline:

Electric Mobility Conference 2023 and link to the live stream:

Electric Mobility funding guideline:

Guideline for the funding of alternative drives for buses in passenger transport:

Guideline for the funding of alternative drives in rail transport:

Guideline on the funding of light and heavy commercial vehicles with alternative, climate-friendly drives and the associated refuelling and recharging infrastructure for electrically-powered commercial vehicles: