In stop-go traffic in the city the regenerative braking (recuperation) system could play a major role for electric vehicles. A simulator has been developed, programmed and assembled for future trials in respect of the effectiveness of different energy recovery methods.
Considerable delays had to be accepted at times in the vehicle procurement process. Various technical points of failure have been identified and partially remedied already. Despite newly agreed VDE application rules for the introduction of charging equipment, when it came to building up the charging infrastructure incompatibilities emerged between the different manufacturer’s plug and communications concepts. As a strategy to resolve this issue, a system for communication between vehicle and charging infrastructure was conceived and installed in several prototypes. Locking mechanisms were also developed that take account of the different earthed plugin systems. An evaluation of the user trials is not yet available. In the course of the project, the partners, including city administration departments, building firms and users, succeeded in establishing a cross-municipality network.