Integrating charging stations for electric vehicles into street lamps is an approach that saves costs. What makes the idea so enticing is that the intelligent billing technology is not integrated into the charging station, as is usually the case, but in the car. In the first project stage a mobile measurement data recording system within the electric vehicle – the on-board metering system – has been developed to the pilot stage.  more...

How will electromobility influence traffic in the future? The Institute for Transport Studies at the Karlsruhe Institute of Technology is developing a model designed to illustrate the effects of electromobility on road traffic. A particular focus is on the mobility behaviour of people using electric cars.  more...

A dense network of electric charging stations will need to be created if electric cars are to become more attractive. Until now there has been no uniform interface and sequence control system for charging electric cars. Using funding from the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology, a solution for communicating between the charging columns and the electric cars is now being developed. This should make it possible to recharge all types of cars at any charging column.  more...

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Applied Solid State Physics (IAF) have developed a transistor based on gallium nitride that halves the power losses in voltage converters. The use of the gallium nitride semiconductor in the electronic systems in solar power systems and electric vehicles can save considerable power. The electrical components are more efficient, smaller and require less cooling than previous silicon components.  more...

The German government selected four regions to receive funding as part of the "Schaufenster Elektromobilität" (electromobility showcase) programme. The plan is for one million electric vehicles to be on the roads in Germany by 2020. Over the coming three years, the showcase and pilot projects will benefit from funding to the tune of 160 million euros from the economics, environment, research and transport ministries.  more...

Representatives from science, research and industry converged on the town of Münster to attend the 2012 Battery Day and the subsequent Advanced Battery Power symposium. This year, the conference focused on the potential offered by electrochemical energy storage. The German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi) confirmed at the conference that energy storage played a crucial role in grid stability.  more...

Researchers from Aachen, Germany are developing a new type of electric vehicle, the StreetScooter, which is as affordable as it is environmentally-friendly. In close cooperation with 20 medium-sized industrial companies and 15 research institutions, a concept was developed comprising innovative production methods and new battery management and financing systems. The electric vehicle made in Aachen should cost around 5,000 Euros when series production begins after a short production run of 2,000 units.  more...

Buildings of the future are secret power plants: they will generate more energy than they require. The surplus can be used for the residents´ electromobility or is fed into the grid. This idea is now to be implemented as an energy-plus building with electromobility. The fully recyclable house designed by scientists from Dresden, Germany offers 142 m² of floor space and produces more energy than is required for a 4-person household and to run two electric cars and an electric scooter (with an annual mileage of 29,000 km). The team of researchers from Dresden University of Technology won second prize at the planning competition of the Zukunft Bau (Future of Construction) research initiative with this pilot project in February 2011.  more...

According to the plans of the German Federal Government, Germany is to become a key market for electromobility. This is one of the reasons why the responsible ministries are increasing their activities in energy research. For example, the NET-ELAN joint project coordinated by Forschungszentrum Jülich is researching how a stock of electric vehicles can be practically integrated into existing and future energy supply structures. The initial results of the project subsidised by the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology have now been made available.  more...

A number of German Federal Ministries are involved in the implementation of the "National Electromobility Development Plan". The Ministry for the Environment has now initiated several research projects to examine the conditions under which electric mobility can reduce harmful emissions into the environment.  more...