Commercial traffic can open the door to electromobility

Over the past year, researchers at the institute have examined and analyzed 350 commercial driving profiles across Germany. For up to one million small delivery trucks and cars, it would make sense for operators to switch from the internal combustion engine to electric drives in the future. This would be a fourth of all commercial vehicles in Germany. E-vehicles make sense in any situation where the vehicles are in use on a daily basis, and where plannable routes of a limited distance are the norm. This is the case, for instance, with package delivery or outpatient care services.

Together with the partners of the Regional Eco Mobility 2030 innovation cluster, Wietschel has already created a comprehensive database. Until now, there have hardly been any data on the driving patterns of commercial vehicles in cities. Private passenger vehicles have been the main focus, says the head of the Energy Management department at ISI.

The cluster has a broad interdisciplinary set-up that includes not only research institutes, OEMs, municipalities, and associations. The market analysis also provides us with data that will enable us to develop a modern city vehicle, one that will combine battery and fuel cell technology and integrate intelligent software solutions,says Wietschel in explaining the goals of REM 2030.