LION Smart GmbH - World without oil - gas prices - electric car

World without Oil

The price of oil reached a peak of 147 US Dollars in the summer of 2008. Gas prices were at a record high. In the future, rising energy prices will be a fact of life due to a constantly rising demand.

High energy prices have caused a shift in thinking among consumers as well as automobile producers and other leaders of the global economies. Expensive cars with high fuel consumption have lost considerable market share and are being replaced by innovative and fuel efficient small to middle sized cars.

The future of the automobile is dependent upon environmentally friendly technology. Dependence on oil is not only harmful to the environment; it is also the root of geopolitical conflicts.

Every large automobile producer is developing an electric car. Companies such as Better Place provide an efficient transportation network for electric cars. As a substitute for oil, cars can be powered with energy from renewable sources.

Germany Aiming for 1 Million Electric Vehicles by 2020

Battery costs are the main hurdle for a successful market for electric vehicles, according to a VW presentation at the German national strategy conference on electric mobility (Nationale Strategiekonferenz Elektromobilität) held in Berlin at the end of November 2008.

The German government plans to take strong measures in the development of electric and hybrid vehicles in the next ten years, with the goal of putting one million electric (EV) and plug-in hybrid electric (PHEV) vehicles onto Germany’s roads by 2020. Germany currently has about 46.1 million vehicles, according to figures published by the European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA), with a total vehicle fleet of around 49.7 million as of 2006.

The plan, announced during the conference, was drafted jointly by the departments of Economics, Transport, Environment, and Education & Research. It will be finalized and legislated early next year.

In his keynote speech, the German Environment Minister Sigmar Gabriel announced, “Germany shall become a lead market for electric mobility.” His colleague, Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee, added, “By providing electricity from renewable sources for transport, we can succeed in creating sustainable and climate friendly mobility for the future.” Dagmar Wöhrl, Undersecretary of state with the Economics department, pointed out the opportunity to gain economic independence from oil imports, and Thomas Rachel, representing the Economics and Research department drew attention to the opportunities for strengthening Germany in the domain of battery research and production.

Referring to tax breaks in France and the US, Matthias Wissmann, the president of the German Association of Automakers (VDA) said that “A broad introduction of electric mobility requires providing incentives that promote a change of the power train technique and that makes the additional cost of the battery acceptable to the buyer.”

Some 600 participants, mostly executives from German automakers, suppliers, utilities, research institutions and NGOs attended the conference which had been organized by VDI/VDE-IT. German automakers presented their recently announced electric and hybrid vehicles, such as the BMW Mini E, the Daimler E-Smart, and the Volkswagen Golf Twin Drive.

Furthermore, lightweight vehicles like the two-seated TWIKE, and a battery-powered light duty commercial vehicle by EcoCraft were shown. Prior to the conference, BMW and the utility company Vattenfall cooperated in producing 50 Mini-E to be tested in Berlin, and in setting up the required charging infrastructure in the spring of 2009.

In June, the German government and industry partners launched the “Fleet test: electric drive vehicles” (“Flottenversuch Elektromobilität”), a four-year PHEV fleet and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) demonstration project. Volkswagen AG is leading the project, with E.ON (energy provider) and LTC/GAIA and Evonik/Li-Tec (lithium-ion battery providers) as principal partners. Also contributing from the research side are Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, Heidelberg Institute for Energy and Environmental Research (Ifeu), the German Center for Aerospace Technology (DLR), and the Westphalian Wilhelms University at Münster.

The government is also supporting the Lithium Ionen Batterie LIB 2015 (Lithium-Ion Battery LIB 2015) consortium which includes Evonik, Li-Tec, Bosch, BASF, and VW. The consortium is investing €360 million (US$455 million) for research and development of lithium-ion batteries. This will be supplemented by €60 million (US$93 million) in funding from the German Federal Ministry for Education and Research (BMBF) over the next three years.

Source: http://www.greencarcongress.com/2008/11/germany-aiming.html