The German Ministry of Transport is undertaking a $165 million initiative to put one million electric vehicles (EVs) on roads by 2020. The North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) regional government recently initiated a $21.6 million road test as part of this federal initiative. NRW officials want to see 250,000 EVs on regional roads by 2020 with infrastructure in place to ensure day-to-day commuting. The NRW’s ColognE-Mobil road test started on Monday with the delivery of 10 Ford battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to area drivers.
The ColognE-Mobil project is sponsored by Ford-Werke GmbH, Rhein Energie AG, the city of Cologne and the University of Duisberg-Essen. Ford-Werke GmbH started with a delivery of 10 Transit BEVs with an additional 15 BEVs to hit local streets in 2010. Utility firm Rhein Energie AG is reducing carbon dioxide emissions in electric generation, thereby diminishing the environmental impact of charging BEVs. The city of Cologne within the NRW will study the impacts of BEVs on pedestrians, emergency personnel and city workers during the test period.
Aside from the commitment of BEVs by Ford-Werke GmbH, the University of Duisberg-Essen is perhaps the most critical partner in the ColognE-Mobil project. The university is committing 50 researchers from 15 departments to analyze every aspect of vehicle testing from delivery through maintenance. UDE researchers will look at consumer concerns with BEVs including potential financing options and concerns by pedestrians about the lack of vehicle noise. The university will also look at the technical capabilities of BEVs including battery degradation, vehicle mileage and charge times.
The North Rhine-Westphalia region represents an important market for EVs not only in Germany but the rest of the European Union. The region holds 18 million people living in large cities like Dusseldorf, Bonn and Cologne. The NRW is also home to a substantial industrial infrastructure that could be marshaled for battery, vehicle and charging station development in the next generation. The mixture of a sizable consumer base with ample industrial resources should make the 2020 goal within the region seem modest. Green vehicle advocates are becoming frustrated with meager commitments by automakers like Ford and minor road tests that are seen as delaying mass EV production. It is difficult to envision 250,000 EVs in NRW and one million EVs in Germany by 2020 based on road tests in 2010 conducted at a snail’s pace. The ColognE-Mobil project would be more credible among critics if more BEVs were hitting the road in the NRW.
