Overview
The growing awareness of necessary changes and effective measures that can prevent, or at least, limit climate change has in many countries led to substantially intensified efforts in research and development. The dominant objective is to reduce fossil fuel consumption - therefore low carbon mobility, with electric mobility in the first place, is considered as a promising way to meet the challenge of future petrol scarcity.
Electromobility+ is a contribution of European countries and regions to the European Green Cars Initiative. The main goal is to provide a basis for a long-term platform on electric mobility in Europe.
The objectives of Electromobility+ can be summarised as follows:
- The establishment of sustainable and effective structures for cooperation and coordination of research in the field of electric mobility as a basis for a long-term cooperation.
- The development of technical and scientific knowledge which will create long-lasting conditions for the development of electric mobility in Europe on the horizon of 2025.
With the transnational call Electromobility+, public research programmes from eleven European countries and regions come together to give to research the objective of preparing a long-term horizon, one which will follow this current hype phase.
Thus, Electromobility+ will contribute to the creation of long-lasting conditions for the development of electric mobility in Europe on the horizon of 2025. The joint initiative is geared to analyse, to consolidate and to prolong developments within the context of electromobility which are going to appear from 2010 on and so strongly contribute to shape the European electromobility of tomorrow.
Within Electromobility+, research programmes from eleven European countries and regions are bringing together more than € 15 M of public funding within the framework of the proposed ERA-Net Plus initiative. The European Commission may additionally contribute up to 33 % of the total national funding to the funding of trans-national projects (i.e. about € 7 M).
Funding
Results
Research collaboration in electric mobility
Electric power is seen as a possible solution to dependency on petrol in the future. In an effort to address future petrol scarcities, an EU initiative has identified electromobility, or electrified transport systems, as a promising alternative.
The EU-funded 'ERA-NET Plus on electromobility' (http://www.electromobility-plus.eu (ELECTROMOBILITY+)) project links research programmes from various European countries in order to consolidate and facilitate sustainable electromobility development. Specifically, the project aims to establish sustainable and effective structures for cooperation and coordination, as well as develop technical and scientific knowledge.
To fund transnational research projects, ELECTROMOBILITY+ has brought together the European Commission and ministries and funding agencies from 11 Member States.
After the initial ELECTROMOBILITY+ call, a central information and brokerage event took place to bring researchers together to build transnational consortia. About 200 people from all the countries involved attended.
As part of the brokerage session, participants looking for partners had the opportunity to present their organisation profile and ideas for project proposals. In total, 40 proposals were submitted, which led to the funding of 18 research projects beginning in 2013. Thematic priorities include socioeconomic issues, technological strategies, and research and development. ELECTROMOBILITY+ will monitor these research efforts along with national monitoring bodies.
A mid-term event in 2014 provided an update on the progress of the projects. It also gave participants an opportunity to discuss the initiatives further and to identify linkages. Project outcomes will become available during a final event in 2015.
ELECTROMOBILITY+ transnational funding cooperation will ultimately lead to the development of a sustainable European research and innovation landscape for electromobility in the coming decades. This will also result in significant knowledge gains, as well as potentially innovative products and services, thus boosting Europe's industrial competitiveness.