A Fact-Finding Mission on the topic of ‘Storage Technology and Charging Infrastructure for E-mobility’ in Germany was organised by the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) from 14th – 17th June 2021 in association with eclareon GmbH. This project was funded by the German Federal Ministry of Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) as a part of the German Energy Solutions Initiative. The study tour was designed for stakeholders in the E-mobility industry in India.
The mission’s objectives were to arrive at an understanding of the existing policy framework, business models, current research and technological developments in the E-mobility sector in Germany.
On 14th June, the online event kicked off with a round of introductions followed by presentations from companies, namely, NOW-GmbH and H2 Mobility by Christian Dieckhoff and Benjamin Jödecke, respectively. ‘Charging infrastructure planning in Germany’ and hydrogen technology and infrastructure were the topic of their presentations. The second theme for the day was ‘Battery Systems’. Dr Marius Bauer of Zentrum für Sonnenenergie und Wasserstoff-Forschung Baden-Württemberg (ZSW) presented an overview of battery technologies. In contrast, Bijan Abdolrahimi from Route Charge delivered a presentation on battery exchange systems for transportation, especially for the logistics industry.
The second day of the virtual event was marked by project presentations on ‘Current scientific developments & applications’. ‘Charging infrastructure 2.0’ was the topic of Dr Christian Spalthoff and Dr Martin Braun from Fraunhofer IEE. The research project “Charging Infrastructure 2.0”examines the influence of electric mobility on the energy networks of the future. The following presentation ‘by Manuela Schaller from Pracht Licht GmbH was about the company’s charging system technology.
On 16th June, the topic was ‘E-mobility in practice’. On the one hand, Stefanie Dedeyne from BTB GmbH Berlin deliberated on ‘Project FlexNet4E-mobility’, while on the other hand, Rene Wetzel from Ubitricity GmbH shed some light on ‘Smart Charging in Practice’. The project FlexNet4Emobility’ aims to understand possibilities for the optimised use of excess renewable energy for electric vehicles and analyse the effectiveness of electricity storage systems at different grid levels and eventually develop
intelligent operating and control strategies.
The theme for the last day was Battery Systems and Storage technologies. The first session was by Frank Baumann, BMZ Group, a global player in Lithium-Ion battery systems, followed by Andreas Schaal of MANZ AG, which is into production equipment for lithium-ion battery cells,modules and packs.
In the second session, the areas of focus were ‘Fuel Cells in action’ presented by Matteo Schmid from Proton Motor Fuel Cell GmbH and ‘Battery Control Systems’ explained by Nicolas Rau from Twaice GmbH. The day was rounded up by a ‘Feedback session’, which was a reflection on the entire mission.
An interactive Q&A round followed all the sessions. These rounds were characterised by several important discussions on topics such as an incentive mechanism and regulatory policies in Germany, ways of enhancing the roll-out of EVs, the application of H2 technology in heavy-duty vehicles, surveys and analysis related to various adoption scenarios for E-mobility, the pricing issues of e-vehicles, details of fuel cell technology, set up of EV charging platforms, costs of charging, the feasibility of battery
charging and so on. The sessions were moderated by Dipti Kanitkar from IGCC and Lena Möller from eclareon GmbH.
The study tour was well attended by over 50 participants from industry associations and leading companies in charging and battery technologies from India. The participants were delighted with the program structure and content, which provided a valuable learning experience. The event ended on an optimistic note with the hope of mapping out a concrete path for E-mobility adoption in the near future.