Berlin is one of ELVITENs six project cities participating in the testing and integration of charging networks of Electric Light Vehicles (EL-Vs). Project partner Hubject and Regional Support Group (RSG) member eMO (the Berlin Agency for Electromobility) co-hosted the 2nd City Workshop on the 13 May.

This workshop was held for RSG members and other relevant stakeholders of the Electric Light Vehicle (ELV) industry in Berlin. Approximately sixty participants attended the workshop at the EUREF campus, another RSG member, which included an exhibition. The exhibition displayed Berlin manufacturers’ latest innovations of ELVs and allowed participants to test the vehicles before the discussions took place inside. The tech-friendly environment of the EUREF campus enabled a lively discussion before the kick-off of the event by Hubject and eMO representatives.

The event was framed around the possibilities and opportunities that can arise from the use of ELVs. Following recently announced legislation in Germany allowing e-kickscooters, there is a lot of room for innovation and growth. Questions around whether ELVs can make meaningful contributions to climate protection, provide traffic relief, and their role in commercial transport were the base of discussion during the Ninth Smart Mobility Forum, which provided the framework for the 2nd City Workshop. Opening remarks were given by Carsten Puhl, CTO at Hubject and Gernot Lobenberg, head of eMO. Following this introduction, eMO Innovation Manager Frank Panse spoke about the issues surrounding micromobility as well as the opportunities they provide for businesses and start-ups.

The ELVITEN project was introduced by Ricarda Mendy, Research & Development (R&D) Project Coordinator at Hubject. The data collected from the operation of electric scooter fleets in the six European pilot cities allows for the evaluation of optimisation of fleet management. Mendy also spoke to stakeholders about ELVITEN Berlin’s demo pilot, ZeroFleet by Hubject, which serves to collect trip data via blackboxes and questionnaires. Other highlights include Best Practices presented in short lecture series. Also noteworthy are presentations given by Richard Damm, Head of Division at the Federal Ministry of Transport, and other panellists who enabled lively discussions. Concluding discussions raised the questions about what makes business models in the PLEV/LEV sector successful. These workshops are integral to the mission of ELVITEN to continue open discussions between all relevant stakeholders involved in the future of mobility.

The goal of ELVITEN is to not only demonstrate the usefulness of EL-Vs in the six European pilot cities but to integrate the existing charging stations into a wide platform available for users. Through incentivising the use of EL-V’s for regular and occasional urban travellers, ELVITEN is committed to the future of sustainable transportation and a greener urban future.

The convenience and appeal of cities is drawing more and more people to live and to work. The current European trend of urbanisation is also increasing the importance of cities and urban areas, which will only continue this growth trend. Cities are facing social challenges with respect to the environment, transport and social cohesion. In order to address those challenges, the Urban Agenda has been created.