International Transportation (67) 1 | 2015 16 Providing local presence in-a-European network International cooperation and knowledge exchange on e-mobility in the municipal and regional context Municipal e-mobility, knowledge exchange, international cooperation, information network The municipalities in the metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg in Northern Germany as well as the City of Valladolid in Spain demonstrate exemplary commitment to promoting the use of electric vehicles. Together they are developing and testing concepts for encouraging electric mobility. For the last two years now, the responsible teams of the ‘Amt electric’ founded by the municipalities in the metropolitan region and of the Innovation Agency of Spain’s Castile and León region have been exchanging experiences and knowledge on e-mobility. This cooperation is already showing substantial impact. Author: Sabine Flores T he promotion of electric mobility is undeniably one of those areas that will greatly beneit from close cooperation on the European level. Isolated initiatives by individual states would weaken Europe’s competitive position compared to the US and China. Municipalities and the associated public service enterprises and regional authorities have a crucial role to play in promoting e-mobility. They are responsible for public transport and make important decisions regarding traic management in their districts; and their vehicle leets consist of a high number of vehicles that could be replaced by vehicles using alternative drive technologies. In addition, using e-vehicles will help Europe’s cities and towns to further improve their environmental footprint and quality of life. The integration of all types of e-vehicles, from e-bikes to e-busses, allows the creation of sustainable mobility concepts. Against this background, a German-Spanish cooperation initiative has been started on regional and local level. The cooperation is driven by the metropolitan region Hannover-Braunschweig-Göttingen-Wolfsburg and the City of Valladolid. For several years now, both regions have been very active in promoting e-mobility. The German metropolitan region around Hannover, Braunschweig, Göttingen and Wolfsburg in Lower Saxony is one of four Photo: Amt electric E-mobility project STRATEGIES International Transportation (67) 1 | 2015 17 regions in Germany set to encourage e-mobility to an outstanding degree in the scope of an initiative by the German Federal Government. The cities, towns and districts in the metropolitan region with its around four million inhabitants have shown exemplary commitment by creating a special organizational unit called ‘Amt electric’, which is responsible for knowledge expansion and for coordinating the extensive vehicle leet. This organization provides the municipal authorities with advice regarding the development and implementation of local and regional e-mobility programs. These programs include, for instance, measures in support of intermodal transport concepts or diferent carsharing schemes as well as the incorporation of e-mobility issues in urban planning. The ‘Amt electric’ attaches much importance to involving the members of local political bodies. One example is the carswap campaign ‘Aktion Autotausch’, allowing local politicians to use an electric car instead of their own for a period of ten days to test the suitability of e-mobility for everyday use in their district. Up to now, about 70-municipal politicians have taken up that ofer - with the corresponding positive high-proile publicity. In the scope of their studies at the Municipal University of Public Administration of Lower Saxony, future higher civil servants are trained using a simulation game - “Electrify the metropolitan region. Leverage the potential of sustainable mobility” - to help raise their awareness of the importance of e-mobility. The municipal authorities are also actively working towards a shared energypolicy objective: to be the irst metropolitan region in Germany to use 100 % renewable energy for heating, mobility and electric power needs by 2050. In addition, they want to demonstrate that e-mobility can also play a key role in connecting urban and rural areas. A central task adopted by the ‘Amt electric’ is the promotion of e-vehicles as part of municipal leets. Currently, about 150 fully electric passenger cars operate in the leets of over 80 municipalities and municipal enterprises. This also serves to assess the suitability of series-produced e-vehicles for everyday use in various local application areas. In early 2015, the pilot test was extended to include also fully electric delivery vans and light-weight utility vehicles - for instance the models e-load up! by VW and Twizy Cargo or Kangoo Z.E. by Renault - as well as electric cargo bikes. This extension is a response to the needs speciied by the diferent municipal entities. For its activities, the ‘Amt electric’ can count on inancial support provided by the German Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure in the scope of the ‘Electric- Mobility Showcase’ program. The cooperation proits from the experiences that the City of Valladolid has gathered as one of the now 60 members of the Smart Cities network in Spain (RECI). Valladolid and Burgos share responsibility for the topic of ‘Urban Mobility’ (electromobility and intelligent transport systems). The network shows clear parallels with the association founded by the roughly 60 municipalities in the metropolitan Hannover-Braunschweig- Göttingen-Wolfsburg region. Local presence - in a European network The metropolitan region and the City of Valladolid share a strong economic interest in the automotive industry. The metropolitan region is home to the headquarters of the Volkswagen Group and Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. In addition, several automotive suppliers are based in the region. In Valladolid, on the other hand, Renault operates a factory of the e-car Twizy. As symbols of the cooperation, Valladolid’s city authorities are testing a fully electric VW Rabbit (e-Golf ) provided by the ‘Amt electric’ while the metropolitan region inancially supports the use of the Renault Twizy in the metropolitan region’s municipal leets. The municipalities of the metropolitan region and the City of Valladolid are cooperating in piloting concepts for the promotion of e-mobility. For the last two years now, the responsible teams of the ‘Amt electric’ and of the Innovation Agency of Spain’s Castile and León region have been exchanging experiences and knowledge on e-mobility. The cooperative eforts also involve several French regions and organizations, based on a project for international cooperation and knowledge exchange with municipalities, regions and associations in France and Spain funded by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Afairs and Energy. In addition, the eforts include various activities at international trade fairs and conferences as well as the better transport forum of the metropolitan region. At this year’s Hannover Messe, Valladolid has been involved for the third time in the better transport forum to present its municipal e-mobility strategies as well as the European project ‘Faro REMOURBAN’ for holistic and sustainable urban renewal. In this area, Valladolid has taken over a pioneering role in introducing innovative technological solutions for mobility, energy eiciency and ICT. Extended cooperation Initially aimed at promoting e-mobility, the initiative has developed into an established cooperation network, which will be given a more formal structure over the coming months and extended to cover additional energyand transport-related topics. Moreover, the existing international contacts shall be used for closer networking on the European level. A transnational competition for the visual design of the Renault Twizy will help enhance the initiative’s public proile. All this makes an important contribution to redesigning e-mobility and to closer cooperation between diferent campaigns for the promotion of sustainable mobility in Europe. ■ Sabine Flores Managing Director, Kommunen in der Metropolregion e.V., Hannover, Germany sabine.flores@metropolregion.de Renault Twizy e-cars used in the cities of the metropolitan region Photo: Amt electric