Moving away from oil

 

                                                    Cars without exhaust fumes(Moving away from oil) 

The Cabinet has adopted a National Development Plan on Electric-Drive Vehicles covering the next ten years. By 2020 one million electric vehicles are to be on German roads.

The development plan aims to foster research and development into battery-operated electric-drive vehicles in Germany, as well as preparing the market and launching the vehicles on the market.
 
"It is a dream that we can make come true: individual cars without exhaust fumes,” declared Federal Economics Minister Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg. More than 100 years after the internal combustion engine was first used in cars, electric vehicles are now ushering in a new technological era.
 
Electric engines are a major feature of future mobility. They offer the opportunity not only to become independent of oil but also to reduce emissions. By promoting electricity for mobility, the German government is pursuing its strategy of moving away from oil.
 
In conjunction with renewables, electric-drive vehicles are making a significant contribution to achieving the climate protection targets of the German government. It is also important to see electric vehicles in combination with the government’s Fuel Strategy and its High-Tech Strategy. 
 

Setting the scene for future mobility

 
Although the internal combustion engine will retain its importance for road traffic in the foreseeable future, it is important that we begin now to move gradually towards new, efficient technologies. If Germany is to hold its own against international competitors and retain its leading role in the automobile industry and the sector that supplies the industry, Germany must itself become the leading market for electric-drive vehicles.
 
Germany’s National Development Plan on Electric-Drive Vehicles enjoys a strong, broad foundation. The fundamental technologies for electric motors, power cells and network infrastructure have been developed. They must, however, be fine-tuned. This is especially true of the key technology involved in the batteries.
 

Introduction to electric-drive vehicles

 
In only a few years the first plug-in hybrid vehicles and pure electric-drive vehicles can be marketable. Before then, however, a network of battery charging points will have to be established step by step, initially concentrating on a few regions. The cost and the limited suitability of the vehicles for everyday use are still obstacles to any wide-scale marketing of the vehicles.
 
The technological and economic challenges mean that electric vehicles will only be able to capture any sizeable share of the market in about ten years. Measures to promote new mobility concepts in the German government’s second recovery package will act as a catalyst for further research. "We will take electric-drive vehicles out of their niche and launch them onto the market,” declared Federal Transport Minister Wolfgang Tiefensee confidently.
 

National forum on electric-drive vehicles

 
The realisation of the National Development Plan on Electric-Drive Vehicles demands close coordination from the outset between all stakeholders: politicians, industry, the academic community, local authorities and consumers. They will get together to form a national forum on electric-drive vehicles.

 http://www.bundesregierung.de/nn_6538/Content/EN/Artikel/2009/08/2009-08-19-nationaler-entwicklungsplan-elektromobilit_C3_A4t__en.html