Welcome to the eBRIDGE networking section. In this section you will find updates on the network and further relevant materials.
The eBRIDGE Advisory Board is an external group of seven experts selected from relevant fields related to electric mobility, energy efficiency and public transport.
It is made up of representatives from the industry sector (utilities and recharging infrastructure), public bodies (energy agencies, public authorities, research and associations of public transport), as well as high-level experts in the field of electric mobility.
The Advisory Board will provide practical and theoretical insights along the project and will help to serve as an instrument to add quality to project results, support the achievement of project goals and contribute to an effective dissemination of projects activities and results.
The eBRIDGE main activities are structured in four integrated stages:
We will analyse the current situation and trends of electric fleets in the eBRIDGE targeted regions by assessing information about all context relevant issues (market overview, best practice, legal framework, policy, environmental impacts).
In addition the drivers, barriers and major challenges for the introduction of electric vehicles in urban fleets for passenger transport and commuting will be identified.
Based on these findings, the market potential of electric mobility, mainly for fleet offers will be assessed, constituting the baseline for the whole project. Differences and peculiarities in market ecosystems will help to evaluate the applicability of local solutions in other contexts and regions.
We will follow up seven pilots in Berlin (Germany), Austrian municipalities (Austria), Vigo (Spain), Valencia (Spain), Milan (Italy), Lisbon (Portugal) and Carmarthenshire (United Kingdom) dealing with the issues of e-fleet performance and their marketability in terms of operational functioning and user’s attitude towards electric vehicles.
The eBRIDGE case studies (we call them “Drivers of Change”) will address specific local barriers and needs of the existing e-fleets, mainly consisting in development of usage concepts, usage monitoring, validation and optimisation, communication activities targeting user groups and potential new users. The results will serve as a basis to develop and optimise business models, taking into account infrastructure (mainly charging but also, for instance, car sharing parking spots), the carbon footprint of the fleets, relevant technological aspects and local policy frameworks.
We will analyse both short-term impacts during the project and the long-term impacts likely to occur after the project conclusion. Potential for replication, feasibility and scale-up of results will be assessed by developing scenarios for the solutions implemented.
The validation activities will be focused on reaching the following objectives:
At an initial step, we will promote eBRIDGE and let people and target groups (fleet operators, industry, car users, urban planners, transport experts, academics and associations) know about its goals and foreseen results and outcomes.
A wide variety of communication and dissemination activities will then be set up, mainly based on the project website, social networks, blogs, newsgroup involvement, local and national events, workshops and conferences.
The strategic eBRIDGE dissemination and networking approach aims to enhance and build on existing networks for sustainable mobility, smart cities, electric vehicles and energy saving, cooperating with these networks to initiate cross-community activities and exchanges.
Finally, we will foster knowledge transfer and exchange and promote the exploitation of eBRIDGE results, starting from a wide distribution of the eBRIDGE Start UP Kit and e-fleets guidelines.
IEE/12/713/SI2.644746
Alternative fuels & vehicles
eBRIDGE: empowering e‐fleets for business and private purposes in cities
choice GmbH
Klosterstraße 71
10179 Berlin - Germany
1,735,142.00 €
1,301,356.50 €
April 2013 - March 2016
Mobility is a universal need and a driver of economic development. European cities have to allow for thousands of people and goods moving in and around them on a daily basis, making urban life an exciting, but challenging experience. Traffic jams, bad air quality, noisy environments and constant delays are part of our common routines as urban dwellers, clearly reducing quality of life and increasing our costs. But in eBRIDGE we think there are smarter ways to move around cities, and we call them Urban Mobility 2020.
eBRIDGE is a co-funded EU project to promote electric fleets for urban travel in European cities. We aim to bring innovation and new technologies to transform today’s mobility into a cleaner, efficient and sustainable mobility.
During eBRIDGE we are going to explore the alternatives to our current mobility patterns and find out whether electric mobility is a feasible option, able to make cities more liveable, vibrant places, offering people high quality mobility services and an enjoyable life.
Although electric vehicles fulfil all the requirements to be among the most important players in urban transport systems of the near future – they are clean, efficient, silent and imply low running costs – significant barriers to a wider diffusion and use of electric vehicles remain to be addressed, among them low user acceptance and higher purchase costs compared to conventional cars.
However, under certain conditions and with clear policies in place, for instance an increasing percentage of renewable energy sources in the European electricity mix, and bringing innovative mobility concepts to urban settings, electric vehicles can help break this impasse and contribute to moving forward with sustainable mobility.
Against this background, eBRIDGE aims to demonstrate how the introduction of electric vehicles in fleets for business and private urban travel can efficiently contribute to the improvement of market conditions for the electric mobility sector.
We aim to electrify urban fleets and encourage electric mobility among car users and fleet managers of private companies and public administrations by providing the best service and engaging them through targeted marketing and promotions.
The project officially started in April 2013 and it will end in March 2016. Seven case studies - we call them "Drivers of Change" - with heterogeneous starting conditions assure a broad-spectrum outcome.
Berlin, Milan, Lisbon, Vigo, Valencia, a selection of Austrian municipalities and Carmarthenshire are developing actions to optimise operational fleet performance, test and launch solutions to increase the convenience and ease of use of car sharing offers and finally, raise awareness among the target groups and further relevant stakeholders through engaging marketing approaches on the suitability of electric mobility for urban transport and commuting.
The eBRIDGE team involves thirteen partners from Germany, Austria, Spain, Italy, Portugal and United Kingdom. Among them are technical experts, academics, associations, public administrations, mobility providers and public transport and car sharing operators.
The eBRIDGE outputs are oriented to engage fleet managers and car users with electric mobility:
