Newsletter

Advisory Board

An international, high-profile group

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.

Who are the Advisory Board members

Network

Welcome to the eBRIDGE networking section. In this section you will find updates on the network and further relevant materials.

Main Activities

From studies to action

The eBRIDGE main activities are structured in four integrated stages:

  • Market Analysis
  • Implementation
  • Validation
  • Dissemination

Market Analysis

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.

Implementation

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.

Validation

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:

  • To understand perceptions of e-fleets and e-mobility business models amongst actual and potential users
  • To understand the drivers of and barriers to participation in e-mobility schemes amongst current and potential adopters
  • To assess behavioural change (including vehicle adoption and use) as a result of the eBRIDGE implementation experiences
  • To measure immediate and longer-term impacts of the eBRIDGE case studies, including economic, social and environmental impacts
  • To develop scenarios which assess the potential for up-scaled e-mobility schemes relevant to local, regional and European-level objectives.

Dissemination

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.

Key Facts

INTELLIGENT ENERGY EUROPE Programme

IDENTIFIER

IEE/12/713/SI2.644746

KEY ACTION

Alternative fuels & vehicles

FULL TITLE

eBRIDGE: empowering e‐fleets for business and private purposes in cities

COORDINATOR

choice GmbH
Klosterstraße 71
10179 Berlin - Germany

TOTAL BUDGET

1,735,142.00 €

EC FUNDING

1,301,356.50 €

TIMETABLE

April 2013 - March 2016

13 PARTNERS

  • choice GmbH (CHOICE) - Germany
  • DB FuhrparkService GmbH (DB-FPS) - Germany
  • Mobilitätsinstitut Vorarlberg (MIV) - Österreich
  • Forschungsgesellschaft Mobilität - Austrian Mobility Research gem. GmbH (FGM-AMOR) - Austria
  • I Nova Consultores en Excelencia e Innovación Estratégica, S.L. (INOVA) - Spain
  • Galician Cluster of Automotive Companies (CEAGA) - Spain
  • Movilidad Urbana Sostenible, S.L. (MOVUS) - Spain
  • Comunitat Autònoma de les Illes Balears (CAIB) - Spain
  • Fondazione Legambiente Innovazione (FLI) - Italy
  • Azienda Trasporti Milanesi S.p.A. (ATM) - Italy
  • Occam (OCCAM) - Portugal
  • Câmara Municipal de Lisboa (CML) - Portugal
  • Cardiff University (CU) - United Kingdom

MAIN OUTPUTS

  • eBRIDGE Start Up Kit with tools and guidelines
  • Next generation solutions to facilitate the use of electric car sharing offers
  • Awareness raising and marketing campaigns targeting car users, fleet operators and further relevant stakeholders
  • Knowledge generation, knowledge transfer and expanded networks
  • Scenarios for up-scaled impacts of electric fleets
  • Dissemination materials

Introduction

eBRIDGE - Urban Mobility 2020: empowering electric fleets in European cities

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.

What is eBRIDGE about?

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 Team

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 Outputs

The eBRIDGE outputs are oriented to engage fleet managers and car users with electric mobility:

  • eBRIDGE Start Up Kit: Guidelines + Toolkit to assist key actors with the implementation of electric vehicles in their fleets as well as optimisation measures to increase overall performance.
  • Increased number of decision makers at companies, local authorities, institutions and further stakeholders interested in introducing electric vehicles to their fleets and/or starting an electric fleet.
  • Improved attitude towards electric mobility: car users in general, and independently of their travel purpose, will be more confident in the use of electric vehicles and introduce electric mobility offers in daily travel decision-making.

Berlin

Berlin, the capital of Germany, is a metropolis with 3.3 million inhabitants. The city is transforming continuously and provides a breeding ground for research and innovation. A dense public transport network, low car ownership and an established car sharing landscape with more than 3,500 vehicles are the ideal starting point for new mobility concepts.

Austrian municipalities

In contrast to the global trend, car sharing in Austria remained static for the last 15 years. The introduction of electric mobility on the one hand and the entry of new market players on the other hand have reactivated the sector.

Vigo

Vigo is a big city situated in the province of Pontevedra, in the north-west coast of Spain. As a harbour city, Vigo plays a strategic role for the regional tourism and its solid transport infrastructure makes it a transport hub for the Galician region and the north of the neighboring country Portugal.

Valencia - Palma

The metropolitan area of Valencia, with 1.7 million inhabitants, is the 3rd largest urban agglomeration in Spain. In the last few years, the region has made substantial investments to improve its transportation system with a commitment to promoting the use of sustainable modes of transport.

Milan

Milan, located in the North of Italy, is the second largest Italian city and the capital of Lombardy region. The city covers an area of 182 km2 and has 1.35 million inhabitants. It will host EXPO 2015 and is expecting around 20 million visitors in a year; it is therefore planning a strengthening of its transport service system and has already introduced a Pollution Charge paid by car users entering in the city centre (the so called Area C). The Milan eBRIDGE pilot has been focused on the e-car sharing fleet located into the Area C.

Lisbon

Lisbon is the capital city of Portugal, with a resident population of 547,773 inhabitants. The city is situated on the right bank of River Tagus, in the heart of the country, being its political and major economic centre, presenting a cosmopolitan dynamic as a result of the hundreds of daily movements registered by its floating and resident population.

Carmarthenshire

Carmarthenshire is one of 22 Welsh administrative divisions (Counties). It is the third largest Welsh County by area, and the fourth largest by population (183,800 inhabitants).

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