E-mobility in Stuttgart. Quiet enthusiasm

Transcription

1 E-mobility in Stuttgart Quiet enthusiasm 54 Stuttgart is a byword for mobility. This is where the first automobile was built, and where international automakers and suppliers are developing the mobility solutions of the future. In this respect, one important goal is creating livable cities without excessive traffic noise and particulate matter. The Bosch associate Daniel Betsch has seen for himself what this future looks like. Join us as we go with the electromobility enthusiast on a quiet and emissions-free tour of Stuttgart. annual-report.bosch.com/ e-mobility

2 More than 50 bicycle brands use Bosch e-bike systems: from cargo bikes to mountain bikes. 400 million euros is the amount Bosch invests each year in e-mobility research alone: a project that involves more than 1,800 associates. More than 120 million e-scooters now thread their way through the traffic jams on China s roads. Fully recharging a standard e-scooter in China costs the equivalent of 2.5 million electric vehicles and 9.5 million hybrid cars will be 60 euro cents, manufactured worldwide The range in increases 2020 again because the Fiat is recovering energy during the downhill and run gives and the storing rider a range it in of out of a total of 113 million vehicles, roughly 100 kilometers. Driving the battery. Betsch gives it its technical name: the same distance in a gasolinepowered car would cost 4 euros according to Bosch forecasts. 55 It s called recuperation. in China. Daniel Betsch has just put the key in the ignition of his Fiat 500e. He s applied the requisite pressure with his thumb and forefinger, the key has turned in the cylinder, and the indicators on the dashboard have illuminated. But something is missing, at least from the perspective of an electric-car neophyte: there is no sound of an engine springing to life. In fact, there is no sound at all. Time seems to stand still for a second before a quiet chime indicates that Betsch s Fiat is running. The Bosch associate never tires of this silence when starting the motor and driving off. Smiling, he gazes out into the noisy world beyond the windshield before steering his electric car onto Stuttgart s Rotebühlstrasse, making hardly a whisper as he goes. His first destination is Kräherwald, a residential neighborhood on a hillside overlooking the state capital. Betsch is what marketing experts call an early mover. Twelve years ago in his parents basement, he built his first electric bike, with a front wheel from a wheelbarrow: I needed it for adjusting speed, the mechatronics engineer says, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. With the same quiet self-assurance, he goes on to narrate other milestones in his electromobility career his first electric scooter, for example, and the converted electric, tropical-look Trabant. He talks about his to the former Bosch CEO Franz Fehrenbach, whom he asked to advocate electric charge spots at Bosch locations. All the way to setting up Bosch s own electromobility club, which Betsch has led since its inception. The Fiat 500e is now winding its way up the serpentine bends of Zeppelinstrasse. As the houses get bigger, the cars on the roadside get more expensive. Betsch points to a Porsche Panamera at the side of the road, immediately recognizing what is special about it. As his work involves testing hybrid vehicles, he knows that this plug-in hybrid features Bosch technology. The same goes for more than two dozen other models, from the egolf, to the BMW i3 Range Extender, to the Fiat 500e in which Betsch is now sitting. A little later, Betsch passes two women cycling up the hill. Despite the shopping bags on their handlebars, they seem to be effortlessly mastering the steep incline. It takes a second glance to notice the slim battery fixed to their bicycles. Chances are that they are benefiting from Bosch technology, too. Every one in four electric bikes currently sold in Europe uses a Bosch drive system.

3 E-mobility in Stuttgart Quiet enthusiasm 54 Stuttgart is a byword for mobility. This is where the first automobile was built, and where international automakers and suppliers are developing the mobility solutions of the future. In this respect, one important goal is creating livable cities without excessive traffic noise and particulate matter. The Bosch associate Daniel Betsch has seen for himself what this future looks like. Join us as we go with the electromobility enthusiast on a quiet and emissions-free tour of Stuttgart. annual-report.bosch.com/ e-mobility

4 More than 50 bicycle brands use Bosch e-bike systems: from cargo bikes to mountain bikes. 400 million euros is the amount Bosch invests each year in e-mobility research alone: a project that involves more than 1,800 associates. More than 120 million e-scooters now thread their way through the traffic jams on China s roads. Fully recharging a standard e-scooter in China costs the equivalent of 2.5 million electric vehicles and 9.5 million hybrid cars will be 60 euro cents, manufactured worldwide in 2020 and gives the rider a range of out of a total of 113 million vehicles, roughly 100 kilometers. Driving the same distance in a gasolinepowered car would cost 4 euros according to Bosch forecasts. 55 in China. Daniel Betsch has just put the key in the ignition of his Fiat 500e. He s applied the requisite pressure with his thumb and forefinger, the key has turned in the cylinder, and the indicators on the dashboard have illuminated. But something is missing, at least from the perspective of an electric-car neophyte: there is no sound of an engine springing to life. In fact, there is no sound at all. Time seems to stand still for a second before a quiet chime indicates that Betsch s Fiat is running. The Bosch associate never tires of this silence when starting the motor and driving off. Smiling, he gazes out into the noisy world beyond the windshield before steering his electric car onto Stuttgart s Rotebühlstrasse, making hardly a whisper as he goes. His first destination is Kräherwald, a residential neighborhood on a hillside overlooking the state capital. Betsch is what marketing experts call an early mover. Twelve years ago in his parents basement, he built his first electric bike, with a front wheel from a wheelbarrow: I needed it for adjusting speed, the mechatronics engineer says, as though it were the most natural thing in the world. With the same quiet self-assurance, he goes on to narrate other milestones in his electromobility career his first electric scooter, for example, and the converted electric, tropical-look Trabant. He talks about his to the former Bosch CEO Franz Fehrenbach, whom he asked to advocate electric charge spots at Bosch locations. All the way to setting up Bosch s own electromobility club, which Betsch has led since its inception. The Fiat 500e is now winding its way up the serpentine bends of Zeppelinstrasse. As the houses get bigger, the cars on the roadside get more expensive. Betsch points to a Porsche Panamera at the side of the road, immediately recognizing what is special about it. As his work involves testing hybrid vehicles, he knows that this plug-in hybrid features Bosch technology. The same goes for more than two dozen other models, from the egolf, to the BMW i3 Range Extender, to the Fiat 500e in which Betsch is now sitting. A little later, Betsch passes two women cycling up the hill. Despite the shopping bags on their handlebars, they seem to be effortlessly mastering the steep incline. It takes a second glance to notice the slim battery fixed to their bicycles. Chances are that they are benefiting from Bosch technology, too. Every one in four electric bikes currently sold in Europe uses a Bosch drive system.

5 The triumphs of automotive technology have had a lasting effect on Stuttgart. Top international automakers and suppliers have their headquarters there. Alongside Bosch, Daimler, and Porsche, these include numerous small to medium-size companies pushing technology to global market level in their own particular niche. All of them are exploring ways of making mobility less noisy and less polluting. In an initiative spearheaded by the state of Baden-Württemberg the Electric Mobility South-West cluster experts from the business, scientific, and political spheres are working together on new ideas. In the cluster s BIPoL -plus project, for example, Bosch is contributing to research on inductive charging systems for battery-powered cars, Kerstin Mayr explains. The Bosch associate from corporate research and advance engineering is innovation field manager at the cutting-edge cluster. The move toward more electromobility is evident in the cityscape as well. As part of the car2go car-sharing service, 500 electrically powered Smarts have already taken to the streets in Stuttgart that s more than in any other European city. These and other electric vehicles can be recharged at over 400 charge spots. 56 The Fiat 500e for which Bosch supplies the electric motor, the power electronics, and the battery continues along a very special section of Kräherwaldstrasse. It is part of a 66-kilometer-long stretch that is the measure of all things for various automakers. On this circular course in and around Stuttgart, engineers find everything from extreme gradients and sections of freeway to winding overland routes all the conditions needed for conducting real-life tests of their alternative powertrain systems. The loop was developed by Bosch in collaboration with the University of Stuttgart. Classic car rebooted: Daniel Betsch s revamped Golf 2 Citystromer has a range of 300 kilometers. On the B295 highway down into the valley toward Feuerbach, traffic is sparse for a change and the Fiat makes good headway. Daniel Betsch points to the numbers that light up in quick succession on the display under the speedometer. 60 km, 80 km, 110 km The range increases again because the Fiat is recovering energy during the downhill run and storing it in the battery. Betsch gives it its technical name: It s called recuperation. So once he s hooked up to the charge spot at the Bosch site in Feuerbach, he needs only a quick charge to fill up the battery again. Just long enough for a short chat with Thomas Igler, a friend from Bosch s electromobility club, who is charging his Nissan Leaf in the parking space next to him. Igler tells him about his trip to the Black Forest the previous weekend. Even over long distances, he and his girlfriend drive in all-electric mode. But they always carry a collection of about three dozen charging cards offered by various suppliers. The two electric car enthusiasts agree: If we want more people to use alternative powertrain systems, we have to have standardized charging and billing systems across Germany. This is something Bosch is also working on.

6 The Bosch associate never tires of this silence when starting the motor and driving off. The Bosch subsidiary Bosch Software Innovations already offers a software solution that makes it possible for a recharging card to work anywhere. Like a debit card, it can be used to recharge the car at charge spots operated by any number of providers. In addition, the Bosch subsidiary offers a smartphone app that makes recharging and paying convenient and easy, regardless of provider and without the need for countless cards or contractual obligations. The tour in the Fiat 500e is almost at an end. Betsch drives the demo car, which is not even officially for sale in Germany yet, back to the western end of Stuttgart where his trip began. For the ride home, he gets into his own car, which is almost as old as he is. Naturally, his converted 1985 Golf 2 Citystromer is also electric. Its driving range is an impressive 300 kilometers. The trunk contains 576 batteries from discarded impact drills and lawnmowers officially validated for safety that store the electrical energy. Betsch puts the key in the ignition and starts the motor. With a smile on his face, he glides silently off into the distance. How Bosch is helping make electric driving reality E-bike drive and rechargeable battery When it comes to e-mobility, Bosch has a broad portfolio. The company offers its customers powertrain systems for hybrid and electric vehicles. This includes electric motors, power electronics units, charging devices, and batteries, as well as regenerative braking systems. In the two-wheeler segment as well, Bosch is moving e-mobility forward. On the one hand, the company is Europe s leading supplier of e-bike drives and components for more than 50 manufacturers. On the other hand, it supplies e-scooter drive systems for the Chinese market, where there are already 120 million electric scooters on the roads. Finally, the new software solutions offered by Bosch allow the charge spots of one or several operators to be networked with each other. Drivers can then use their smartphone to find and book the nearest available charge spot, regardless of provider or place. In addition, Bosch software solutions make it possible to network diverse mobility solutions car-sharing schemes, bike-sharing schemes, and public transportation with each other. To find out how e-mobility could work in practice, Bosch is working with more than 100 partners from business, academia, and politics as part of the LivingLab BWe mobil initiative. In roughly 40 projects, some 2,000 electric vehicles are to be put on the roads by 2015, and more than 1,000 charge spots installed in the Stuttgart region and the city of Karlsruhe. 57