European Consultation on E-Mobility

On 11 May 2012 Delft University of Technology hosted the European Consultation on E-Mobility.  The objective of this expert meeting was the exchange of knowledge and know-how regarding municipal experiences with policies to stimulate e-mobility. Policy-makers from various cities across the North Sea Region discussed the effectiveness, efficiency and feasibility of a wide range of policy measures. A Group Decision Room system was applied to structure the discussion. This enabled participants to contribute to the discussion anonymously. A survey was made of successful and less successful policy measures, which were then categorized, discussed and ranked. 

One of the issues that was debated most lively during the meeting was the question to what extent (local) governments should help businesses (such as car makers or charging pole manufacturers) to sell their EVs, equipment and services. Opinions differed on whether public money should be applied to support these, basically private, parties, and if so, for how long. Another topic that emerged from the discussion was the question whether newly developed urban areas should include a standard EV infrastructure, or should just be delivered ready to ‘plug in’ different types of EV infrastructure in the future. Furthermore, there is the more general question whether policies should be technology-neutral (focusing on e.g. a reduction of CO₂ levels) or technology-specific (focusing on a specific type of vehicles).

On the whole, it was a lively and interesting discussion. The results of the European Consultation will spark off further investigation in the effectiveness and feasibility of local e-mobility policies. A report on the meeting in Delft will be available from the E-Mobility NSR website in July 2012.