Electromobility in Hamburg Electric vehicles are our stepping stones towards a greener future. The specialty of evehicles is that they have no carbon dioxide emissions as compared to the combustion vehicles. It is a way to protect our nature, which is being destroyed day by day. There are surely a lot of limitations in this sector, but the reason for those limitations is less awareness about it. There are very few electric charging stations, so an electric vehicle owner needs to calculate his rides accordingly. But once these charging stations open in shorter distances, EV will be the way to go. The German city of Hamburg is growing its interest in this sector from quite a few years now and have taken steps to work on it.
Elektromobilität Hamburg Electromobility or Elektromobilität in location Hamburg have seen a rise in a past few years. The leading company who operates the bus system in Hamburg, Hochbahn AG, has agreed to a contract with the top bus brands like Daimler, Man trucks and buses and Solaris to produce 530 emission-free buses. These buses will be solo and articulated battery operated. The most famous type of battery used in these vehicles is the lithiumion battery, which has some side effects of its own. So, the company has asked them to
go for solid batteries as well. Currently, nearly 50-60 battery operated buses run on the streets of Hamburg and soon the numbers will go up.
Higher prices of electric vehicles Electric vehicles are a bit costlier than the combustion vehicles.The managing director of HySolutions GmbH, Peter Lindlahr, has been supporting Elektromobilität Hamburg since 2009. They have been coordinating with the electromobility body of Hamburg. Lindlahr has had some talks on behalf of German Transport Ministry, that they are looking for some concepts that can increase the efficiency of the vehicle and also bring the cost down to a reasonable range. The cost will go down with the progress in the field as there will be more production of electric vehicles. This will eventually reduce the cost a little. There are many brands other than the big gun, Tesla, that have started producing electric vehicles and provide great mileage on full charge. The switch from lithium-ion batteries to solid state batteries will give higher physical energy and, eventually, higher efficiency.
Charging points in location Hamburg Electric vehicles do not much longer distances due to the battery capacity. Some cars go around 250kms on full charge, while some go more than 500kms. This is why charging points are needed in short distances. Currently, there are 1000+ charging points in Hamburg, and the number is supposed to reach nearly 300,000 in 2021. The bigger aim is to touch the one million mark by the year 2023 in Hamburg. The energy is provided by environment friendly supplier, Hamburg Energie. To hit the one million mark, it will be necessary for them to spread in non-public places as well. For this, the ELBE (electrify buildings for EVs) project takes over. This project will provide good amount of subsidies to the places operating a charging stations in non-public areas. The Golf Lounge, Hamburg, is starting an initiative for their members, where they can play golf and charge their vehicles side by side. They will let them charge their vehicles, gaining power from light poles. Their motto is: ‘hit balls-charge the car’
Future of elektromobilität in location Hamburg Looking at the air pollution rates all around the world; it is evident that electronic vehicles are the future of automotive industry. The electric industry received a lot of criticism for the use of batteries. The base components of these batteries are lithium and cobalt. Extraction of cobalt has adverse environmental effects in the countries it is
extracted from. However, many companies have found a way to overcome this problem by manufacturing batteries that won’t use cobalt in them. This is an important aspect if we need to see a switch from combustion vehicles to electric in the coming future, not just in Hamburg, but all over the world. There are going to be a number of obstacles the system will face while turning the world towards EV. The German automotive industry is making considerable progress in the field through its growing commitment. It all depends on how many people will support the project of Elektromobilität Hamburg. According to Lindlahr, if the rate of increase in EV usage keeps on going as it is right now, we will be looking at nearly 1 in 5 vehicles being registered as electric in Hamburg, by the year 2030.