On September 19, 2008 the EnergyBus organization invited all members and everyone interested to join an evening get-together. The participants agreed: The industry needs EnergyBus.
On September 19, 2008, the EnergyBus organization hosted an evening get-together for members and everyone interested in the standard for connecting electric LEV components. At 7PM over 30 participants met in the library of the Hyatt hotel in Cologne. To begin with, there was a nice buffet, and the view of the Dome and the train bridge across the Rhein River in the evening light made for the right ambience. The guests represented the bicycle, battery, and electronic industries and talked about the subject from their different points of view while sitting together in small groups at a number of nicely decorated tables.
Current Status
After dinner, Melanie Wiederkehr, technical project manager, presented the basic idea of EnergyBus and compared its function to the act of drawing cash from an ATM machine with a bank card. EnergyBus is supposed to do the same with LEVs that a standardized communication does when you insert your bank card into an ATM, when it checks pin, bank account, available amount etc. and releases the money. Mrs. Wiederkehr explained which advantages EnergyBus will provide for the development and service of LEVs. She compared today's problems of compatibility with a better situation in the future - thanks to EnergyBus. Just to mention two of the main advantages: The development process of LEVs will be shorter and more cost-efficient, and servicing will be better and easier once EnergyBus will be applied. There are new information brochures in German and English that explain the advantages of EnergyBus for developers, customers, servicing, and visionaries.
Currently, EnergyBus has seven members. Starting in November 2008, their representatives will meet in working groups and work out the elements of EnergyBus - plugs, communication protocol, and energy management
A Matter of Time
Great approval for the project convinced the EnergyBus team in one above all things: the plug and communication standard will come. The question is only when and with whom. Mrs. Wiederkehr emphasized that the performance of EnergyBus can only be influenced by the organization's members. One more company agreed to become a member. Other participats of the evening get-togehter were convinced that they should be part of it.
The Future is Electric
Hannes Neupert, initiator and treasurer of the EnergyBus organization, gave an outlook into the future of LEVs and the international market using EnergyBus. Cross-brand rental stations are an example of those great mobility ideas, which only make sense with a standard like EnergyBus. Mr. Neupert also pointed out some political decisions, which will be to the benefit of the entire electric vehicle industry. The German government recently decided to support the development of electric cars using lithium batteries with 90 million Euros. And this is not the only positive sign for a change.