Mobility is a basic human need. It enhances our quality of life and enables economic prosperity. However, today more than ever before, our mobility system needs to change so that it is compatible with environmental and climate policy goals. Technology can provide us with a range of different solutions. Through flagship projects such as “New autoMobility” and the “German National Platform for Electric Mobility”, acatech aims to make an innovative, technology-neutral contribution to shaping the transport and traffic of the future. In doing so, its goal is to create a mobility system that is more intelligent, greener and above all user-friendlier.
Combined with the benefits of automation and connectivity, electric mobility can completely transform our cities. It can address today’s environmental challenges while also reducing noise pollution and congestion and making driving less stressful. In the future, vehicles will take over more and more tasks from their human drivers. A connected mobility system promises smoother-flowing traffic and completely new mobility services. In conjunction with electrically powered vehicles, this can make an extremely efficient contribution to the energy transition.
acatech has identified the three main drivers of the mobility transition as electrification, automation and connectivity.
1. Electrification
Electric mobility is the key to an integrated climate, energy and mobility strategy, since it is more easily combined with a renewable electricity system than other forms of mobility. In the long run, it can almost entirely replace fossil fuels. Electric mobility powered by renewable energy can help the transport sector to make an urgently needed contribution to delivering climate targets and protecting the environment.
Features such as electronic stability control, emergency brake assist, parking assist and lane departure warnings are a sign of things to come in the realm of road traffic automation. Fully automated vehicles and completely autonomous driving are becoming an increasingly realistic prospect, with the promise of better road safety and smoother-flowing traffic. However, none of this can happen unless road traffic automation is supported by the public (New autoMobility – The Future of Automated Road Transport and Traffic).
3. Connectivity
In the future, cars, road signs, traffic lights, car parks and other types of transport infrastructure will use sensors and processors to automatically collect, analyse, process and share data. Vehicles will themselves become nodes on the Internet (smart cars), enabling intelligent traffic flow management (smart traffic). This process will be driven by connectivity, creating an Internet of Things, Data and Services. Connected transport and traffic (New autoMobility II – Cooperative Road Traffic and Intelligent Traffic Control for the Mobility of the Future) can make an important contribution to the mobility transition.
