The search for alternatives to petrol and diesel is increasingly focusing on the electric motor. Emission-free e-cars are expected to provide clean, quiet and affordable mobility and demonstrate their strengths in urban traffic in particular. In the coming months, the EWE research centre for energy technology NEXT ENERGY in Oldenburg will be investigating the extent to which electric drives are also suitable for rural regions as part of the "GridSurfer" project.
In the coming months, three Audi A2s converted by the company L.E. Mobile - test vehicles equipped with batteries from the Berlin-based cleantech company DBM Energy and designed to travel over 200 kilometres without recharging - will provide meaningful data. "The long range is ideal for our research project, as we want to gain insights into the suitability of electric vehicles for everyday use outside of cities," says Dr Bettina Lenz, Head of Energy Storage at NEXT ENERGY, explaining the choice of supplier. Although alternatives were available in the form of standard vehicles, these would have had to be recharged after 70 to 150 kilometres at the latest, depending on the make. "That wouldn't really have given us any new insights. We want to record user behaviour, so not every second journey should end at the charging station," says the battery expert.
Christian Finger, project leader for the GridSurfer project at NEXT ENERGY, which is funded by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy, is not yet able to estimate what insights the tests on the roads between the Weser and Ems rivers will provide. "We are approaching these tests with an open mind. By September, we will have covered at least 15,000 kilometres with all three cars and collected a large amount of user data. In the GridSurfer joint project, this data will help us to develop a storage concept that combines mobility and the use of renewable energy in rural areas."