Source: www.icm-bw.de
THE FUTURE OF MOBILITY IS BEING DRIVEN BY GERMAN ENGINEERING AND STRATEGIC PARTNERSHIPS
Top German universities have begun to pool their talent, and are inviting corporate partnerships to accelerate research and innovation on mobility
While autonomous vehicles have been making headlines since trials began in the 1950s, there is much more to the story than the technology itself. The question of whether they will be rolled out comes down to convenience, sustainability, and their ability to navigate ’liveable’ cities. Overcrowding and traffic congestion in German city centres – like Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, and Munich – is already heavy during regular hours, let alone standard commuting times.
Yet, despite appearances, the future of mobility is bright, according to Dr. Max Hoßfeld, general manager of the InnovationCampus Future Mobility:
“Owning a car just to use it for an hour a day has always been a luxury and convenience but never been reasonable. Now with new mobility concepts, a rethinking of urban planning and upcoming generations that tend to be more interested in the environment than expressing their status by a car, we are going to see a major shift in mobility within the next years. These highly mobile generations will be more flexible and gravitate towards mobility as a service, based on their individual circumstances”.
As an innovation hub, we foster an open culture and are always looking for the best talent to address big transformational challenges in society, mobility, and production
A joint effort
Particularly in southern Germany, mobility and automotive production are vital to the history and economy. For many citizens, vehicles symbolise financial stability, prosperity, and are regarded as something to be proud of.Bearing that in mind, Hoßfeld suggests that the ongoing transformation of mobility, related business models, and automotive production may be unsettling for them. Since it will require extensive changes to infrastructure, regulation, value creation, and daily life, “this transformation is a challenge that can only be navigated by engaging all stakeholders to inform the research agenda and strike a consensus between society, political entities, industry players, and scientists. We will see a major shift when and how we commute and what role the automotive industry plays”, Hoßfeld explains.
To that end, the campus welcomes external collaborations:
“As an innovation hub, we foster an open culture and are always looking for the best talent to address big transformational challenges in society, mobility, and production. We are open to connecting and working alongside other excellent clusters, hubs, or projects from all over the world to integrate complementary external competencies into our portfolio,” says Hoßfeld.
While the partnership were only formalized this past year, the campus has already initiated a series of projects. And when it comes to knowledge transfer, the InnovationCampus Future Mobility uses levers from both universities and welcomes new collaborations.
As Hoßfeld explains:
“Our institutes are very well connected in their respective fields, so we can integrate industry partners often already at an early stage of development. In this way, we ensure that new knowledge from our fundamental research disseminates quickly via contractual research, applied studies, consulting, and also licenses. Alongside our advisory board, the campus management continuously evaluates our research projects for transfer possibilities and actively scouts for new applications and potential industry partners. We also strongly encourage and support our employees to found their own start- ups based on their research at the InnovationCampus.”Our institutes are very well connected in their respective fields, so we can integrate industry partners often already at an early stage of development
Pilot projects in emission-free drive systems and additive manufacturing
The first two pilot strategy fields deal with emission-free drive systems and additive manufacturing, meaning the use of 3D printers other than for high-quality and ready-for-use (lightweight) building components.