New modes of transport – new options
Today, individual routes are increasingly covered with a variety of modes of transport. There are various reasons for this: on the one hand, the shortage of parking spaces is increasing, especially in cities, on the other hand, some routes can be covered much faster by public transport, on foot or by bicycle or pedelec.
Completing one or more modes of transport within a defined period is called “multimodality”, whereby “intermodality” is a special form and means covering a distance with different modes of transport. To make this as smooth and efficient as possible, intermodal mobility also includes the networking of the various transport systems as well as cross-border interoperability. In addition to the built infrastructure, this also applies to the networking of timetables and information offers across all transport systems.
Electricity or hydrogen? Both!
With a view to the future of mobility, there are always questions about the preferred means of propulsion: these range from electricity to hydrogen to synthetic fuels. Vehicles that are purely battery-powered are often compared with fuel cell vehicles. However, it is becoming increasingly clear that both technologies will in future compensate for system-related disadvantages with their respective advantages. Only partially suitable for heavy-duty traffic due to the high battery weight, purely battery-electric drives (as things stand today) are only a limited solution in this area due to their limited range compared to fuel cell drives. Short distances, on the other hand, can be much more efficient with only electricity or without use of hydrogen or synthetic fuels.
Why is the VDE dealing with the topic?
Comprehensive protocol and radio standards, databases and refueling or charging connections are essential to optimize the entire infrastructure. In this context, after defining these interfaces, it is necessary to examine existing standards and to adapt or, if necessary, add relevant passages. This requires a group of experts from a wide variety of areas to approach these tasks in an interdisciplinary manner and to grasp all aspects.
The first “building blocks” for our future mobility must be laid with care. Various trends are currently emerging that are being followed by many companies, start-ups, cities, etc. To prevent complex, confusing mobility, it is important to intervene with foresight and to sensibly incorporate these trends as well as promising technologies and innovations. Norms and standards help with this.
