The German Electric Mobility South-West cluster has just joined SCS cluster through , e-mobil BW, the State Agency of Baden-Württemberg for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive. Explanation by Felicitas Behr, Lead Project Manager at e-mobil BW GmbH.
Could you describe the cluster Electric Mobility South-West ?
Felicitas Behr : Since 2010, the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West is coordinated by the State Agency for New Mobility Solutions and Automotive, e-mobil BW. In a region that has been home to the automotive industry and its suppliers for more than 130 years, the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West unites more than 200 stakeholders from industry and science. Within the cluster, large, medium-sized and small businesses from different industries are brought together with research institutes in the form of a unique, extremely stable cooperation network that has grown over a long period of time, accelerating research and development. The cluster makes a decisive contribution to the technological transformation towards low-emission, competitive and marketable mobility
The cluster members share a common vision of working on energy-efficient and environmentally compatible mobility solutions in an era of scarce resources. Innovative technologies and methods are used to lay the foundations for new, sustainable, and economical products and business models that secure and create a new basis for our regional value creation and employment throughout Baden-Württemberg. The symbiotic collaboration of the members of the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West contributes to their global leadership in the area of sustainable and intelligent mobility solutions.
The aim of the network is to advance the industrialisation of new mobility concepts in Germany and to establish Baden-Württemberg as an integrated research, development, and production location with international appeal.
How is the electric mobility market evolving (globally and in your country/region) Comment?
Felicitas Behr : Around 480,000 people are employed in the automotive industry in Baden-Württemberg. This means that every tenth job depends on the automobile. The automotive cluster includes not only vehicle manufacturing itself, but also employees from other sectors such as mechanical engineering and the automotive trade.
In the face of digitalisation, the mobility industry is in the most profound transformation phase in its history. Data-bound information that can be accessed at any time and digital platforms are not only changing traditional player landscapes but are also reorganising entire value chains. For established organisations, nothing less than the future viability of their existing business models and their role in the mobility ecosystem of tomorrow is at stake.
The studies “Digitalisation in the Mobility Industry – Success Factors of the Data and Platform Economy” and “Structural Study BW 2023” provide detailed information about all facets of the transformation in the mobility industry.
Why have SCS & e-mobil BW come together? Why is it essential to build this type of collaboration?
Felicitas Behr : The Cluster Electric Mobility South-West offers its members and partners opportunities for information exchange and networking, initiates collaborative projects, and supports stakeholders in accessing funding programmes at regional state, federal state and EU level. The strategic focus of the Cluster Electric Mobility South West’s activities is on improving the innovative capacity of its members through cooperation in working and project groups.
The Aktantis and the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West have complementary competences, so that an exchange between the respective members creates new opportunities.
What actions have we taken together? How have our members benefited from it?
Felicitas Behr : From 29 November to 1 December 2022, the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West hosted the member companies of the Aktantis BeNomad, epicnpoc, GENOW and Moabi in Stuttgart. A three-day programme highlighted cooperation opportunities and provided insights around the topics of high-performance computing, virtual reality, automated and connected driving, and testing infrastructure. The mission was supported by the ClusterXchange programme which is financed by the European Union.
The following year, the cluster management of the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West visited the Aktantis in France on the occasion of the IA & IoT Exhibition Day 2023 and presented the ecosystem of Baden-Württemberg to the audience.
Moreover, the cluster management of the Aktantis presented its ecosystem to the members of the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West as part of the internationalisation working group of the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West.
Next steps ? What are our future joint projects?
Felicitas Behr : The Cluster Electric Mobility South-West is repositioning itself in the area of digitalization – particularly in production. An exchange of expertise between the members of the Aktantis and the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West would be very interesting. The members of Aktantis will find potential users who want to apply their solutions. In addition to the Cluster Electric Mobility South-West, e-mobil BW coordinates the Network Intelligent Move that deals with the topics of digital infrastructure, digital vehicles and digital services. An exchange could take place in the framework of online workshops. Moreover, another cooperation possibility might be the Automotive Suppliers’ Day Baden-Württemberg which is organised by e-mobil BW every year.
Automotive Suppliers’ Day BW, 10 Octobre 2024