The Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH and the China Automotive Technology & Research Center (CATARC) held the workshop on “Electro-Mobility and Climate Protection” on the 4th of November 2016 in Beijing. The aim was to share and discuss the findings of the project with all partners and stakeholders. More than 50 participants from national and local governments, demonstration cities, research institutions and enterprises attended the event.
Since the establishment of the Sino-German Electric Vehicle Strategic Partnership, the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety (BMUB) signed a series of Memorandum of Understandings with Chinese ministries concerning cooperation on e-mobility and climate protection. China and Germany wish to strengthen bilateral exchanges on policies and 
development strategies as well as to jointly explore the climate protection potential of EVs. Under this cooperation framework, GIZ and CATARC have jointly implemented the Sino-German cooperation project on Electro-Mobility and Climate Protection since 2009. The project aims to provide the technical background for developing strategies on the climate friendly development of e-mobility as well as its integration into a sustainable transport system. This workshop marks the end of a successful seven-year project.
Dr. Norbert Salomon (Deputy Director General of the division Immission Control, Safety of Installations and Transport – BMUB), She Weizhen (Head of Automotive Industry Division – Ministry of Industry and Information Technology – MIIT) and Wang Cheng (CATARC) delivered the opening remarks to the audience. In the opening speeches, they recognised the results of the project and the efforts made by its partners. Furthermore, they expressed their optimism for future developments and exchanges.
Afterwards Mrs. Sandra Retzer (GIZ) showed a short video clip designed by GIZ on the developments of e-mobility in China, followed by a presentation that summarized the achievements of the four project components.
In the first session “Tap the climate protection potential of electro mobility”, Prof. Wu Ye (Tsinghua University) outlined the climate protection assessment of e-mobility and its impact on air quality. The joint research with GIZ indicated that NEVs contribute to CO2 emission reductions in China in the medium term. Nevertheless, the results could be significantly improved through a decarbonisation of the power sector. Large promotion of NEVs could also help improve the regional air quality based on the scenario analysis conducted in the research.
Markus Becker (BMUB) gave a presentation on “Climate protection in transport and the case for e-mobility in Germany”. He outlined the German climate targets and the role of e-mobility in achieving the long-term goal of climate-neutral mobility in Germany.
Building on that Mr. Bao Xiang (CATARC) shared his view on the “Assessment of Energy efficiency of EV and regulatory options for integrating EV into fuel economy standards in China”. He highlighted the potential energy saving superiority of NEVs compared to conventional vehicles in the future. With the improvement of Chinas thermal power generation efficiency and the rising share of renewable energy, the advantages of e-mobility will become more prominent.
Last in session one, Henrik Wigermo (BMW Group Asia) elaborated on “Practices, experiences and future perspectives on climate-friendly development of EV” from a car-manufacturer’s perspective.
Session two on the “Integration of electro mobility in low carbon urban transport” focused on the promotional policies for e-mobility in cities.
Ms. Shi Hong (CATARC) presented the “Guidelines for low-carbon EV-ready cities in China” that have been jointly developed by CATARC, Wuppertal Institute and GIZ. She stressed out the important role local governments play and showed required actions for a successful implementation of e-mobility in the cities.
This overview was followed by three case studies of Chinese cities. Niu Jinming (Beijing NEV Promotion Center), Lu Xiangzhen (Shenzhen Development and Reform Commission) and Guo Liang (Wuhan Electric Vehicle Operation Company) introduced the status quo as well as the success factors of e-mobility in their respective cities.
Mrs. Guo Pingfang (BMW China) demonstrated the concepts BMW developed to integrate NEVs as battery storage into the electricity grid, in order to be charged and discharged for grid stabilization.
Finally, Hu Zechun (Tsinghua University) built on the previous talk and analysed the “Coordination of NEV and renewable energy generation”. He illustrated different models and concepts how coordinated charging and discharging of NEV batteries and discussed what role that NEVs could play in a smart grid.
Summing up, this workshop outlined the potential positive effect of EVs on energy consumption and emission reductions, as well as the improvement of urban air quality, given that the Chinese electricity sector increases the share of renewable energy and automakers develop vehicles with better efficiency standards, higher driving ranges and lower costs. Finally, what really influences the net benefit of energy savings and emission reductions is the market penetration of EVs. China and Germany both expressed the intention to further cooperate on these topics, in order to promote the sustainable development of EVs in both countries.
Further Reading:
https://www.giz.de/en/worldwide/29039.html#
https://sustainabletransport.org/new-infographic-sino-german-cooperation-on-electro-mobility/
