It is a vital role because it is linked to the interaction with the user, who in both public and private sectors increasingly uses apps to take advantage of the services related to e-mobility.
There must be the connectivity of the infrastructure with this ecosystem and allow the user to plan and make the most of their time. The infrastructure itself, by its nature, is alive and not passive. It must consider the evolution of the vehicles circulating on the road, the various regulations, the communication protocols or even the updates that the cars themselves receive.
It needs to be connected and to be easily updated. Furthermore, there is always an interaction with someone who is selling or otherwise providing a service, and therefore they need to know how the infrastructure is used and adapt accordingly.
From the perspective of those who build and supply this technology, it is certainly advisable that the infrastructure is always connected. Also, only by understanding how it is used can we take advantage of the product or system evolution underlying the transport revolution we are experiencing. After all, you can do all the tests you want, but the truth is discovered in the field.
Why do you think Electric Mobility already represents the future today?
Because it is a fact, and from an engineering point of view, it is the most efficient thing that can be done. If we consider all the possible declinations of internal combustion engines and hydrogen, today there is no comparison with an electric motor for efficient energy use – possibly produced from renewable sources.
It is not enough to buy the electric car or the electric truck; it is not enough to have the most beautiful and most powerful infrastructure in the world. We must look at everything, even what is upstream. And this is the task of each actor in the supply chain. It is not exclusively up to utilities; today, even private individuals can make a difference because, with the digital technologies available, we create microcosms, in electrical jargon “microgrids”, in which we can combine intelligent generation, optimization and consumption that, even with The aid of various types of storage systems will lead us in a short time to the creation of a carbon-neutral ecosystem that is self-sufficient from an energy point of view.
Formula E, what does it imply, and what does it offer in terms of innovation?
The ABB Formula E Championship is a bit like the evolution of the species. In the first phase, it was also a highly provocative act, a bet that, in a country like Italy, closely linked to the roar of engines, was not a trivial matter. The change of paradigm here is not only technological but is purely cultural.
Formula E is undoubtedly a laboratory in which to test new technologies, digital and otherwise, and take certain concepts to extremes; it is a showcase to show that it is possible to experience certain emotions or change certain habits. Not only that, it also leads to a series of questions, especially in terms of sustainability. City circuits were then chosen, bringing electric mobility even closer to the real world, that of the masses.
What is the impact not so much of a day or two of racing on a street circuit but of a paradigm shift when electric cars start to have a specific type of penetration rate? What does it mean actually to be able to sustain change? Here it is not just about selling electric cars or charging infrastructures, but about challenging mobility as a whole, how we are conceiving public transport in some cities, how we can facilitate the transport of people, ideas, services in the least impactful way. For our environment. Also because it should be remembered, air pollution is a killer, especially in the city.
Increased Mobility, what is it and what does it mean to be a Pioneer in this sense?
As evidenced by the experts hosted in the recent podcast “The future of mobility”, the world of mobility is changing rapidly. To date, above all, a particular ability to know how to project forward is needed. Compared to other traditional businesses, the one related to increased mobility is an immature market, in the sense that it is starting now.
The market shows that habits can be changed and, consequently, new paradigms can be introduced, with effects similar to those that the arrival of the first motorized cars had on horse transport. Today the horses are still there, but they have value mostly at a playful level. Back then, they were used to move people, goods and were the basis of an economy. However, we have destroyed a specific paradigm and created another that has improved the general standard of living. It made us evolve. Then perhaps with a price that we are paying, for example in terms of sustainability, which leads us today to have to remedy the mistakes that have been made.
Increased mobility implies that there are various scenarios in which we need to find answers. This means that, based on the experience we have had with the hundreds of thousands of recharging points installed and the millions of recharges carried out, we have understood that there is a need for many solutions that are digitally connected and that are flexible, because the different mobility scenarios to be faced must combine all these solutions for plans that are not linked to the mere purchase of an electric car or a column today, but project on what we will do and what we will need from here to the next two , five or ten years. These are bets that must be made, but today there are all the elements to make them with investments that are not empty to lose.
What is your industrial perspective when it comes to Electric Mobility?
Considering that Italy does not enjoy the reputation of a country that helps those who want to produce and those who want to export, it is noteworthy that a company with so many opportunities around the world such as ABB has decided to renew trust in a pole Italian production, investing 30 million to build a new one. I refer to the Valdarno (Arezzo) plant, where almost all of our chargers and charging stations are built. This confirms that there is still the possibility of competing, enhancing the concept of Made in Italy. At least in our sector, it can no longer be seen as something that is born by hand in the territory and grows of its own life, placing itself on the world scene, but is a piece within a new global partnership where there are collaborations with other companies, not.
Another aspect that will grow over time is the combination of robotics with the recharging world, which brings with it a series of advantages and opportunities, opening up to professionals that do not exist today. Skills that today operate in completely different sectors must be combined to create something new that finds an outlet in this new scenario that is emerging.
