Cenex Nederland (NL), the organization dedicated to research and consultancy in eMobility, has announced its new project: Greening European Mobility through Cascade Innovation Initiatives (GEMINI).
This initiative is funded by the European Union (EU) with a budget exceeding € 12 million.
GEMINI aims to accelerate progress towards climate neutrality through the adoption of new shared mobility services, active transportation, and micromobility, as well as their integration with public transport in the next generation of Mobility as a Service (MaaS).
Theodora Skordili, Business Development Europe at Cenex NL, spoke with Mobility Portal Europe and emphasized the importance of exploring these new models.
“We’re not simply talking about transitioning from an internal combustion engine car to an electric one. We need to move away from the concept of car ownership,” Skordili stated.
“Perhaps this is something that car manufacturers may not like to hear,” she added.
She pointed out that reducing the issue to a single technological change won’t have the necessary impact to achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement.
In this regard, promoting shared mobility and micromobility is essential for making the transition.
Over the course of 42 months, GEMINI will develop and test sustainable business models for New Mobility Services (NMS).
To achieve this, “Mobility Living Labs (MLL)” will be established in eight European cities: Amsterdam, Copenhagen, Helsinki, Ljubljana, Munich, Paris, Porto, and Turin.
Local communities will be involved in the development and adoption of user-centric, sustainable, and financially viable solutions.
Each MLL is expected to demonstrate a reduction in congestion, air pollution, and road risk.
On another note, Cenex’s Business Development Manager for the European Region commented on the two other factors that the industry must pay attention to.
“It is crucial that electric mobility becomes more affordable and accessible to more people, not just the wealthier population,” she exclaimed.
Various studies, such as the one conducted by the European Automobile Manufacturers’ Association (ACEA), demonstrate that the higher the annual income per worker, the greater the market share of electrified vehicles.
“Targeted incentives towards lower income regions and leveraging the second-hand EV Market provide great opportunities for access to more affordable EVs. Access to charging stations is also a key barrier to EV adoption in lower income regions, especially for households without home charger,” she explained.
In collaboration with ICF and the Global Sustainable Mobility Partnership (GSMP) members Forth, Cenex explored the barriers for an equitable transition to zero emission vehicles and provided recommendations to the International Zero-Emission Vehicle Alliance (ZEV Alliance), a collaboration of national and subnational governments working together to accelerate adoption of ZEVs.
Furthermore, Skordili emphasized the need for appropriate charging infrastructure.
“Ensuring interoperability is essential so that they can easily charge their vehicles anywhere,” she emphasized.
CENEX Launches to Support Low-Carbon Mobility Transition
Cenex, is a leading global, independent, not for profit research and consultancy organization established by the UK Government and Automotive industry in 2005 to support the transition to low carbon mobility.
Since 2018, the organisation also operates from Amsterdam, as Cenex Nederland, leading the work on mainland Europe with the support from European Commission in relation to transport innovation.
Cenex is a founding member of the Global Sustainable Mobility Partnership with not-for-profit partners in the USA, Europe and Africa.
The organization is a delivery spoke for the Zero Emission Vehicle Transition Council, which was established at COP 26.
Over the last 18 years, Cenex has been working globally to provide expert advice to national, regional and local governments as well as the private sector to enable them to make operationally, environmentally and financially informed low carbon transport decisions.
Recent clients include the UK Government’s Office of Zero Emission Vehicles, World Bank, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, and large fleets such as bpost (Belgium Postal Service)
