Ministry of Transport promotes commercial e-mobility

The Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI) has now launched a fifth call for proposals for "electromobility concepts." From now on, in addition to municipalities and municipal enterprises, commercial companies can also apply for funding for such concepts for the first time. It involves the establishment of electric vehicle fleets and their charging infrastructure, the ministry announced - a statement that could also give hope to taxi and rental car companies willing to make the switch.

"Especially in municipalities, there are many opportunities to switch to climate-friendly vehicles. The range extends from public transport buses, street cleaning, or garbage collection to sustainable logistics. However, for the transition to be smooth and seamless, we need good plans," explains Andreas Scheuer, Federal Minister of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (CSU).

About 200 concepts have already been funded, half of which have been implemented. Now, additional regions are to be included. The funding of battery-electric mobility has been ongoing since 2010. Within the framework of the electromobility funding guidelines, there have already been four calls for proposals. The BMVI focuses on the following areas:

• Electrification of municipal and commercial fleets including charging infrastructure
• Fundamentals for building a municipal/regional public charging infrastructure
• Integration of municipal or commercial electric vehicles into intermodal traffic and logistics concepts and mobility services.

The ministry has again commissioned NOW GmbH to handle the process. The program from March 2021 is called "Municipal and Commercial Electromobility Concepts (03/2021)." It sets out three focal points. For taxi and rental car companies, the second focal point is of interest. It is called "Electrification of commercial vehicle fleets/vehicle parks with corresponding charging infrastructure concepts."

Obligation to Use Green Electricity

According to the information from NOW GmbH, commercial concepts should "particularly include the technical and operational feasibility, environmental benefits of measures for the systemic integration of electromobility into existing operational or regional conditions." To ensure timely implementation of the concept thereafter, the development of a detailed action plan and the involvement of relevant stakeholders should also be depicted. It is mandatory to use electricity from alternative energy sources.

Applications must be submitted via the easyonline portal (foederportal.bund.de/easyonline). The application deadline is May 17, 2021. A total of 5 million euros in funding is available for this fifth call. How it will be distributed among the applicants is not specified by the company, only what influence the details provided by the applicants will have on prioritization. The eligible expenses are capped at a maximum of 100,000 euros (net), which can be funded up to 80 percent.

On March 18, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 12 p.m., the project sponsor Jülich, also commissioned by the BMVI, will hold an online seminar on this call for proposals. Interested taxi and rental car entrepreneurs can register for free on Webex. df/jr