The future of urban transport: zero-emission buses and drones for logistics

How will people and goods be transported in urban areas in the future – with the best possible efficiency and use of resources? Answers to this question will be discussed at the 66th IAA Commercial Vehicles in Hannover (September 22 to 29, 2016) at three specialist congresses at the “New Mobility World logistics.” The question will also be addressed by a large number of exhibitors in exciting studies and forward-looking solutions.

From the self-driving electric bus, fully electric heavy and light local distribution vehicles – some of them with far-reaching automated driving functions – and light commercial vehicles with alternative powertrains, all the way to the use of drones for the last mile or less accessible locations, today IAA exhibitors are already offering solutions for the urban mobility of tomorrow.

The effects that using drones will have on the entire supply chain, the future economic and technological status quo, and the disruptive developments that can be expected will be featured at the specialist event “Drones in Logistics: From Vision to Reality,” which will take place on Monday, September 26, 2016.

Also on September 26, the IAA symposium “Buses for local transport services – zero emissions, safe and connected” will examine the question of how local public transport can master the challenges of climate change by developing new, zero-emission powertrains. Digitization and connectivity are rapidly changing the traditional forms of mobility – including buses, which form the backbone of public passenger transport not only in Germany, but worldwide.

At the IAA congress “Urban logistics of the future” on Wednesday, September 28, 2016, the city of Hannover – traditionally the venue for the IAA Commercial Vehicles – will serve as an example of how mobility and logistics have to be implemented to ensure that urban spaces remain attractive and functional.
Details about the individual congresses:

The specialist event entitled “Drones in Logistics: From Vision to Reality,”initiated by Dronemasters and the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), will be opened by VDA Managing Director Klaus Bräunig and the founder and Managing Director of Dronemasters, Frank Wernecke. Then the floor will be taken by the following speakers: Kay Wackwitz, CEO and Founder of Drone Industry Insights UG; Prof. Uwe Meinberg, Professor of Industrial Information Technology at the Brandenburg Technical University of Cottbus; Christian Janke, Project Leader at the European Aviation Security Center (EASC); Dr. Dennis Göbel, Managing Director, Agaplesion Frankfurter Diakonie Kliniken; Jonathan Ledgard, Founder of Red Line Project and Director of Afrotech, École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne; Thomas Gottschalk, CEO of Mobisol GmbH; Jana Rosenmann, Senior Vice President, Head of Unmanned Aerial Systems, Airbus Group; Damien Declercq, Executive Vice President EMEA, Local Motors Inc.; Tom Plümmer, Founder and CEO of Wingcopter; Lukas Wrede, founder and CEO of Skycart Inc.; Prof. Dieter Moormann, Chair of Flight System Dynamics, RWTH Aachen University; and Stephan Wolf, Co-Founder and Managing Director of e-volo GmbH.
Political aspects will also be discussed by the top-level speakers Thomas Silberhorn, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development, and Brigitte Zypries, Parliamentary State Secretary to the Federal Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy and the Federal Government Coordinator of German Aerospace Policy. Frank Wernecke will host the event.

The IAA symposium “Buses for local transport services – zero emissions, safe and connected” will also feature renowned speakers engaged by the organizers – the VDV (Association of German Transport Companies), the bdo (German federation of bus operators), the trade journal Omnibusrevue and the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA). The symposium will be opened by VDA Managing Director Dr. Kay Lindemann and VDV Managing Director Martin Schmitz, and hosted by Andreas Heise, editor-in-chief of Omnibusrevue and Busfahrer. The other speakers will include Thomas Tonger, Head of Product Planning and Management at Daimler Buses; Ulrike Riedel, Executive Board Member for HR and Operations at Hamburger Hochbahn AG; and Dr. Tom Kirschbaum, Managing Director of the mobility startup Door2Door.

The IAA congress “Urban logistics of the future” will welcome VDA Managing Director Dr. Kay Lindemann, the Lord Mayor of Hannover, Stefan Schostok, and Dr. Eckhard Scholz, Speaker for the Brand Board of Management, Volkswagen Commercial Vehicles. This will be followed by contributions from Hilmar von Lojewski, Councillor for Urban Development, Building, Housing and Traffic with the German Association of Cities; Volker Mornhinweg, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans; Pieter Litjens, Councillor for Traffic and Transport, Metro, Municipal Property, Personal and Organisation in the city of Amsterdam; Prof. Uwe Clausen from the Fraunhofer-Institute for Material Flow and Logistics; Dr. Susanne Leifheit, VW Commercial Vehicles; Sven Krüger from the state capital Hannover; Ralf Baron, Partner at Arthur D. Little Central Europe; Michael Lohmeier, Vice President eMobility | GoGreen Deutsche Post AG; Markus Ziegler, Division Manager pakadoo and member the Executive Committee of LGI Logistics Group International GmbH; and Ralf Eschemann, Vice President Automotive of UPS Europe.The congress will be hosted by Gerhard Grünig, editor-in-chief of Verkehrsrundschau.

There is no charge for attending the events “Drones in Logistics: From Vision to Reality,” “Buses for local transport services – zero emissions, safe and connected” and “Urban logistics of the future.” Please register online, at: www.iaa.de. Representatives of the media may attend all specialist events during the IAA Commercial Vehicles free of charge.