Zoom in! Japanese-German Energy Transition Talks on the Transition of Road Transport

On August 7th,  we explored the transition of road transport in Japan and Germany in our Zoom-In! – Japanese-German Energy Transition Talks" series.

During the session, Jan Stelter, Team Leader Global Partnerships at the National Organization Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technology (NOW GmbH), and Hirota Samuta, Vice President of the Regional Research & Planning Department at the Development Bank of Japan Inc., shared valuable insights on the mobility transition in both countries. In his presentation, Mr. Stelter provided an overview of Germany's goals for e-mobility, sharing that manufacturers expect nearly 70% of new heavy-duty vehicles in Germany to be emission-free by 2030. He also discussed the progress of the expansion of charging infrastructure, highlighting the "Deutschlandnetz" initiative, which aims to establish around 9,000 fast charging points at more than 1,000 locations across Germany. Mr. Samuta outlined Japan's strategy for achieving carbon neutrality in the automotive sector, highlighting the target to reduce transport CO2 emissions by 35% by FY2030 compared to FY2013 levels. His presentation emphasised Japan's multi-faceted approach, which promotes a range of technologies including EVs, hybrids, hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs), and synthetic fuels to realize carbon neutrality.The presentations sparked an engaging discussion on the similarities and differences in approach between the two countries. In particular, the differences in the understanding of synthetic fuels between Germany and Japan were discussed, along with standardisation efforts for charging infrastructure and the promotion of battery-driven buses in Germany.

The dialogue series is initiated by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and organized by The Japanese-German Energy Partnership Team (German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (AHK Japan), OAV - German Asia-Pacific Business Association and adelphi).