On the 4 December, shecco organised ELEVTRA’s final seminar, which was hosted at the Silken Berlaymont Hotel in Brussels – a stones throw away from the EU Commission. The seminar focused on the future of electro-mobility and the place of standardised training programmes for the repair and maintenance of electric vehicles (EVs) and charging stations (CS) within this.
More than 70 people participated in the informative and interactive seminar, which featured presentations on prevalent market trends, education and training. shecco’s Deputy Managing Director Nina Masson kicked off the proceedings by introducing the principles of ELEVTRA and its long-term research into establishing a standardised training programme for electric vehicles and charging stations within Europe.
Take-home lessons from the seminar
One of the major topics of the day was whether the mass adoption of EVs will happen in the near future, and if not why not? This simple question held within it many answers and perhaps Greg Archer, a panellist during the roundtable from Transport & Environment, summed it up best when he said that perceptions from everyone need to change before we can welcome a new paradigm: “It is an entire transformation of how we use and own personal mobility. And we can see that car manufacturers are waking up to that… Just thinking this is a switch in powertrains is the wrong approach, it requires a completely different approach to personal mobility.”
The seminar concluded with a roundtable discussion during which six key stakeholders debated key questions such as:
- How can governments encourage the up-take of EVs?
- Is the infrastructure in place to accommodate a mass adoption of EVs?
- Are cash incentives worthwhile?
- Is this new “rise” of EVs the breakthrough we have been waiting for or another false dawn?
The ELEVTRA project
shecco has been involved in the ELEVTRA project since 2012. The project aims to establish a standardised Europe-wide training programme for the repair and maintenance of EVs and CS and is sponsored by the European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme. The project consists of six organisations, shecco and five project partners: ISSA, Solski Centre Velenje, Hochschule Bochum, Universidad de Oviedo and the Fundacion Metal Asturias.
During the course of the project, shecco has been involved in creating a course for prospective engineers. Encompassing both theoretical knowledge – through an e-learning platform, and practical exercises, the course gives trainees a hands-on experience with EVs and CS. This seminar was an opportunity to show the world what shecco and their partners have been creating and the results were absorbed and commented upon positively by those who attended.
Find out more about the ELEVTRA project
All ELEVTRA material is available to download from the shecco-run website www.elevtra.org, including all the presentations from the seminar, as well documents on how ELEVTRA went about trying to establish a standardised training programme for the maintenance of EVs and CS and their successes.
European Commission Lifelong Learning Programme
Promoting the use of electric vehicles in Europe, the ELEVTRA project contributes to the EU’s climate targets and is, therefore, supported by the European Commission’s Lifelong Learning Programme. ELEVTRA falls under the Leonardo da Vinci Programme, which supports organisations in the vocational education sector to work with partners from across Europe to exchange best practices and to increase their expertise.
About shecco
For more than a decade market development expert shecco has been active in helping bring climate friendly technologies faster to market. shecco supports over 100+ partners worldwide in the HVAC&R sector, where the focus is on sustainable refrigeration, heating & cooling technologies using natural refrigerants. shecco offers a variety of services in three areas: 1) media & publications, including online industry platforms and a catalogue of dedicated research reports; 2) business development, including market research, consultancy and public affairs services, as well as special international projects; and 3) events, including international conferences and national workshops.
Contact
Nina Masson
Deputy Managing Director
shecco Europe
nina.masson@shecco.eu
Clémence Girard-Reydet
Events Manager
shecco Europe
clemence.girardreydet@shecco.eu
Media Contact
Janaina Topley Lira
Media Officer
shecco Europe
jana.topleylira@shecco.eu
More Information:
Press release: shecco drives successful ELEVTRA event on electric mobility in Brussels (139 KB)