Across Germany, new e-car registrations are well over 10% of the market, but in Zittau it still feels like they are in the homeopathic range. It will be interesting to see when the people of Upper Lusatia will be won over by e-cars.

So you can still feel like a pioneer here - and you also felt like one at the first local regulars' table, which brings together people interested in e-mobility. In the first edition on September 30, 2021, university employees, e-car drivers, those responsible for the charging infrastructure and interested citizens were represented. The CELSIUZ in Zittau's Mandauhöfe provided the setting for the meeting. Over a snack and refreshing drink, people talked shop, discussed and got to know each other.

There were also chic and exciting electric cars in the parking lot. You could get up close and personal with a Tesla Model 3 and a Hyundai Ioniq 5.

Tesla is a pioneer in terms of its radical operating concept, driving performance and charging infrastructure and is certainly the best-known e-car manufacturer. The Ioniq 5 is very interesting because of its 800V - and therefore very fast - charging technology and bidirectional charging. It can therefore be operated like a home battery storage unit, making it interesting for grid-supportive e-mobility. In the future, e-cars could be used to compensate for fluctuations in the power grid, but also to operate consumers directly from the car in the event of a power outage, for example. Incidentally, the owners hardly complained about problems with the cars, but rather about charging points being parked up.

Interestingly, the CELSIUZ talked less about the cars and more about the charging infrastructure. With Markus Jeschke from Zittauer Stadtwerke, we had a proven expert with us who was able to provide interesting insights into the construction of charging points in Zittau. As so often in life - it's complicated. Consumers think: Why are there so few charging stations? Why is it so slow? Why doesn't it work? We got answers. They talked about billing models, finding a location and grid stability. The fact that the municipal utilities are still committed to expanding the charging infrastructure despite all the obstacles deserves all the more recognition. There was also a lot of talk about the opportunities of e-mobility and possible business models.

"Why are we sitting here together at all?"

To get to know each other. The evening's discussions showed that exchanging ideas with each other leads to new ideas and insights. We hope that networking will result in new business models and partnerships in which the university can contribute its research strengths.

The get-together was organized as part of the Saxony5 transfer project.