Against the background of increasingly scarce fossil resources and advancing climate change, new mobility concepts must be urgently formulated and implemented. As part of electromobility systems research, the Fraunhofer Society is using the combined expertise of 34 institutes to conduct research into almost all aspects of future mobility. This comprehensive research work, its motives, goals and results can be experienced in the truest sense of the word as part of Antrieb Zukunft.
The exhibition invites you on an exciting journey through the history, present and future of electric mobility and at the same time provides direct insights into the holistic research and development work of Fraunhofer researchers. The path leads through the workshops of the early technology pioneers, along the most important milestones from over a hundred years of electromobility, directly to the center of the topic and the exhibition: the development of effective storage technologies in the Fraunhofer laboratories. The history, functionality and future of the battery can be actively explored here. Basic knowledge is conveyed, among other things, by an interactive battery model.
Visitors also learn a lot of interesting things on the side paths of the exhibition. Small bits of information can be found throughout the exhibition in the form of specially designated knowledge bubbles on the exhibits. This includes entertaining trivia such as the question of why Clara Ford strictly refused to get into a car with a combustion engine. Key technical terms such as efficiency or direct current are also explained here. The keyhole stations on the back of the stations allow a look behind the scenes of the Fraunhofer laboratories using digital eyepieces.
Mobility is not only the focus of the exhibition - the exhibition modules themselves are movable and can always be rearranged as a variable ensemble. This offers the possibility of presenting the exhibition in different locations and with different focuses, depending on spatial and content requirements.
The federal government has provided over 44 million euros for Fraunhofer system research as part of the National Electromobility Development Plan.
The stated goal: Germany should become a leading market for electromobility. However, in order for the electric car to prevail on the market, it needs not only increasing performance and cost efficiency, but above all broad approval among the population. Therefore, as part of the system research into electromobility, the Fraunhofer Society has also set itself the goal of communicating the opportunities and challenges of this future technology to a broad public. The Electromobility Forum and the new permanent exhibition are an important part of the Fraunhofer communication strategy.
Benjamin Wischer, our person responsible for concept development, on the new exhibition project: "True to our maxim - to actively bring people into contact with science - with DRIVE FUTURE we have developed an extremely moving and inviting exhibition ensemble that clearly shows the mutual relationships and conditions of electromobility and at the same time enables very individual introductions to the topic."
