European green vehicles initiative : multiannual roadmap for the contractual PPP under Horizon 2020.
Date: 2015-01-16
Institutions: Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Subjects: clean technology, environmental policy, environmental protection, innovation, motor car, motor vehicle industry, new technology, public-private partnership, reduction of gas emissions, research and development, road transport

EUROPEAN 
GREEN 
VEHICLES 
INITIATIVE

Prepared by 

Research and 
Innovation

Multiannual roadmap  
for the contractual PPP 
under Horizon 2020

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
Directorate-General for Research and Innovation
Directorate H — Transport
Unit H2 — Surface transport

Contact:  Frédéric SGARBI,  

Head of Sector, Innovative Automotive Systems

European Commission
Office COV2 7/057
B-1049 Brussels
Tel. (32-2) 29-61071
E-mail: frederic.sgarbi@ec.europa.eu

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

EUROPEAN GREEN  
VEHICLES INITIATIVE
MULTIANNUAL ROADMAP
FOR THE CONTRACTUAL PPP UNDER HORIZON 2020

2014

Directorate-General for Research and Innovation

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Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2014

ISBN 978-29-79-43939-1  
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Contents

Introduction ...........................................................................................................................................................................5

PART I. VISION 2030 ....................................................................................................................................................7

Context setting: goals, links with EU policy objectives,  
and societal challenges addressed ..................................................................................................................7

Overall Vision 2030 and research and innovation strategy of  
the industrial sectors involved  ...........................................................................................................................8

Strategic objectives of the initiative and role of the PPP in  
the overall industrial strategy ..........................................................................................................................11

Commitment of the industry to the vision and objectives of the PPP goals  ......................13

PART II. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION STRATEGY .....................................................................15

Definition of Scope ..................................................................................................................................................15

The path towards innovation ............................................................................................................................17

Roadmaps and multi-annual implementation plans ..........................................................................18

PART III. EXPECTED IMPACTS ..........................................................................................................................23

Scale of the R&D involved and ability to leverage additional investments in R&D .........23

Expected impacts on industry and society e.g. on competitiveness, growth, 
employment, trade, productivity, climate change and environment .........................................26

Specific objectives of the EGVI PPP ...............................................................................................................28

Added value of action at EU level and benefits of a Contractual PPP instrument ...........29

Proposed arrangements to monitor and assess progress towards the objectives ..........30

PART IV. GOVERNANCE ..........................................................................................................................................33

Governance model of the partnership .........................................................................................................33

Openness, transparency and representativeness ................................................................................34

Information and results sharing ......................................................................................................................35

ANNEX. EGVIA MEMBERSHIP AND BODIES ......................................................................................37

Introduction

The Public Private Partnership European Green Cars Initiative was originally created in an ad-hoc 
manner  in  response  to  the  global  economic  crisis  of  2008  by  using  the  instruments  of  the 
7th Framework Programme. It evolved into a lean, fast and efficient instrument for the funding of 
research, development and innovation in the field of sustainable mobility. Decision makers from 
major European companies, representing the European Technology Platforms ERTRAC, EPoSS and 
SmartGrids, entered into a continuous and constructive dialogue with the involved Directorates 
General of the European Commission, and made recommendations for the annual FP7 Calls for 
Proposals of the European Green Cars Initiative published in 2009-2012. Their advice was based on 
intensive consultations involving industrial and academic stakeholders from all relevant technology 
domains, spanning the entire value chain, and rests upon the long-term roadmaps and strategic 
research agendas of the technology platforms. Eventually, about 100 collaborative research pro-
jects will have been jointly funded with the EC in the framework of this PPP. Due to the high degree 
of satisfaction from both the industrial sector and the EC sides, a continuation of the PPP is strived 
for under Horizon 2020, the new Common Strategic Framework for EU research and innovation 
funding after 2013. The wish for this continuation is supported by the proven added value of an 
integrated R&D&I programme at European level, and by the commitment and shared vision of the 
involved sectors to set objectives not only for the support of key European transport, energy and 
environmental policies or the sake of technical inventions, but also and in particular for the devel-
opment of markets, commercialization, production and ultimately employment. The multiannual 
roadmap at hand reveals the vision, research and development strategy as well as the expected 
impact of a contractual PPP ‘European Green Vehicles Initiative’ (EGVI) that will contribute to 
reach the targets set by European Transport, Energy, Environment and Climate Protection policies 
especially in the field of energy efficiency of vehicles and alternative power trains. The document is 
taking into account the roadmaps from three technology platforms (ERTRAC, EPoSS, SmartGrids) 
in a cross-sector approach, and is pointing out the potentially high socio-economic benefits of 
a PPP. All written comments resulting from stakeholder consultations as well as the discussions at 
a dedicated event held in Brussels on 25 September 2012 have been considered.

PART I. VISION 2030

Context setting: goals, links with EU policy 
objectives, and societal challenges addressed

Energy efficiency of road vehicles and alternative powertrains have been identified by the 
industry and by policy-makers worldwide as crucial for achieving major cuts in CO2 emissions 
and moving towards a sustainable transport system. The European Commission in its 2011 
White Paper for Transport1 set the objective for delivering a competitive and resource efficient 
transport system which allows substantial carbon emissions cuts and lesser dependence on 
imported fuels. The challenge of energy efficient vehicles and alternative powertrains relates to 
several important objectives of the European Union: reduction of emissions and improvement 
of air quality, CO2 reduction and prevention of climate change, maintaining energy security, and 
increased use of renewable energies. Focusing on this challenge, the European Green Vehicles 
Initiative will thus contribute to reach the targets set by the European policies of Transport, 
Energy, Environment and Climate Protection: the 20/20/20 targets on renewable energy use, 
the CO2 emissions regulation, and the Euro emissions standards for road vehicles. Being by 
nature a cross-sectors matter, advancements for the energy efficiency of road vehicles will be 
built on the expertise of three European Technology Platforms, ERTRAC, EPoSS, and Smart-
Grids, following a system approach integrating the research domains of automotive, energy, 
ICT, and smart grids.

1  COM(2011) 144, White Paper 2011 ‘Roadmap to a Single Transport Area - Towards a competitive and resource efficient transport 

system’.

8

By developing energy efficient road vehicles and alternative powertrains (‘green vehicles’), the 
initiative addresses the societal challenge of sustainable transport, and at the same time have 
a major impact on the innovative strength and global competitiveness of the European economy 
e.g. in terms of protection and further growth of manufacturing basis, employment, and skills. 
The initiative follows the approach of Horizon 20202 to use research and innovation activities 
for reaching industrial leadership positions. Considering that Europe’s competitors on the global 
markets – who are well aware of the leverage effect of public funding – have set up massive R&D 
support programmes for green vehicles development, Europe cannot afford to lack ambition or to 
let fragmentation reduce the efficiency of its action on this field. In its report3 published in June 
2012, the CARS21 High Level Group, gathering European Commissioners, national Ministers and 
CEOs of the automotive industry, concludes that the foremost challenge for the EU global com-
petitiveness is to launch a specific major initiative on breakthrough technologies. The European 
Green Vehicles Initiative has been confirmed as a follow-up of the EGCI PPP within the CARS2020 
Action Plan adopted by the European Commission.4 The instrument considered the most suitable is 
the contractual Public Private Partnership as described in article 19 of the Horizon 2020 proposal 
in which both the public and private sides express their commitment to support the development 
and implementation of a research and innovation activity of strategic importance to the  EU 
 competitiveness and industrial leadership, and to address specific societal challenges.

The complexity of the matter requires a well coordinated combination of specific knowledge along 
the novel value chains of green vehicle technology, building on the involvement of SMEs, regional 
innovation clusters as well as big corporations and efficiently using the diverse competencies avail-
able at companies, research institutes, and universities all around Europe. Creating efficient links 
between research, development and innovation with the feedback of user experience e.g. from 
demonstration sites will continuously be taken into account for the improvement of the initiative.

Overall Vision 2030 and research and innovation 
strategy of the industrial sectors involved

The three technology platforms involved in the PPP cover the research and innovation  strategies 
of road transport (ERTRAC5), smart systems (EPoSS6) and smart grids (SmartGrids7). They have 
specific scopes but their strategies are complementary and match the PPP objectives.

ERTRAC - the European Road Transport Research Advisory Council, has revised its  Strategic 
Research  Agenda  (SRA)  by  taking  a  system  approach  and  addressing  Grand  Societal 

2  COM (2011) 809 final, Regulation of the European Parliament and of the Council establishing Horizon 2020 - The Framework 

Programme for Research and Innovation (2014-2020), adopted on 30/11/2011.

3  CARS 21 High Level Group on the Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth of the Automotive Industry in the European Union, 

Final Report 2012, 6 June 2012

4  COM(2012) 636 CARS 2020: Action Plan for a competitive and sustainable automotive industry in Europe

5  http://www.ertrac.org

6  http://www.smart-systems-integration.org

7  http://www.smartgrids.eu

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART I. VISION 2030

9

Challenges. As described in the table and figure below, objectives have been set for an 
overall efficiency improvement of the transport system by 50% in 2030 compared to 2010. 
Also specific targets for each of the societal needs are identified: decarbonisation, reliability 
and safety.

Table 1. Guiding objectives of ERTRAC for 2030

Figure 1. A systems approach to achieving  a 50% more efficient road transport system

The ERTRAC SRA is being implemented through roadmaps covering topics for research, 
development, and innovation framework. Together, the ERTRAC roadmaps cover all aspects 
of the transport system thus enabling the objectives set in the SRA to be met. The approach 
focuses on the following three key elements of the transport system: urban mobility; long-
distance freight transport; and interfaces between transport means. Together, these ele-
ments provide an integrated core transport system that serves the road transport demand 
of more than 80% of the population. Therefore they are essential for meeting the European 
societal challenges.

10

Thanks to its multi-stakeholders membership gathering all the actors of road transport 
research, ERTRAC is then able to cover the four enabling research and innovation domains: 
vehicles, infrastructure, logistical and mobility services, and energy and resources. A mix of 
these domains is usually needed in order to efficiently address one issue and be capable of 
delivering benefits towards the societal objectives. For the European Green Vehicles Initiative, 
ERTRAC will extract from its roadmaps the topics needed for the specific objective of the PPP.

EPoSS, the European Technology Platform on Smart Systems Integration focusses on Smart 
Systems; defined as intelligent, often miniaturised, technical subsystems with their own and 
independent functionality evolving from microsystems technology. One of the most important 
applications of smart systems is the automobile. According to the EPoSS SRA, priorities of R&D 
in this area are clustered around safety, driver assistance and convenience, energy efficient and 
environment friendly smart power trains and subsystem. A particular focus is on enabling tech-
nologies for clean propulsion and electrification. In the electric vehicle the following functionalities 
will be provided by smart systems: management of energy storage systems, intelligent power 
electronics, active control of motors and wheels, functional safety of chassis and power train 
systems, smart integration of range extenders, and advanced vehicle to grid connection systems.

SmartGrids, the European Technology Platform for the Electricity Networks of the Future, 
focuses on research topics and priorities necessary for the advancement of the electricity 
networks and intelligent electric systems. It is active in the European Green Cars Initiative but 
also strongly involved in the European Electricity Grid Initiative (EEGI). In 2012 SmartGrids has 
updated its Strategic Research Agenda, covering the needs up to 2035 for research, devel-
opment and demonstration initiatives both on national and European levels with the goal to 
advance a SmartGrids based European Energy System.

The Strategic Research Agendas of the European Technology Platforms, together with their 
detailed roadmaps, provide guiding objectives and milestones. These elements can be used as 
key performance indicators. For the topic of electric vehicles, this can be done by referring to 
the milestones described in the ‘European Roadmap Electrification of Road Transport’ jointly 
published by ERTRAC, EPoSS and SmartGrids. These milestones describe the expected market 
developments under the assumption that major development technological breakthroughs can 
be reached thanks to a proper coverage of the technology fields described in the roadmap by 
R&D&I activities, and compare these with evolutionary developments. The needed advance-
ments include the availability of next generation of batteries, performance gains of drive train 
technologies, synergies due to efficient system integration as well as the integration of electric 
vehicles with the electricity grid.8 Such roadmap milestones serving as KPIs will be assessed 
and monitored all along the PPP. Fuel cell electric vehicles and hydrogen as transport fuel are 
also an important element of sustainable mobility for the future. KPIs for these technologies are 
described in documents developed by the Fuel Cells and Hydrogen Joint Undertaking (FCH JU).

8  European Roadmap ‘Electrification of Road Transport’, joint ERTRAC-EPoSS-SmartGrids roadmap, 2nd Edition, June 2012, pp. 17-28.

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART I. VISION 2030

11

Strategic objectives of the initiative and role of the 
PPP in the overall industrial strategy

As recognized by the Horizon 2020 proposal, a Smart, Green, and Integrated Transport System 
is to be established in Europe in order to tackle the Societal Challenge resulting from global 
trends. Its creation implies major innovative steps in a multitude of different technology 
domains including transport, energy and ICT. The road transport sector is the largest one to 
contribute to the realization of a Smart, Green and Integrated Transport System, regarding 
both economic strength and potential for major innovations. In order to achieve critical mass, 
to deliver tangible results and to attract the required public attention, the PPP European Green 
Vehicles Initiative of Horizon 2020 should be incorporated primarily in this domain. At the 
same time, activities in other Societal Challenges, e.g. Smart, Clean and Efficient Energy, and 
selected factors of Industrial Leadership, e.g. Key Enabling Technologies, will be essential for 
completing the objective, technology focus and process chain of the initiative.

According to ERTRAC, EPoSS and SmartGrids, delivering solutions for the major societal, envi-
ronmental and economic challenges ahead will require well focused and coordinated research 
and innovation activities for the next 15 to 20 years. At the same time, a proper level of flex-
ibility has to be kept since fundamental framework conditions in these domains may change 
rapidly due to adverse events or emerging opportunities. A close interaction in the decision-
making between industry and public authorities such as the European Commission will be 
essential to generate market credibility and to justify the strategic allocation of resources. 
Therefore a Public-Private Partnership approach is favored. The aim is to accelerate research, 
development and demonstration of those technologies thus allowing the efficient use of clean 
energies in road vehicles. Therefore the objective of the PPP European Green Vehicles Initiative 
in Horizon 2020 is Energy Efficiency of Vehicles and Alternative Powertrains.

Only those topics which are essential for this goal are in the scope of the PPP European Green 
Vehicles Initiative. Required technologies are considered at all product layers from modules to 
systems and vehicles. Neither the development of resources, nor the creation of infrastructures 
is in line with the objectives of the initiative, but the integration of these resources and the 
integration into these infrastructures are in the scope. Furthermore, not only passenger cars 
are considered but also two-wheelers (or other new light vehicle concepts), trucks and buses 
(see Figure 2).

12

Figure 2.  Technology fields covered in the PPP European Green Vehicles Initiative in 

Horizon 2020 (light green)

By addressing various product layers from the module to the vehicle as a whole, the integrated 
approach covers the entire process chain from resource application to demonstration and 
creation of services, and extend research and development to innovation. Experiences made 
during this process will be essential for the improvement of technologies. Especially through 
the steps into innovation, the results of the process chain may raise new questions and feed 
them back into the R&D work. At the same time, advice for EU and Member states to address 
policies regarding transport and energy will be delivered, e.g. indicating when standardization 
or public procurement would be helpful to the innovation process.

The involved European Technology Platforms have wider domains of priorities which will require 
substantial research, development and innovation efforts under Horizon 2020 beyond the 
scope of the PPP and in parallel to it. For ERTRAC, this concerns the development of fuels, the 
evolutionary development of internal combustion engines, priorities for road infrastructures, 
the creation of a multi-modal mobility system for passengers and goods, as well as other 
technologies leading to safety, noise reduction and performance gains. ERTRAC has devel-
oped a MAP Multi-Annual Implementation Plan for Horizon 2020, where all these priorities 
for research and innovation for the whole road transport sector are described and allocated 
to the pillars of Horizon 2020. For EPoSS, which is dealing with smart systems integration, 
topics to be covered by other funding programmes includes priorities in the domain of safety 
and driver assistance as autonomous driving, networked functionalities and human-machine 
interfacing as pointed out in the EPoSS strategic research agenda. As for SmartGrids, it will 
be all the topics concerning electricity networks and intelligent electric systems. It is essential 
to implement appropriate funding schemes for those topics going beyond the scope of this 
Multiannual Roadmap in parallel to the PPP EGVI.

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART I. VISION 2030

13

Commitment of the industry to the vision and 
objectives of the PPP goals

The industry is ready to commit to strategies and objectives shared with the European policy-
makers. It has prepared roadmaps to achieve those targets, and is keen to establish annually 
research priorities and framework conditions for innovation based on a continuous consultation 
process involving all relevant stakeholders. A public private partnership is considered a neces-
sary commitment from both sides to steer and drive this process forward.

Acting with a PPP at the European level is seen as an added value action complementary to 
national and local actions, because vehicles and mobility services have to be developed for interna-
tional markets, using standardized solutions, and need to be able to compete on a worldwide basis.

Why a contractual PPP?

 –   To ensure a lasting commitment of the industry and the European Commission to 
address the shared objectives, with the ambition to deliver results in a timely and 
continuous manner;

 –   To guarantee critical mass of funding for topics that are of strategic importance for 

the EU, tackling specific societal challenges and aiming at industrial leadership;

 –   To drive forward innovation by integrating in a ring-fenced research programme 
together with actions necessary to accelerate the implementation of research 
results, towards the deployment of innovative solutions and pushing for production 
within the EU;

 –   To set up a collaborative process where private and public actors are putting 
together their specific competences, the public side setting European transport, 
energy and industrial policy ambitions while the industry identifies research and 
innovation priorities to fulfill them;

 –   To best use the competences of each side, the European institutions being 

responsible for the public funding allocation, project evaluation and management, 
while the private partners concentrate on setting recommendations for research 
topics, and to monitor and evaluate progress towards the objectives;

 –   To maintain transparency of the priority setting and openness for participation in 
the programme to any interested stakeholders, qualities which cannot be fulfilled 
if the PPP is further institutionalized. This is a particular requirement for the 
automotive industry, which includes several competitors and is based on fragmented 
supply chains including SMEs;

 –   To guarantee flexibility and an ability to adapt the technology coverage of the 

programme according to research findings, allowing the budget to be always oriented 
towards the best usages according to real industry situation and the state of the art 
research.

14

 –   To ensure a lasting cooperation of the industries concerned (automotive, smart 

systems, smart grids) and the involvement of the corresponding services within the 
European Commission.

 –   To foster the sharing of information throughout the network of involved 

companies and research organizations.

The Commitment of the industry:

The PPP EGVI will contribute to reaching objectives of major EU policies, and in particular the 
White Paper for Transport: by delivering innovative technologies which will help to reach the 
EU’s target of reducing CO2 emissions in transport by 60% by 2050.

The PPP EGVI will contribute to the deployment of green, yet affordable and safe, vehicles as 
described in the roadmaps for electrification, hybridization, buses and long distance trucks. 
Those roadmaps include milestones of vehicle deployment on the European roads, e.g. an 
accumulated 5 Million electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles by 2020 and further growth potential 
thereafter with corresponding potential CO2 emissions reduction.

The industry is ready to match EU funding with similar private funding. Considering the 
scope and objectives of the initiative as outlined in this paper, a total programme budget of 
3 Bn Euros is necessary for Horizon 2020 (framework 2014-2020) to represent critical mass 
and reach tangible results. This figure is to be compared with the 30 Bn Euros that the Euro-
pean automotive industry is investing each year in R&D, out of any public support scheme, 
2/3 of it being allocated to energy efficiency.

The  PPP  EGVI  shall  work  with  principles  of  transparency  and  openness.  Using  the  wide 
stakeholders basis of the European Technology Platforms ERTRAC, EPoSS, and Smart Grids, 
a scheme for operation and governance will be set up to organize the tasks of delivering 
viable research topics recommendations across the community, monitoring project progress 
and continuously evaluating the efficiency of the measures taken, as well as of building com-
munication channels with the European Member States, and taking into account the user 
perspective. A legal entity was created to represent the private part of the PPP, in the format 
of a non-profit association, to formalize the principles of work and get the commitment of the 
interested members to the objectives of the Initiative.

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART II. RESEARCH AND 
INNOVATION STRATEGY

Only topics which contribute to reaching the goal of Energy Efficiency of Vehicles and Alterna-
tive Powertrains are in the scope of the PPP, in particular the electrification and hybridization 
of powertrains, and their adaptation to renewable fuels. Also the functionality improvement 
of the vehicle, the reduction of its complexity and weight, and the management of its ther-
mal and other energy flows play an important role. As shown in Figure 2, any technological 
development supporting these goals at the relevant product layers of the value chain from 
modules to systems and vehicles will be considered relevant.

Definition of Scope

The distinction between topics being within the scope of the PPP and those to be covered 
by other parts of the European funding programmes has to be based on a thorough defini-
tion directly resulting from the objectives of the PPP. In many cases, the assessment will 
require an expert discussion taking into account the objectives of the PPP, particularly for 
the integration of resources and the integration into infrastructures:

Resources integration in the scope of the PPP:

The development of resources such as new fuels and materials is generally not within the 
scope of the PPP as it serves a multitude of other purposes beyond the objectives of the PPP 
like e.g. the efficiency of usage or the independency from imports. However, the advancement 

16

and adaptation of resources for application in the green vehicle is fully within the scope of 
the PPP, as explained below for the case of materials.

Even though research on lightweight materials would not generally be in the scope of the 
PPP, the application of a new material which could lead for instance to weight reduction of a 
module indeed would. Within the PPP, the adaptation and processing of the material would 
be relevant as well as the functionality improvement of the module, the integration into the 
vehicle structure, the prototyping and testing, the establishment of a prototype line, and finally 
the demonstration of the product.

A comparable situation applies to energy storage systems: Many electrochemical systems may 
improve the performance, lifetime or affordability of any kind of battery. Their development 
starts with pure material research for anode, cathode or separator, i.e. new structures of car-
bon composites, powders or tubes or new chemistry for separators. Therefore such research 
and development should be covered by more general funding programmes. However, given 
the fact that the battery is a core element of electric and hybrid vehicles, any specific research 
on automotive batteries is fully in the scope of the PPP, such as the further development, 
adaption, prototype manufacturing, and testing of a specific electrochemical system or cell 
design, integration of cells into batteries, integration of batteries into the vehicle structure, 
charge management, as well as any aspects that enable recycling or second life of batteries.

Other examples of materials integration that can fall into the PPP scope are new materials 
applied to electric drive train components such as electric motors, power electronics, etc. 
Another challenge for the energy efficiency of electrified vehicle being thermal management, 
new materials supporting advanced thermal management could be considered, i.e. materi-
als which enable new highly efficient heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems for 
electric vehicles.

Infrastructure integration in the scope of the PPP:

The development of needed infrastructures such as electricity distribution capacity or road 
infrastructure is in principle out of the PPP. However, there are some necessary interfaces 
and other complementary developments that must be addressed to assure the correct inter-
operability and full integration to facilitate the eventual large scale deployment of electric 
vehicles to the power grid. The Energy efficiency concept must be considered as a whole 
including efficient charging devices and charging the EVs interacting with the electricity sys-
tem in the most efficient and sustainable way. In this sense, the EV charging operation 
must be integrated in the overall electricity system operation allowing ordered and controlled 
charging methods that maximise the efficiency of the overall Electricity System. This implies 
the interoperability of the elements involved from the EVs to the generation sources that 
include the establishment of a coordinated communication along the energy chain. The smart 
EV charging infrastructure should be integrated as any other electricity demand into the dis-
tribution system operators’ network management systems, thus a correct and coordinated 
ICT communication system must be developed between the EV, the charging devices and the 
mobility operator/ DSOs. This would avoid congestions and /or unexpected demand (demand 
management) that could provoke lack of efficiency and/or the increase of the operational 
cost of the infra-structures. These developments will directly affect environmental aspects 
(GHG emissions) or the improved integration of renewables with presence of EVs. As electric-
ity is a highly regulated business, relevant consideration must be given to the impacts on the 

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART II. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION STRATEGY

17

regulatory models, markets and socioeconomic issues. The Interfaces outside the vehicle 
refer to the charging functions and needs of EVs including charging points, related power 
electronics and different communication means. Protocols and standards are needed in this 
area to achieve interoperability. The future evolution of the vehicles is directly related to 
the evolution of the charging devices (quick charging, V2G aspects, contactless, etc.). All these 
topics will be within the scope of the PPP.

Logistics: not in the scope of the PPP

One theme that was covered by the European Green Cars Initiative PPP, and which is proposed 
to not be covered in the European Green Vehicles Initiative PPP, is the theme of logistics. It 
is a recommendation of the European Commission services to have logistics not covered 
under a transport mode specific initiative like the EGVI but rather to put it under the normal 
programme as a multi-modal thematic area. This approach is understood and accepted, but 
ERTRAC recommends however that strong links are kept between the vehicle development 
part and the logistics part. Collaboration is expected to continue and be developed further 
between the EGVI PPP and the activities supported by the European Commission on Logistics.

The path towards innovation

On the path towards innovation, the results of projects within the process chain may raise new 
questions and feed them back into the R&D work. At the same time, an additional result of the 
R&D activities within the PPP is advice for the EU to address policies regarding transport, energy, 
economic development and environmental protection in order to ensure that legislative frame-
works are used to best support the goals of the PPP instead of being a bottleneck. Examples 
include indications when early European and global standardization in parallel to research and 
development could ensure the protection of sensitive knowledge. Integrating standardization 
issues early enough within the R&D&I process can indeed support the market uptake of innovative 
products and services. Also policy measures like public procurement focused on novel technolo-
gies that can be helpful to the innovation process. Indeed, the technology focus and the process 
chain environment of the initiative should not be limitative but further links need to be developed 
like standardization activities, education programmes, infrastructure creation, and so on. In par-
ticular, efficient and continuous working relations to the other PPPs will be established to identify 
potential synergies in the coverage of topics from early on. There should be cooperation with the 
European Electricity Grid Initiative in order to ensure the coverage of integration into the grid of 
electric vehicles. There should also be cooperation with the PPP Factories of the Future in order to 
cover issues of high interest for both initiatives, such as manufacturing of cells and batteries or 
novel materials, modules and vehicles as well as recycling aspects. Similar cooperation activities 
with other PPPs and Joint Undertakings should be established when considered relevant, a case 
in example would be the JTI Fuel Cell and Hydrogen which is focused on the fuel cell development 
but not on other components of the drive train which are similar to electric vehicles e.g. on the 
electric machine. Another example is the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and 
Communities which may provide important links to the applications and deployment scenarios 
for the technologies developed under the PPP. In parallel, the EGVI PPP will benefit from close 
interactions with other European Technology Platforms such as EuMaT, Manufuture or MINAM, 
which focus on materials, manufacturing or micro and nano-manufacturing.

18

Roadmaps and multi-annual implementation plans

The long-term technology roadmaps developed as part of the Strategic Research Agendas of the 
involved European Technology Platforms describe the course of research and innovation leading to the 
goals of PPP European Green Vehicles Initiative. Their milestones will ensure coherence of technology 
developments in the relevant technology fields and derive thematic priorities and time scales. In view 
of the objective of the PPP European Green Vehicles Initiative, particularly the roadmaps on electri-
fication and hybridization are relevant, with in addition specific roadmaps for trucks and for buses.

Figure 3.  Milestones of the European Roadmap Electrification of Road Transport. Lower 

black curve: Evolutionary development of accumulated number of EV/PHEV. 
Upper black curve: Expected development under assumption of reaching the 
major technological breakthroughs

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Intermediate 
2nd Gen EV 
updated 
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3rd Gen EV 
fully revised  EV 
concept 

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVE 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
PART II. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION STRATEGY

19

According to the ‘European Roadmap Electrification of Road Transport’, a mass production of 
dedicated electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles is feasible by 2020 if fundamental progress is 
made in six technology fields: energy storage systems, drive train technologies, vehicle inte-
gration, safety, road integration and grid integration. Mass deployment of the technology will 
however require significant increases of energy efficiency and reductions of cost which may 
be provided as of 2025 by a fully revised electric vehicle concept (see Figure 3).

Future customer demands combined with legal requirements will drive the introduction of 
Hybrid Electric Vehicle (HEV) technologies, increasing the energy efficiency of vehicles pro-
pelled by conventional powertrains, while developing enabling technologies for the future large 
scale vehicle electrification. Without hybridisation, especially with Plug-In Hybrids and Range 
Extender Hybrids, the goals of decarbonisation cannot be achieved (see figure 4).

Figure 4. The classification of hybrids

The Multi-Annual Implementation Plan of the PPP EGVI is based on the relevant research and 
innovation roadmaps developed by the European Technology Platforms. Table 2 outlines the 
roadmaps which can be used as source for this content.

Table 2.  Relevant sources of content for the multi-annual implementation plan of the 

PPP EGVI

ERTRAC-EPoSS-SmartGrids joint roadmap Electrification of Road Transport

ERTRAC roadmap European Technology and Production Concept for Electric Vehicles

ERTRAC roadmap Hybridisation of Road Transport

ERTRAC roadmap Light-duty Powertrains and Fuels

ERTRAC roadmap Sustainable Freight System for Europe / Heavy Duty Truck

ERTRAC roadmap European Bus System of the Future

EPoSS Strategic Research Agenda chapter Automotive

SmartGrids Strategic Research Agenda

20

According to the Automotive part in the Transport and Mobility section of the Strategic Research 
Agenda of EPoSS, ICT and smart systems can provide the enabling functionalities for energy 
efficient powertrains and vehicles. Particularly in the electric vehicle most mechanical control 
functions can easily be replaced by electronic means and be supported digitally by embedded 
software. Thus, energy efficiency may not only be achievable by innovations in cell technology 
or by use of lightweight materials, but also by integrating a high degree of electronic control, 
adaptive capabilities and intelligence to the system. This approach enables range extension 
or battery downsizing in a smart way. ICT and Smart Systems also provide drivers with a more 
comfortable and adaptable car, permit better precision in control, facilitate active safety 
measures and automation and increase reliability by active material health concepts. These 
features compose unique selling propositions of the electric vehicle made in Europe. Smart 
systems also offer the possibility for synergies through smart optimization and integration 
and for adding harmonic interplay to the building blocks of the electric vehicle such that e.g., 
the drawbacks of today’s batteries that lack energy density, lifetime and affordability, can be 
compensated. Therefore, research and development priorities in the domain of smart systems 
for energy efficient and electric vehicles are included in the EPoSS roadmaps for Horizon 2020.

Additional roadmaps may be developed by the technology platforms, and used by the PPP, if 
important missing aspects are identified. Moreover, these roadmaps will be updated periodi-
cally: they are snapshot of the situation today, and it will be a task of the partners within the 
platforms to monitor and continuously update them.

Table 3. Coverage of roadmap Electrification of Road Transport by PPP EGVI

Electrification of Road Transport

Energy Storage Systems

Drive Train Technologies

Vehicle System Integration

Transport System Integration

Grid Integration

Safety

fully

fully

fully

partly

partly

partly

For the multi-annual implementation of the EGVI PPP, research priorities will be extracted from 
the roadmaps according to industry recommendations, and bearing in mind the scope decided 
for the initiative. Some subdomains of roadmaps will fully fall into the coverage of the EGVI, 
while for others only a part of the topics will be likely to be selected for coverage by the PPP. 
An example is given in table 3 for the roadmap Electrification of Road Transport.

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART II. RESEARCH AND INNOVATION STRATEGY

21

Figure 5. Chapter on energy storage systems of the electrification roadmap

On this basis, the content of the PPP EGVI can already be specified, and broken down into the 
technology fields covered. Concerning the timeline for coverage of the various subdomains, 
the PPP will base its work on the detailed roadmaps which state the different types and time-
lines of activities (research and development, demonstration, support to market introduction, 
standardization and regulation) which are necessary for the milestones and the objectives 
to be reached.

As an example, the detailed roadmap for the chapter on energy storage systems of the 
electrification roadmap is shown in figure 5. In agreement with the described focus of the 
PPP EGVI the pure materials research aspects in it will not be covered by the EGVI, whereas 
the application of new materials to cells will be fully in the scope of the R&D strategy. Such 
detailed roadmap for a subdomain exists for each subdomain of all the ETP roadmaps men-
tioned above as sources for the EGVI PPP.

The annual recommendations for funding topics will be made on this basis by the new PPP 
organization, with priorities selected by industrial delegates. The annual selection is therefore 
a matter for the future prioritization exercise, which should be open and flexible, and allow 
adaptation according to technology and market evolutions towards 2020. Figure 6 gives some 
(non-exhaustive) examples of technology content to be covered by the PPP.

Energy Storage SystemsEstablish Battery Testing Facility (Research Testing Methods)Develop Recycling Processes for Li BatteriesCell Materials (Lifetime, Energy Density, Safety)Optimize Battery PacksStudy Battery Cell DegradationDevelop Battery Management SystemsDevelop Batteries for V2GResearch on Post-Lithium Cell TechnologyDevelop Light Weight Materials for Energy Storage SystemsIntegrate New Batteries into Vehicle Structure and Battery Management SystemsAssess Availability of Raw MaterialsEstablish Facilities for PrototypingLaunch Battery Loan ProgramsDevelop Reuse Concepts for BatteriesSet European Guidelines for Lifetime and Range2026 2010 2012 2014 2016 2018 2020 2022 2024 Research & Development Production  & Market  Regulatory Framework 22

Figure 6. Examples of technology content of the PPP EGVI (light green)

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVE	  
PART III. EXPECTED IMPACTS

Scale of the R&D involved and ability to leverage 
additional investments in R&D

The impacts of the PPP have to be considered in relation with the general context of the indus-
try in Europe and worldwide. The European automotive industry invests about EUR 30 Bn per 
year in research and development, 2/3 of it being currently allocated to improve the energy 
efficiency of the vehicles. This accounts for more than 12% of gross expenditure on R&D in the 
EU279, and places the automotive industry at the first rank of the sectors investing in R&D in 
Europe, as shown by the report of the EC Joint Research Center (JRC) on Industrial R&D Invest-
ment10. With European automotive companies being at the top of this scoreboard of industrial 
R&D spending, the automotive industry can truly be considered as a European R&D champion.

9  Eurostat, http://epp.eurostat.ec.europa.eu/statistics_explained/index.php/R_%26_D_expenditure

10  European Commission, Joint Research Centre, 2011 Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard

24

Sectors  that  reduced  R&D  were  Mining,  Forestry  &  Paper,  Other  Financials, 
Household Goods, Industrial Metals and Travel& Leisure. 

Figure 7.  Ranking of industrial sectors by total worldwide R&D investment and share of 

Figure 5.  R&D ranking of industrial sectors and share of main world regions for the 

main world regions for the world’s top 1400 companies10

world's top 1400 companies  

R&D investment 2010 (€ bn)

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology

Technology hardware & equipment

Automobiles & parts

Software & computer services

Electronic & electrical equipment

Chemicals

Aerospace & defence

Industrial engineering

Leisure goods

General industrials

Health care equipment & services

Fixed line telecommunications

Oil & gas producers

Banks

Food producers

Ranked by total worldwide R&D investment of the sector. 
Source: The 2011 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard  

 European Commission, JRC/DG RTD. 

EU

USA

Japan

other countries

Figure 5.  R&D shares of sectors of the main world regions 

The JRC report also shows that R&D investments of the automotive sector in Europe are 
higher than the investments made by Europe’s competitors, which proves the very high com-
mitment of the European industry towards new technologies and innovation. The share of 
smart systems in the expenses for automotive R&D can be estimated to about 30% of total 
R&D expenses for automobile technologies, and it can be expected that it will even increase 
in the future.

Technology hardware & equipment
Software & computer services
Chemicals
Industrial engineering
General industrials

Pharmaceuticals & biotechnology
Automobiles & parts
Electronic & electrical equipment
Aerospace & defence
Leisure goods
Other

4%

3%

5%

7%

1%

1%

5%

6%

2%

6%

EU

US

22%

16%

23%

12%

23%

16%

24%

Japan

Considering those levels of investments at European and worldwide levels, and looking at the 
objectives of the PPP, in the context of key European policies such as the Transport White Paper, 
a total 7 years programme budget of EUR 3 Bn seems necessary all along Horizon 2020, 
in order to constitute a critical mass and to bring tangible impacts. If one considers a fund-
ing rate in practice of about 50%, this proposal means a EUR 1.5 Bn EC funding. Such 
EU program together with a nearly 5 times higher expected national funding by the Member 
States amounts to a total of 18 Bn € in public-private research program dedicated to energy 
efficiency. In order to illustrate the potentially high leverage effect of that funding the sum 
of EU and national funding can be compared with the 2/3 of the total R&D spending of 
the industry for energy efficiency and alternative drive trains which according to the JRC is 
about EUR 30 Bn per year (see figure above). It means an impact on about EUR 140 Bn of 
R&D dedicated to energy efficiency and alternative drive trains on average during the seven 
years duration of Horizon 2020: the EUR 1.5 Bn EU funding in the initiative together with the 
expected National funding of 7.5 Bn could therefore impact investments just on R&D up to 
The 2011 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard
nearly 15 times higher.

Source: The 2011 EU Industrial R&D Investment Scoreboard 

 European Commission, JRC/DG RTD. 

100%

60%

50%

20%

10%

40%

70%

80%

90%

30%

11 %

14 %

10%

13%

13%

26%

11%

0%

7%

0%

5%

2%

3%

1%

3%

2%

5%

32 

Even though there has not been much experience with the leverage effect of the novel instru-
ment of a PPP in the domain of research and innovation so far, it can be argued that the 

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVE 
 
 
 
 
PART III. EXPECTED IMPACTS

25

PPP EGVI under optimal conditions could be able to achieve such leverage effect of more 
than 10, which would be remarkably higher than that achieved in regular R&D funding pro-
grammes. The reason for this assumption is the fact that the PPP is expected to spark a multi-
tude of breakthrough technology developments. For technology developments which are much 
closer to market readiness, and which need little to no change in the innovation process, the 
leverage factor of R&D spending would be around 5 or even below for incremental improve-
ments. In the case of the PPP EGVI, however, where many of the technical areas considered 
imply technology breakthroughs requiring long term and cost-intensive research and devel-
opment efforts by the industry, the leverage effect can be much higher if these efforts are 
expected to lead to market success. Furthermore, the PPP can lead to serious efforts along 
the innovation chain besides R&D activities, e.g. extensive testing, which is cost intensive, and 
profound modifications to the manufacturing schemes, with eventually fully new production 
processes. A company that is spending several millions Euro in research per year on one of the 
breakthrough technology areas in view of the PPP EGVI is likely to spend easily 20 times more 
and sometimes even more than 50 times more in order to lead to that technology deployment 
on the market. These additional investments are secondary effects but could be particularly 
relevant to the establishment of a competitive electric vehicle battery manufacturing industry 
in Europe.

Since the EGVI PPP is focused on highly innovative technologies which require risky invest-
ments, the EU funding will make a substantial contribution to the overall innovation chain: 
promising results of European research projects, which are usually in a pre-competitive stage, 
leading to further investments within companies into in-house or other collaborative research 
projects, and if successful in development phases, consequently leading to massive invest-
ments in the view of production and market introduction of innovative technologies. In particu-
lar where significant breakthroughs are envisaged, the EU funding can be a substantial trigger 
for the overall innovation chain by covering those few % of the total R&D investments that 
are highly risky for the industry, but that can if successful lead to a cascade of investments 
towards a successful market introduction.

That funding by the EU has therefore a very important lighthouse role. One has to consider 
that the societal challenges driving the PPP and its projects are shared within the companies 
involved, which further invest in house in order to pursue the same objectives. Projects from 
the PPP can therefore have a high influence on the industry R&D. Moreover, the task of vali-
dating technology options by research and demonstration activities is also of very high value, 
especially because the EU framework programmes allow working throughout the European 
wide level, delivering an assessment across the national markets, which is precious for the 
R&D of companies who are acting across all the EU countries.

In practice, the funding allocated by the European Commission to research and development 
is being complemented by funding from national and regional authorities. If one takes into 
account the investment of industry, public funding reaches a level of about only 3%, but of 
high importance particularly if focused on integration and systems approaches, as the results 
from this precompetitive research can later be further developed into new technologies, which 
resulted from a mix a funding, public and private. From this standpoint, the money spent at 
the European level has a multiplicative effect for the development of products, because it 
paves the way to investments in many companies in different countries. European research 
projects have the added value of reducing the R&D spending risk for the participating compa-
nies, because if a larger group is working together towards the same goal, then a risk-sharing 
effect takes place.

26

With the EGVI PPP, by setting up a well visible European programme for green vehicles, the 
European Commission will support the research excellence of the sectors in Europe and ensure 
that innovative technologies for greener vehicles will be developed by European companies 
within Europe. The realisation of the EGVI will offer the opportunity to strengthen the R&D 
base of the European automotive industry, which already files around 6300 patents per year11. 
Also, these investments will benefit the sector of embedded systems and the energy sector, 
for instance boosting the development of smart grids, which are very key sectors for future 
growth opportunities in Europe. ICT and infrastructures industries and supply chains can also 
benefit from new market opportunities and new business models developed together with the 
deployment of electrified vehicles.

Expected impacts on industry and society  
e.g. on competitiveness, growth, employment, trade, 
productivity, climate change and environment

In addition to its leverage effect on R&D investments, the EGVI PPP will have positive economic 
and social impacts. In 2008 the launch of the European Green Cars Initiative was part of the 
European Economic Recovery Plan. Support to R&D in the automotive sector was at that time 
identified as a key measure to support one of the most important industrial sectors of Europe, 
which has major impacts on employment and economic activity. In brief, EU policy-makers had 
understood that supporting innovation in the automotive sector can help improve the entire 
EU economy and bring Europe out of the economic crisis.

The situation in 2012 is not very much different than the one in 2008: innovation is still seen 
as a very key aspect for the industry in order to remain competitive, to preserve its markets, 
and therefore to guarantee further employment and growth opportunities. Projects from the 
EGVI PPP and the resulting technologies and methodologies will lead to additional invest-
ments in Europe in engineering capacities, in production tools, in manufacturing facilities, in 
infrastructures, in new services, in maintenance services, in training, and so on, which overall 
constitute a very positive impact on the EU economy and society.

Looking at employment, about 12 Mn jobs, of which a majority are highly skilled, directly or 
indirectly depend on the European automotive industry12. This represents about 6% of all 
employment in the EU. The 16 major car, truck and bus manufacturers in Europe operate 
169 vehicle assembly and engine production plants in 16 Member States13, often sustaining 
the economy of complete cities and regions. Automotive suppliers give direct jobs to about 
5 Mn employees14, within large companies but also within a dense network of more than 
3000 SMEs located all across Europe. Moreover, manufacturers and suppliers of the auto-

11  ACEA, www.acea.be/news/news_detail/automotive_sector_tops_rd_investment_scoreboard

12  ACEA, Eurostat, mentioned in MEMO/12/419

13  ACEA, 2011 Annual Automotive Statistics Overview

14  CLEPA, European Association of Automotive Suppliers

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART III. EXPECTED IMPACTS

27

motive industry are important costumers of sourcing industries such as metals, electronics, 
chemicals, plastics, textiles, glasses, etc, which are highly impacted by the growth rate of the 
automotive sector. This considerable socio-economic contribution of the automotive industry 
has to be sustained, and the related European value chains have to be strengthened and 
adapted to new challenges.

The expected innovations in the EGVI areas should contribute to supporting employment in 
Europe, for various levels of education: not only the R&D and engineering activities have to 
be retained in Europe, but also production and supporting services. Education and training 
can support the availability of a skilled workforce, and suitable measures will consequently 
contribute to improving the problematic situation in the labour market of many countries like 
high youth unemployment.

Another point is that only due to innovation will it be possible to compensate the future loss 
of employment in Europe. Today, most companies are setting production capacities in China, 
South America and in Europe’s neighbouring countries, in particular for products based on 
conventional technologies and older platforms. From this standpoint, the innovation approach 
compensates this trend with new products integrating innovative technologies, which are 
designed for the European consumers, and better fit for a production in the EU. Linked to that 
aspect, one key target is the improvement of the productivity of the European automotive 
industry, defining productivity as a measure of the efficiency of production (output-input ratio), 
which can be impacted by targeted R&D on design and manufacturing. The scale of impact 
on competitiveness is difficult to quantify but, as also stated in the CARS21 report, it is clear 
that the technological leadership and high productivity of the EU automotive industry remain 
its key competitive factor on the global scale.15 The EGVI PPP will support R&D investments 
that have an influence on productivity and competitiveness, impacting, in turn, key economic 
indicators such as jobs, growth and trade.

Concerning trade, the size of the European automotive sector and its global orientation play 
a significant role in the Europe Union’s trade balance. In 2011, there was a positive contribu-
tion to the EU trade balance of almost EUR 92 Bn.16 To a certain extent, the EGVI PPP can 
support this positive trend by accelerating the development of new technologies and products 
addressing the needs of consumers worldwide, at competitive cost, meeting expectations in 
aspects such as quality and reliability, fuel efficiency and emissions, connectivity and comfort, 
etc, outperforming competitors.

Relating to growth, producing 15.8 Mn vehicles (20% of the world market in 2010) and export-
ing parts and accessories from Europe worth EUR 33 Bn17, the European automotive industry 
involved in the EGVI has important factors for supporting growth and stabilizing the economic 
cycle in Europe. Growth is expected in various areas covered by the PPP and in particular within 
the objective of electrification of vehicles, which covers several domains where important 
new opportunities for growth have been identified (electric drive train components, batter-
ies, novel architectures and concepts, ITS, light materials, services for e-mobility, smart grids 

15  CARS 21 High Level Group on the Competitiveness and Sustainable Growth of the Automotive Industry in the European Union, 

Final Report 2012, 6 June 2012

16  Eurostat, mentioned in MEMO/12/419

17  CARS21 Final Report, Brussels 2012

28

management, amongst others). Other supporting measures than R&D support linked to the 
electrification can also have a high impact on economic activity in European, such as invest-
ments in infrastructure, public procurement programmes and support to production facilities.

For the overall impact of the EGVI on climate and environmental aspects, references have to 
be made to the ERTRAC Strategic Agenda, and to the specific roadmaps feeding the PPP. In 
the ERTRAC SRA18, decarbonization is considered as a Grand Societal Challenge for the road 
transport sector, and guiding objectives on energy efficiency improvement have been set, both 
for urban passenger transport (+80 % in pkm/kWh) and for long distance freight transport 
(+40% in tkm/kWh) in 2030 compared to 2010 levels. The contribution of the EGVI to these 
objectives can be assessed as very important, because the scope chosen for the PPP - energy 
efficiency of vehicles - including electrification, hybridization, advanced ICE’s and adaptation 
to alternative fuels, will constitute a large part of the energy efficiency gains towards these 
objectives. More details about energy efficiency improvements and CO2 saving expectations for 
each technology can be found within the different roadmaps.

Specific objectives of the EGVI PPP

The specific objective of the EGVI PPP is to integrate and demonstrate at least 40 innovative 
technologies in green vehicles and mobility system solutions on component, systems and vehi-
cle level. Among them, 20 will concern innovative powertrain systems/technologies, including 
adaptation to alternative fuels and new vehicle concepts. The other 20 will be in the areas of 
electric storage systems, electric components and systems, and interfaces between vehicle 
and infrastructure. These innovative technologies shall lead to an improvement of the energy 
transport system efficiency by 50% from 2010 to 2030, including +80% energy efficiency of 
urban vehicles and +40% energy efficiency of long distance freight transport. Another goal 
is the deployment of alternative powertrains like electric and plug-in hybrid technologies, 
according to milestones in 2016 and 2020 and matching respective performance parameters, 
as described in the Electrification roadmap: 5 million Electric and Hybrid Vehicles in the EU by 
2020 (0,5 million by 2016); battery life-time and energy density doubled, at 30% lower cost, 
in 2020 compared to 2009 Li-Ion technology. Moreover, these expected innovations shall lead 
to the creation of 10 new types of high-skilled jobs through knowledge transfer and training.

Key Performance Indicators:

A number of core key performance indicators (KPIs) have been identified at the PPP imple-
mentation level and project impact level. They will serve to analyse the progress towards the 
specific objectives of the initiative.

At the PPP implementation level, progress will be examined on the basis of the development of 
new systems and technologies, participation and benefits for SMEs, contribution to the reduc-
tion of energy use and CO2 emissions, number of electric and hybrid vehicles, contribution to 

18  ERTRAC Strategic Research Agenda 2010

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART III. EXPECTED IMPACTS

29

the reduction in the use of material resources, development of new high-skilled profiles and 
new curricula, mobilisation of private investment in relation to the PPP activities, and contribu-
tions to new standards. At the project impact level, the key performance indicators correspond 
to the scale of reduction in energy, material resources and waste, the project results taken-up 
for further investments (into higher TRLs), the advance of trainings for a higher quality work-
force, and the development of patents and activities leading to standardisation.

It should be noted that the assessment of R&D programmes and project according to such 
KPIs may be complicated due to the lack of predictability of success or failure which forms the 
basis of any research.

Added value of action at EU level and benefits of 
a Contractual PPP instrument

Acting with a PPP at European level is of added value complementary to national and local 
actions, because vehicles and mobility services have to be developed for international markets, 
using standardized cross-borders solutions, and need to be able to compete on a worldwide 
basis. Therefore industrial players from the automotive and energy sectors see such a pro-
gramme at European level as a necessary step for the development of innovative competitive 
solutions ready for deployment across Europe.

The Contractual PPP model as proposed for the EGVI offers the best-possible combination 
of the technological needs of the European industry, the expertise of the leading European 
stakeholders, and the experience of the EC, in successfully managing large collaborative public 
research programmes for many years. The EGVI PPP will provide the right contents for the right 
European programmes and will develop appropriate links with national programmes and other 
European schemes. These include the EIB financial instruments, the ERA-NET and ERA-NET+ 
initiatives like as the Electromobility+, as well as if possible with the TEN-T programme; the 
Structural Funds; and education and skills programs.

The EGVI topics include activities offering significant opportunities but with high level of risk. 
Consequently it cannot be expected that all results will be achieved exactly as planned. How-
ever, without public financial support for these projects, it is likely that there would be much 
less or no opportunity at all to address these challenges. Furthermore European Programmes 
such as the Framework Programmes for Research and Innovation are today the only ones 
where research collaboration with practically all leading researchers worldwide is possible.

Benefits of using a Contractual PPP instrument:

 –   Secured commitment of industry and the EC to meet critical societal and industrial 

policy objectives;

 –   Builds on success of the European Green Cars Initiative in FP7, which has successfully 

demonstrated the added value of a basic PPP concept;

30

 –   Efficient management: leaner and faster organisation and governance, obtaining the 
benefits from a formalization of the partnership (less time to set up, reduced costs, 
less legal and administrative burdens) without the efforts of an institutionalization;

 –   Openness to the participation of a wide stakeholder group, including newcomers and 

smaller players, in transparent procedures, public consultations and open competitions, 
and enabling also a wide inclusion of particular experiences from all EU countries;

 –   Emphasis on defining clear directions and priorities through Roadmaps which have 

gained wide consensus through the activities of the underpinning Technology Platforms;

 –   Greater flexibility and agility, capable of responding more rapidly to emerging 

opportunities in terms of technological development on one hand and to unforeseen, 
adverse conditions and a shifting economic situation on the other;

 –   Appropriate structuring of programmes and individual projects in order to guarantee 
adequate coverage of all research priorities and provide potential synergies in order 
to enable the pre-determined targets and milestones to be achieved;

 –   Facilitating the collaboration between competitors on a wider range of topics, thus 

strengthening the competitiveness of the EU industry as a whole;

 –   Higher efficiency achieved by avoiding overlapping between smaller competing 

collaborative projects (CPs) while focusing on complementing rather than replacing 
the conventional CP programme;

 –   High degree of accountability, through the continuous review and monitoring 
of progress over the course of H2020, being a clear task of the PPP, using the 
roadmaps;

 –   More opportunities for creating coherence and complementarities with the diverse 

landscape of member states funding policies in the field.

 –   Continuity to take advantage of excellent expertise and experience of Commission 

in its management of collaborative R&D programmes, in view of their policy 
frameworks;

 –   Greater focus on the integration of supportive measures like standardization or 

training and education through dedicated actions.

Proposed arrangements to monitor and assess 
progress towards the objectives

The activities of the PPP EGVI will be regularly evaluated in order to monitor and assess their 
performance, for example, in terms of the key performance indicators, the leverage effect or the 
socio-economic impact. In view of the specific structure of the PPP such evaluation needs to be 

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART III. EXPECTED IMPACTS

31

carried out both internally and externally. The internal evaluation comprises a self-regulating 
mechanism based on the comparison of current project activities and results with the original 
annual implementation plan. The required steps of project monitoring and program assessment 
are fully integrated in the feedback loop of program consultations which constitutes the PPP 
operation. They are thus a core task of the PPP governance organization. The external evaluation 
assesses whether the impact of the PPP EGVI is progressing towards the objectives set by the 
European Technology Platforms and the European Commission. It may give direction for neces-
sary adjustments in case of major deviations or changing framework conditions. Such external 
evaluation has to be based on evident facts about project results and credible information about 
their use in the innovation chain. It can only be carried out by an independent entity which is well 
accepted by both the public and the private sides. It will collect information on specific projects 
on a trust basis, and anticipate their contribution to the goals of the PPP. The findings will be 
published in a generalized manner as an annual progress report which may also give advice to 
the European Commission and the ETPs. The independent entity should refer to a group of senior 
experts and could be constituted by e.g. a contract with the EC and the PPP EGCI Association or 
in the framework of a specific Coordination and Support Action.

Figure 8. Feedback loop of programme consultations in the PPP

There are comparable initiatives already going on in other economies such as the US19 and 
to a certain but limited extend, there are also EC-funded initiatives20 but without the critical 
mass to cover all the projects and topics in question.

19  www.starmetrics.nih.gov

20  See CAPIRE report ‘Impact Assessment of Publicly Funded Collaborative RTD Projects’,  

www.capire.eu/public/2011-capire-deliverables/CAPIRE_D12_ProjectAssessment_2012-02-27.pdf/at_download/file

	  
PART IV. GOVERNANCE

Governance model of the partnership

The contractual Public-Private Partnership ‘European Green Vehicles Initiative’ is established 
based on Article 19 of the Horizon 2020 regulation, through a contractual arrangement 
between the Commission and the Private Side. This contractual arrangement specifies the 
roles and duties of the private and public parties, as well as the objectives of the partnership, 
the respective commitments of the partners and the indicative financial envelope for the Euro-
pean Commission contribution for the years 2014-2020. It has the nature of a Memorandum 
of Understanding.

The Private Side of the PPP is represented by the European Green Vehicles Initiative Associa-
tion (EGVIA), a legal entity created in the form of an international non-profit association under 
Belgian Law. The role of the Association is to engage in the contractual PPP with the European 
Commission and collaborate with the EC services for the implementation of European framework 
programmes on research, technological development along the value chain, and demonstration. 
Acting as the representative of the Private Side, it formalises the principles of work amongst the 
interested members with the view to developing and prioritizing its research priorities, dissemi-
nating information and promoting the partnership and its collaborative cooperation.

The Partnership Board of the EGVI PPP is established as the governing body of the public-
private partnership. It is the main mechanism for dialogue between the European Commission 
and EGVIA and acts to reach the aims foreseen in the contractual arrangement. Within this 
body, private and public sides meet on a regular basis in order to jointly prepare the Work 
Programmes of the European Green Vehicles Initiative PPP. EGVIA nominates the Private Side 
members of the Partnership Board, who represent the wider community of stakeholders 

34

involved within EGVIA, particularly the ETPs ERTRAC, EPoSS, and SmartGirds, and be respon-
sible for preparing, in collaboration with the Commission, proposals for topics to be covered 
in the Work Programmes, as well as any updates of the PPP Multiannual Roadmap. These 
members will commit themselves to provide advice in their relevant fields of expertise to the 
best of their ability and in the best interest of Community research.

Openness, transparency and representativeness

EGVIA is committed to operating on principles of openness and fairness. Using the wide stake-
holders basis of the European Technology Platforms ERTRAC, EPoSS and Smart Grids, the 
Association organises the tasks of delivering viable research topics recommendations across 
the community, monitoring program progress and continuously evaluating the efficiency of the 
activities, as well as of building communication channels with the European Member States, 
and the research community across Europe.

Any company, institution, research organisation, university or sector association that deals with 
relevant activities in research & development, demonstration, industrialisation or deployment 
of technologies and services covered by the EGVI PPP is welcome to join the Association. Its 
representativeness relies on the great diversity of actors involved: the EGVIA membership 
includes multiple types of actors, from global companies to SMEs, universities, research organi-
sations, regional innovation clusters and associations. All can contribute to its activities on an 
equal basis, independently of their size or domain. Therefore, SMEs are also encouraged to 
engage and be represented in the Association, either through direct membership or via their 
participation in sector associations.

All membership applications are presented and considered in a fair and transparent manner 
at the General Assembly and decisions concerning their admission are taken by the majority 
of the votes expressed. Today, all categories of members are represented within EGVIA: its 
membership is composed of 57 full members from both the industry and research sectors, 
and 7 associate members.

The structure of the Association guarantees that the work is carried out in a transparent 
manner. The decisions of the Executive Board and of the Secretariat are subject to the scru-
tiny of, and approval by, all the members. Meeting on a regular basis, the General Assembly 
is the supreme body of the Association. It approves the general policy of EGVIA on the basis 
of proposals of the Executive Board and gives recommendations for its implementation. All 
members can examine, question and decide upon issues affecting the Association.

In addition, EGVIA implements the appropriate consultation processes to ensure the adequate 
involvement of all relevant stakeholders in the preparation of the inputs to the Commission 
and in the projects. Therefore, conferences, workshops and opportunities for the building of 
consortia will be organized with a principle of openness, all members being invited to all events. 
Working documents will also be spread across all the members, in order to gather the input 
from the whole research community working on the EGVI topics, in an open and transparent 
manner. A Board Observer, representing the research members and directly elected by them, 
will attend all Executive Board and Partnership Board meetings. Within the Partnership Board, 
the representatives of the Private Side work on the basis of the inputs commonly prepared 

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEPART IV. GOVERNANCE

35

by all EGVIA members and thus guarantee a proper representation of the diversity of stake-
holders. They will regularly report on the activities of the Partnership Board at the General 
Assembly meetings of the Association.

Figure 9. European Green Vehicles Initiative Association governance model

EGVI
Association

Executive
Board

s
r
i
a
h
c
-
o
C

Co-chairs

EGVIA
Oﬃce

Industry
Delegates

EC
Delegates

General Assembly (Members)

PPP
Partnership
Board

other
experts*

* depending
on scope

Information and results sharing

EGVIA guarantees that information is available to the public in an accessible manner, in com-
pliance with the Horizon 2020 Rules of Participation. To achieve widespread dissemination of 
information on projects and activities, EGVIA develops a number of communication tools open 
to the public as well as publications available for free and project reports published on an 
open-source basis. The findings of the monitoring and assessment process will also be pub-
lished in a generalised manner in the form of annual progress report which may give advice 
to the European Commission and the ETPs.

ANNEX. EGVIA MEMBERSHIP 
AND BODIES

List of EGVIA members (December 2014)

•	 Automotive OEMs (14): BMW, CRF – Centro Ricerche Fiat, DAF Trucks, Daimler Trucks, 
Iveco, Jaguar Land Rover, KTM Sportmotorcycles, MAN Truck & Bus, Piaggio, PSA 
Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Scania, Volkswagen, Volvo

•	

•	

•	

•	

•	

 Automotive suppliers (19): AVL List, Bosch, CIE Automotive, Continental, Delphi 
Automotive Systems, DENSO, ESI Group, FEV, Ficosa, Fraunhofer LBF, Hidria, IFPEN, 
Siemens PLM, Magneti Marelli, Mondragon Automoción, Ricardo, Schaeffler Group, 
Teknia Manufacturing Group, Valeo

 Smart Systems Industry (3): Infineon Technologies, NXP Semiconductors, Siemens

 Smart Grid Industry (1): Iberdrola

 Research Organisations (15): AIT – Austrian Institute of Technology, CEA-LITEN, 
CERTH, CONCAWE, DLR – German Aerospace Center, ERPC, Hexagon Studio, IDIADA 
Automotive Technology, IK4 Research Alliance, SP Technical Research Institute of 
Sweden, Stiftelsen Sintef, Swerea IVF, Tecnalia Foundation Research & Innovation, 
TNO, Virtual Vehicle

 Universities (18): Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Chalmers University of 
Technology, CMT – Technical University of Valencia, Czech Technical University in 
Prague, IKA – RWTH Aachen University, KIT – Karlsruhe Institute of Technology, KU 
Leuven, Mondragon University, Politecnico di Milano, Politecnico di Torino, Scuola 
Superiore Sant’Anna, Technical University of Darmstadt, Technical University of 

38

Eindhoven, University of Bologna, University of Florence, University of Salerno, 
University of Warwick, VUB – Vrije Universiteit Brussel

•	

 Associate Members (8): ACEM, CLEPA, EUCAR, EUROBAT, FEHRL, MOV’EO, RECHARGE, 
Sernauto.

Composition of the Executive Board

•	 Acting Chairman: Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni (Valeo)

•	 Vice-Chairman: Günter Lugert (Siemens)

•	 Secretary General: Josef Affenzeller (AVL List)

•	 Board Observer representing the Research Members: Klaus Kersting  

(IDIADA Automotive Technology)

Private Side members of the Partnership Board

•	 AVL List, BMW, Bosch, Continental, CRF – Centro Ricerche Fiat, FEV, Fraunhofer LBF, 
Hidria, Iberdrola, IDIADA Automotive Technology, IFPEN, Infineon Technologies,  
NXP Semiconductors, PSA Peugeot Citroën, Renault, Ricardo, Scania, Siemens,  
Valeo, Volkswagen, Volvo.

•	 Secretariats of ERTRAC, EPoSS, Smart Grids

EUROPEAN GREEN VEHICLES INITIATIVEFor more information:
www.egvi.eu

Contact: 
info@egvi.eu

How to obtain EU publications

Free publications:

•	 via	EU	Bookshop	(http://bookshop.europa.eu);
•	 at	the	European	Commission’s	representations	or	delegations.	 

You can obtain their contact details on the Internet (http://ec.europa.eu)  
or by sending a fax to +352 2929-42758.

Priced publications:

•	 via	EU	Bookshop	(http://bookshop.europa.eu); 

Priced subscriptions (e.g. annual series of the Official Journal  
of the European Union and reports of cases before the Court  
of the Justice of the European Union):

•	 via	one	of	the	sales	agents	of	the	Publications	Office	of	the	European	Union	

(http://publications.europa.eu/others/agents/index_en.htm).

The Multiannual Roadmap for the EGVI contractual Public Private Partnership 
(2014-2020)  is  the  document  of  reference  for  the  establishment  of  the 
European  Green  Vehicles  Initiative.  The  text  is  based  on  the  outcome 
of  a  consultation  process  launched  in  2012,  involving  the  stakeholders 
from  ERTRAC,  EPoSS  and  SmartGrids,  and  takes  into  account  the  relevant 
roadmaps  prepared  by  these  three  European  Technology  Platforms.  The 
document  presents  the  elements  of  context  calling  for  the  creation  of 
the  EGVI  PPP,  in  continuity  of  the  Green  Cars  Initiative,  and  explains  the 
long-term vision developed by the industrial sectors involved. The Roadmap 
also defines the scope of the Initiative, which aims at accelerating research, 
development and demonstration of technologies allowing the efficient use 
of clean energies in road transport, and outlines the research and innovation 
strategy  implemented  with  a  view  to  increasing  the  energy  efficiency  of 
vehicles and alternative powertrains. It describes the governance model of 
the contractual public private partnership and includes - in annex - the full list 
of members involved in the European Green Vehicles Initiative Association.

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doi:10.2777/13654