autoregion international 2/2020 - Greater Region Mobility Innovation

14 New Perspectives for Mobile Drive Alternatives autoregion international spoke with Professor Reiff, Chairman of the Executive Board of KST Based in the Palatinate Bad Dürkheim and for over 50 years now active in the field of contract development KST- Motorenversuch GmbH & Co. KG successfully operates as an independent development service and test field provider for the automotive industry, for manufacturers of vehicle drive and component assemblies as well as for the manufacturers of large bore engines, vehicle lubricants and their suppliers. On which areas of importance for KST do you see the largest impact of COVID-19? Professor Reiff: Due to government measures, the pace of growth in the field of electromobil- ity will rise again substantially and will mainly focus on the efficiency of drive systems and vehicles. We have been active in this field for more than 10 years now and are constantly developing our skills as well as capacities. From my point of view the further develop- ment of ICEs has been widely neglected. By now the arguments for why the combustion engine will continue to be needed, be it as a hybrid electric vehicle are well known. You get the impression that currently the flock of sheep is mainly chasing after the electric drive. Whether this is actually a sensible thing to do compared with other countries in this playing field I venture to doubt. Could the hydrogen combustion engine be a fast means of reducing C02 emissions? Professor Reiff: This technology has pushed a significant amount of progress and is partly by far more efficient than classical diesel engines. It would be an elegant solution for tomorrow’s market and especially for the commercial vehi- cle sector if it would be possible to produce hy- drogen through concerted action and in larger quantities on the basis of a power supply from renewable energy source. Supply chains for engines exist and must not need to be set up with harmful CO² such as for fuel cells. Additionally we would support our domestic industries. I’m keen to see when political efforts will take this into account. In your opinionwhat will a future drivemix for passenger cars look like in 2030? Professor Reiff: This will differ greatly from region to region. In the countries with a com- paratively low purchasing power and poor infrastructure the more affordable classical combustion engine will remain the dominant automotive drive system. In the metropolitan regions of Central Eu- rope and also as far as the second cars are Images: © KST/MD-GrafiX e.K. Professor Reiff, Chairman of the Executive Board of KST S H A R E