Cities that show you what the future will look like

Experienced content writer with over 4 years of experience in the energy sector and many industry-related publications released.

Gabriela Stawiarska

The concept of smart cities has been circling around for years. Although initially dubbed as futuristic embroidery and oftentimes portrayed in dystopian novels, it is no longer a pipe dream but a bold vision coming to life. As much as flying cars and robots replacing humans in daily activities are not likely to be seen in the foreseeable future, the implementation of smart cities idea is a real-life occurrence. Technology world is on a continuous hunt for better, faster, smarter, more efficient and more advanced solutions. Big-tech companies are racing to introduce ground-breaking measures in order to fit into the leading edge. And… it’s no surprise that they do.

Humankind is bound to witness the highest level of technological advancement. From rechargeable electric vehicles, energy created from wind or water and spaceships exploring cosmic space to big data, fintech, IoT and artificial intelligence, the world is inundated with solutions that were once beyond the boldest dreams. This is where the idea of smart cities emerges and sets off on an ambitious venture to bring the innovations together in order to create interconnected operation networks that would eventually run the cities.

The demand for such projects is fueled by mass population surge to urban areas which tests their infrastructure and services to the limits. Allegedly, out of 7.8 billion people currently inhabiting the planet, more than half is living in cities permanently - and the number continues to grow. It is estimated that within the next 30 years, another 2,5 billion people will move to urban areas. Such population figures pose a potential threat for various aspects of cities’ proper functioning i.e. mobility, energy, waste or security.

Authorities and entrepreneurs have been searching for solutions to leverage technology so that it satisfies the increasing requirements. Across the globe we can already observe some highly advanced metropolitan areas. Amongst the most technology-oriented cities, we can differentiate:

According to IMD Smart City Index 2020, Singapore ranks first. It leads the way in terms of healthcare and livability, mobility and safety. Although, known for its extraordinary architecture, Singapore has a lot to offer when it comes to smart mobility solutions, with great emphasis on facilitations for its eldelry citizens. An autonomous fleet has been created to help senior citizens stay mobile. They also use a contactless payment/ticketing system in public transport. With the use of “open data”, the authorities introduced a trial to facilitate transport planning, that way 5 000 vehicles are being analyzed in real-time circumstances. The trial resulted in the rate of over-crowded buses being reduced by whooping 92%.

Another milestone on the path to the impressive number one position in smart cities ranking is how greatly developed the healthcare system is. TeleHealth video consultations offer appointments over the internet. TeleRehab allows patients to undergo exercises in their own home through wearable IoT devices which monitor patients’ state. There is also an AI-based Smart Elderly Alert System that alerts caregivers when an emergency action is required due to the patient's physical symptoms.

Surely, there are no surprises here. With financial resources of that scale and sharp investments, Dubai has a lot to offer in terms of smart city solutions. It set a goal of going entirely paperless by the end of 2021, heavily focusing on high-level digitalization. Going paper-free is not the only step on Dubai’s path towards smart sustainability, they also undertook a massive venture of building the largest solar park in the world.  Spread over a total area of 77 square kilometers, Solar Park reached a generating capacity of 1.013 GW, while its phase 4 and 5 is still under development.

Dubai has also introduced an online way of delivering government services. Citizens can obtain three types of bundles: the wedding bundle, the newborn bundle and the business bundle from the comfort of their homes. Similar facility has also been launched via the DubaiNow app that allows people to pay for utilities, transportation, health services, education or residency directly from their smartphones. There is also an advanced smart car rental service in the city, all steered from a mobile device.

Photo: DEWA (Dubai Electricity and Water Authority)

In many rankings claimed to be the happiest and smartest city in Europe, Copenhagen is known for its impressive levels of eco-management. In 2014 it was dubbed as the European Green Capital and set an ambitious goal of reaching carbon neutrality by 2025. Through the energyLab Nordhavn project, they managed to reduce emissions and implement new urban energy infrastructures, i.e. through producing heat from municipal waste. Copenhagen is a great showcase of testing real-life, advanced technology in urban areas in order to improve the quality of life. It has to be mentioned that it’s also a marvellous place for entrepreneurs, highly advocating for startups initiatives. With more than 250 small companies that make up two-thirds of the smart city industry, Copenhagen welcomes investments with open hands and supports their progress through various government incentives.

Copenhagen Solutions Lab also partnered with Google to create Project Air View – a system measuring air pollution in the streets of Copenhagen. The real-time data across the city is collected from Wi-Fi access points, installed i.e. on the streetlights or buses and then fed into the general system. The knowledge generated from the partnership will provide the politicians with new insight upon which they can develop public policy addressing the problem of air pollution.

Norwegian capital grows to be Copenhagen's biggest rival in terms of smart city solutions. Awarded with the European Green Capital title in 2019, Oslo carries the e-mobility solutions on its back for what seems like an entire Europe. It plans to ban combustion engine vehicles by 2025 in order to meet its ambitious environmental targets. As much as it may sound extreme, with a charging network that developed and governmental incentives of that scale (removing most taxes, offering free parking and access to charging points and ferries, and authorising the use of bus lanes – the congestion in these “free-flow lanes”), the goal looks in fact reachable.

However, not only smart e-mobility stands for the reason behind Oslo “smartness”. FutureBuilt is a 10-year programme that aims to bring together public and private partners who are then to invest in buildings with 50% reduction in carbon footprint.

Boston was one of the first cities that started experimenting with smart cities solutions back in 2010, as a somewhat of a testrun for technologies. Throughout the years, many of them have been implemented in daily life for good. One of the most prominent examples of it are the well-developed apps, facilitating effortless navigation and reporting known as participatory urbanism. Few flagship apps can be differentiated: Where’s My School Bus allows parents to monitor their child’s safe route to school everyday. BOS:311 is an app that enables easy, on-the-spot reporting of any issues in the city that are instantly transferred to local authorities’ attention.

Boston also paid a great deal of attention to smart transportation and launched various programmes to improve the transport across the busy city.


It may be free to say that NYC appears somewhere high on any cities ranking in terms of the best, the biggest, the most advanced. It cannot be left out on the smart cities one. However, it must be noted that with a population of that scale and sucha massive density, The Big Apple’s solutions may slightly differ from the aforementioned ones. The main point of focus here is how to ensure that such a mass of people can lead a healthy, sustainable life without draining the city’s resources to the limits. Here’s where local authorities stepped in with smart lighting and water metering systems. Being known for its breathtaking “city at night” views of the lit up skyscrapers, it is also known for one of the highest energy consumption in the world. In 2013 they launched the Accelerated Conservation and Efficiency (ACE) program in order to get more control of the building's lightning systems. More than $350 million in funding has been already distributed across more than 650 buildings owned by 16 city agencies. Many of these projects are LED lighting retrofits, and they are saving over $800,000. In terms of water, NYC introduced an automated meter reading system that’s already installed in over 800.000 buildings feeding the daily water intake and delivering detailed data. Apart from that NYC can proudly brag about numerous systems enabling efficient waste management, air quality control and many more.

All of the above have managed to implement innovatory solutions as new standards in the everyday life of citizens and authorities. However, these are naturally not the only cities in the world that undertook actions towards being more smart and technology-oriented. Amongst other solutions implemented across the world we can find:

Sensors that can monitor crowd density and the movement of registered cars.

Systems that can tell when people are littering from high rise buildings

Apps allowing citizens to find an ATM, pay a ticket, report violations

Smart street lights that adapt to the activity on the street.

Smart metering systems feeding the energy data automatically to energy supplier, connected with solar panels and their share of energy production to the grid

Waste management with sensors automatically reporting to the services when containers are full

Advanced charging networks for electric vehicles, enabling seamless commute for EV users

Broad adoption of solar panels in public assets, such as traffic lights,

As much as all that has been implemented already is to be admired, big tech companies take no half-measures and aspire to shoot with technology through the roof. Apart from the real-life examples, some walked the extra mile and went on an astronomic venture of building smart cities from scratch.

It was back in 1966 when Disney introduced his first vision of a separate town-like area designated for a showcase of technology that ultimately was supposed to develop solutions that would help people lead a seamless existence. EPCOT (Experimental Prototype Community of Tomorrow) eventually became a theme park, but its main theme was rooted directly in the smart city idea.

Many years later, we get to experience what may seem like Disney’s vision of an all-smart city comes to life.

Woven - Toyota’s bold vision of the future

Toyota introduced what might be the boldest concept of smart city back in 2020. Although slowed down by the onset of pandemic, the project is now moving forward.  Woven City, nestled at the foothills of Mount Fuji in Japan, is supposed to take up 175 acres and become somewhat of a real-life laboratory for the most daring findings technology can offer. Built from scratch, Woven is supposed to not only serve as a test-station for engineers but as a fully functional space which inhabitants would get the chance to, by all means, contribute to its further development. Bjarke Ingels Group (BIG), who leads the architectural aspect, describes the project as follows: “Toyota Woven City aims to bring people and communities together in a future enabled by technology yet grounded in history and nature”.

Namely, despite almost unlimited amounts of technology, Toyota firmly assures that Woven City is a lot more than just a showcase of robotics and applied science. The focus is on sustainability and human-centric approach.

It is important to underline how far-fetched and penetrative the project is. It touches upon every aspect of urban wellbeing. Starting with smart mobility solutions enabling self-driving vehicles to peacefully coexist with pedestrians, the visoners behind the Woven City’s idea left no room for analogue settlements. Buildings are meant to be packed with technology to such an extent where daily chores much like taking the trash out, will be handled by artificial intelligence and fully automated. Robots are supposed to also take care of the inhabitants of the City of Future and measure their health parameters automatically, reporting any discrepancies.

The developed technological ameliorations are likely to establish the foundation for its future use on a broader scale.

Being a former car manufacturer, now a mobility company, Toyota really pushed the boundaries with mobility solutions that are to be implemented in Woven. They proposed an innovative way to separate different types of urban commute and reinforced it with autonomous vehicles to then transfer a great deal of transportation underground.

In terms of the pathways, there will be three types:

One road is designated for use by higher speed/zero emission automated vehicles.

Another street is designed for a mix of lower speed personal mobility vehicles, such as bikes, e-bikes, and e-scooters.

The third road is a park-like promenade exclusive for pedestrians.

Such distinction is supposed to serve the seamless convey, allowing everyone to select their chosen mean of transport with a great sense of safety as well as reducing congestion. What must be emphasized is that all vehicles will be zero-emission, electric and fully autonomous. Shared transportation will also serve as a delivery system.

Major thing about the entire conveyance system is that a great share of it is supposed to happen underground in metro-like subterranean systems directly connected with buildings - yet another way to ensure the traffic is limited.

City of the future - infrastructure and housing

Next stop on the winding path towards the ultimate smart city is its infrastructure and housing. Here, again, Toyota reached for some extraordinary measures. Sustainability and functionality seem to be leading the idea behind the housing structure. Houses are to be packed with sensor-based AI to do things such as restocking the fridge or taking out the trash automatically.

It has to be underlined that the aforementioned underground system is going to be connected to the AI solutions, that way right after the sensors report the lack of something, it will get automatically delivered to the building through the subterranean network.

To push things to an even higher level, housings will be equipped with technology monitoring people’s health and also automatically reporting any discrepancies.

Eco management plays a huge role in Woven City and any other smart city. This is where technology meets nature and serves it in the best possible way.

Amongst the sustainable solutions, powering the eco-efficiency, we can differentiate:

Solar panels installed on every building’s roof (taking up nearly the entire rooftop space) providing green electricity. In addition energy will be obtained from hydrogen fuel cells.

Buildings made of mostly of wood to reduce the carbon footprint, using traditional wood joinery mixed with robotic production method

Only zero-emission electric vehicles charged with energy obtained from solar panel

It goes without saying that implementation of such advanced smart city solutions into every city is at this point rather impossible. However, much like Rome wasn’t built in one day, as the time passes by, we can all expect more and more technology flowing into the urban areas. It is beyond important for governments to start paying attention to sustainable development and the utilization of AI and technological findings that can ease everyone's lives. Solutions, like the ones available in Copenhagen or Oslo, can be transferred all over the world. With current development of technology, where traffic can be measured automatically, street lights powered with green energy, cars charged with solar electricity and citizens having the chance to navigate and operate tasks from their smartphones, it is crucial that such solutions are implemented worldwide and become the new normal for the better future of the planet. Technology is here to stay and it’s about time humans start using it to increase the quality of daily lives.

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Ebook - The Growing concept of e-Mobility

Challenges & opportunities for EV charging network development

After founding Solidstudio, Pawel was an originator in terms of pursuing expertise in eMobility. With the build-up of a solid knowledge-base on industry’s needs & wants, he now keeps a close eye on products’ development. He’s also hugely responsible for the business’ side and designs the business models for our products.

Paweł Małkowiak

Electric vehicles, much like any other industry, came a long way. With first-ever electricity-powered automobiles constructed back in 1830 all the way to Tesla becoming a global giant, the EV market noted a revolutionary headway. Despite the major milestone, the e-mobility industry still faces challenges that may not be overcome for yet another solid bit of time. Insofar as the transportation industry can be easily dubbed as one of the most advanced, the e-mobility sector itself has still a lot of work to put in, mostly in terms of infrastructure. As much as developing long-range EVs with rechargeable batteries is quite a task to get grips with, charging network is what really holds back the mass adoption worldwide. Although, seemingly perceivable as a straightforward action of intensifying large-scale installations of EV charging points across the nations, the issue is a lot more multi-dimensional. Namely, a few solid charging-oriented companies which are ready to manufacture and install charging stations is not enough. Behind the mass adoption, there are many interconnected elements, such as: governmental support through the implementation of various pro-electric policies and incentives i.e. in the form of tax reductions, progressive software development allowing for more user-friendly operation of charging stations, infrastructural changes backed up by local authorities, or simply extending people’s knowledge and awareness about environmental degradation the combustion engines cause and many more.

It goes without saying that developing a global network that would allow EV users to seamlessly travel from one place to another takes a large amount of workload and time. Even though there is still plenty of work ahead some major milestones and discoveries are already taking place.

In this article we want to give some insights into the EV network’s development and its current state around the world.

It wouldn’t be an in-depth discernment if we didn’t start off with elaborating a bit on the types of charging stations. Three main ones can be distinguished:

 being the fastest way to charge an EV, these stations are usually located along motorways and close to main roads. They come in handy en route especially during lengthy rides. Depending on the car’s brand, the capacity of such charges can reach even an 80% charge within 20-30 minutes while at 50+kW.

possibly most common ones, usually installed in business districts, offices, major car parks and urban areas where it’s usual to leave the car for approximately an hour. Their charging capacity oscillates at 1-2hour when at 22kW (most popular one).

known for being the most commonly used as home-chargers, rated up to 3kW. They are typically used for overnight charging, but occasionally found in offices where employees can charge their vehicle while at work. They take between 6-10h to fully charge the car.

It must be noted that we can differentiate more subtypes, especially when it comes to rapid chargers. With charging being one of the main focuses of the entire industry, brands keep on developing highly-efficient and very fast stations. That includes: UltraRapid DC which provides power at 100kW or Tesla’s Supercharger that can charge up to 150kW.

In the big game of charging stations it is most likely that the e-mobility future will be dominated by slow and fast charging stations due to their convenience and low-cost electricity. Although, it doesn’t change the fact that rapid chargers are the ones which will eventually alleviate the range-anxiety and might be the most prominent way of charging for branches such as taxis or buses.

Electric vehicles infrastructure doesn’t fail to ever grow and evolve. Yet, it’s somehow fallen into a vicious cycle of “there will be more charging stations when people buy more electric vehicles” vs “people will buy more electric vehicles when there are more available charging stations”.

Nevertheless, despite such unanswerable nuances, the infrastructure has been doing well in recent years. According to the most recent numerical data, as of 2019, there were 7.3 million chargers worldwide (6.5 million of which - private; light-duty vehicle slow chargers in homes, multi-dwelling buildings and workplaces). In terms of public charging points, which hold the 12% share in the overall number, it’s been noted that their amount increased up to 60% year on year. This figure exceeded even the electric light-duty vehicle stock growth. Such impressive expansion naturally has a lot to do with various policies advocating EV’s adoption.

Although the figures look very promising, there is one particular drawback and that is the distribution of ownership across the globe. Nearly 61% of all private-owned charging stations are located in two countries only. It must be noted that these are some major countries with large numbers of citizens, but still, it shows well how EV charging networks are falling behind in some areas of the globe.

The leadership of the pack stays with China, which holds top performance in almost all EV-related rankings. In terms of private charging points, the figures are as follows:

Publicly accessible charging stations are spread very similarly. With slight distinction for the Netherlands, which has 8% share of public chargers. Public charging points accounted for 12% of global light-duty vehicle chargers.

In terms of fast charging stations, China left no room for competitors, with a whooping 81% share.

This data clearly shows that a vast majority of charging networks is located within some specific areas, leaving the rest far behind. The superiority of China is dictated by various reasons. For instance, the popularity of fast charging stations in China is powered by the high demand due to its very dense urban areas as well as the impressive figures behind how many public service means of transport (i.e. buses) are in fact electric there. In other countries (mostly in EU top EV performers: Netherlands, Germany, UK, Sweden) the increased demand for electric vehicles has been fueled by heavy governmental incentivization. In the USA, Tesla played a huge role in shaping the drive for green cars.

Impact of Covid-19 on e-mobility progress

Pandemic outbreak is taking its toll on nearly every industry and so e-mobility also took a hit. Luckily, not a critical one. Coronavirus has rubbed the EV network the wrong way in two fields mostly. Firstly, it slowed down the manufacturing and development as many factories halted production and closed up for some time (same goes with batteries/chargers firms). Secondly, observable changes in traffic volume impacted the amount of cars on the roads, especially in big cities where the number of people working from home was the highest. Later, when in some of such areas, lockdown policies were being gradually loosened up, other restrictions were put forward limiting public transport capacities, simultaneously increasing the traffic and creating a difficult environment for EVs. This creates a space for local authorities to step in and take actions advocating for electric automobiles.

While touching upon potential challenges and opportunities for the industry, one must differentiate between the areas where e-mobility is doing well and those where it’s practically non-existent.

In the first instance, naturally a lot more opportunities emerge. With EV charging networks already greatly developed (China urban areas, Norway, California), electric vehicles on the streets are no longer a surprise. Namely, people are willing to purchase such means of transport, simply knowing that it will bring no difficulties in terms of usage and daily commute. This also drives the demand for ever-evolving development and implementation of new, more technologically advanced findings. Such an environment poses great opportunities for local entrepreneurs and companies. According to an old, well-known rule - where there's demand, there’s supply - business owners are not afraid to invest in the e-mobility market, knowing they will find partners and clients. This creates a self-fueled setting for a healthy competition followed up by constant development in charging infrastructure. It must also be noticed that certain areas, where e-Mobility plays a major role within the transportation industry, are doing so well due to significant incentivization by governments. Subsequently, local authorities, seeing their actions have a valid reflection on reality, are more likely to implement yet another facilities for EV industry, such as financial subsidies for companies who aim to broaden the EV charging network.

The situation looks drastically different in areas where EV charging network is limited to none. The focus there needs to be entirely on encouraging to start building any EV infrastructure in the first place. Again, here is where local authorities should come in with as many incentives and programs as possible in order to trigger interest in e-mobility investment. Without it being widely advocated and advertised, the likelihood of entrepreneurs reaching out to fund such investments is relatively low. As we all know, the first steps are the hardest, that way it certainly will take some time until favorable conditions arise. With that being said, the biggest challenge would be to engage local authorities, public transport managers and local companies to start implementing e-mobility solutions.

EV charging network is one multi-dimensional and complex topic. Its distribution across the globe remains uneven and dependent on numerous factors. In some parts of the world, electric vehicles have come a way long enough to freely say that the most prominent milestones have been already reached and it’s only now a matter of development. Other countries are in their infacies and still have lots of work to put forward. Nevertheless, the future generally looks bright for EVs and the entire industry is excited of what’s yet to come.

A revolutionary road to the next big step progressing EV charging network development. What's next?

EV charging network - where to go next?

5 leading in EV sales countries in Europe and factors influencing the plug-in popularity

Magda is the project manager with a knack for some UX/UI design. She’s had a chance to work with many of our clients as well as participating in the creation of our website, which made her well-acquainted with the world of eMobility.

Magdalena Betlińska

Depending on where you live, an electric vehicle passing you on the street may either be an unusual view or something so common that you no longer pay attention to it. Although EVs still tend to arouse some controversy, the mass adoption and general uptake can be widely observed. Recent sales figures firmly back up the thesis about the future of transportation being green.

Despite the global economic downfall brought about by the challenges of 2020, the electric automotive market stayed unbothered and, what’s more, grew even stronger. EV global market share increased from 2,5 % in 2019 to 4,2 % in 2020. Given the difficult circumstances, this is a giant leap forward and a very bright ray of hope for the future. While nearly 14% less light combustion engine vehicles were sold, the electric automotive market itself noted a ground-breaking 43% increase. For the first time in years Europe has also superseded China in sales figures and with nearly 1,4 million BEVs and PHEVs registered (137 % more than a year prior), the Old Continent secured the position of a major player in the eMobility world. This can be mirrored in recent big-cheese brands’ actions. Kicked off by Ford Motor Company and their ambitious plan to go fully electric in Europe by 2030, with Jaguar Land Rover and Volvo Group joining the pioneering venture and recent FedEx following in their footsteps and announcing a mandate to reduce the carbon footprint to zero by 2040, the future of transportation seems greener than ever.

A shining beacon of hope can also be observed in forecasts, as most of them anticipate continuing falls in battery prices. According to BloombergNEF’s data, battery cost noted an unprecedented decrease of 89% and is projected to go even lower. This is likely to bring the EV’s prices to a level comparable with the prices of gasoline vehicles and put a stop to controversies surrounding the costs of electric cars. All these factors leave no doubts that mass adoption of electric vehicles is on the verge of reaching a tipping point. In fact, in some countries the barrier has already been broken.

Top EV Selling Countries in Europe in 2020

According to data from industry trackers, the top 5 EV selling countries in 2020 in Europe were:

Having the primacy of the rest of Europe, the above countries all noted plug-in electric vehicles share in sales above 18%. Leading the way, Norway marked a whooping 74.8% in EV sales, leaving the rest behind. Although Germany has not made it to the Big5, it’s worth mentioning that in terms of EVs on the roads it’s the second biggest market after China with 1 out of 8 global plugin sales taking place.

However, even if all those figures look extremely promising, we must remember that high-volume sales in the aforementioned countries are heavily incentivized by various governmental policies and facilitations. Many of which cannot be easily transferred to other states.

Why is e-mobility so popular in those countries?

The impressive figures and advanced, ever-increasing development surely leaves lots of questions. What powered the enlarged demand for EVs? Why do some countries keep on falling behind with mass adoption? Why are there so many differences in sales rates in various parts of the world? What can be done to even out the numbers of electric vehicles on the world’s roads?

This is where things get complicated. Success of eMobility in scandinavian countries, particularly in Norway, is strictly dependent on far-going governmental actions and various policies. Norway started implementing them back in the 1990s and they have evolved ever since. Amongst the most significant facilitations, there are:

Parking fee for EVs was introduced locally with an upper limit of a maximum 50% of the full price

Although, these all look like pretty straightforward and easy-to-implement policies, things get a bit more complex. It has to be mentioned, that Norway’s vehicle import duties and car registration taxes tend to be very high (one of the most expensive in Europe) and waving them off specifically for EVs, make them very attractive for potential buyers. Another notice-worthy factor is that Norway’s median household income (after tax) is around $54000, which is twice as high as the European average. This leaves Norwegians with a lot more consumption’s possibilities.

Similar policies are implemented in other top selling countries, which clearly explains as to why some tend to sell so many EVs. In Iceland, there are also incentives offered to charge point operators, who are well supported in terms of developing the charging infrastructure. In Stockholm, Sweden, owners of electric cars, who subscribe to parking space, are offered with free charging. Swedish facilitations are also projected to get only more advanced, as the government set the goal of becoming carbon-neutral by 2045. The Netherlands offer a subsidy of $4000 for first EV buyers.

Another game-changing aspect is undoubtedly the infrastructure. It’s one of the cases where demand can be created via market design. In 2019, 26% of European charging stations were located in the Netherlands. Accessibility to a well-structured, effective charging network in many cases plays even more vital role than any financially-oriented incentive. This certainly applies to both, accessibility and the number of charging stations available. Part of the major success behind infrastructure in top selling countries is that they all have normalized the distribution of charging points in the big cities (that is: dedicated for charging spots on parking lots or buildings’ infrastructure inclusive of charging stations i.e. the possibility of charging a car while being at work, as well as facilities for people who live in blocks of flats) as well as stations in less densely-inhabited areas allowing for a longer car rides across the country. Such solutions, apart from making it easy for EV owners to maintain their vehicles, play a huge role in getting other people familiar with the concept of e-mobility.

Well-developed infrastructure also drives the growth of open standards. ElaadNL and Nederland Kennisplatform Laadinfrastrutuur (NKL) are two major platforms for public charge infrastructure in the Netherlands, which help significantly in the seamless maintenance of an EV.

All these factors are heavily dependent on the financial state of the country, its development goals and the advancements in infrastructure and cannot be easily transferred across the globe. Technological solutions, education, environment awareness and the average household income play a huge role in the shaping of eMobility popularity. This, however, does not change the fact that there is hope for everyone.

E-mobility lessons to learn from top selling countries

It goes without saying, that certain practises cannot be widely copied everywhere. However, there is a number of actions that can be slowly but surely taken in order to drive the uptake of electric vehicles in many cities. It all starts with some solid steps taken by authorities. Undoubtedly, some incentives need to be presented to get more and more people to shift from their combustion-engine vehicles to electric ones.

It all starts with some solid steps taken by authorities. Undoubtedly, some incentives need to be presented to get more and more people to shift from their combustion-engine vehicles to electric ones. Kicking it off with investing in electric public transport, may come in handy here. Large amounts of funds are spent on mass transit yearly, allocating these money into emobility solutions may be a first firm step towards an electric future. Such actions would also reinforce major ameliorations on charging networks and infrastructure. Namely, an increased amount of electric vehicles (here: public transport ones i.e. buses) would result in a higher demand for charging stations. This in turn, not only would improve the infrastructure but also would allow local emobility-handling companies to spread their wings and possibly search and find more and more innovative solutions. Surely, this would also contribute to the growth of locally-based open platforms, enabling more people seamless use of the charging infrastructure.

It would be also recommended that undertaken actions go beyond local authorities, all the way to national governments. As much as mirroring Norway’s policies might be impossible in most of the other countries, some practises, especially in terms of parking discounts or some tax reductions, should be implemented. This also applies to paying more attention to the proper education in terms of sustainability and eco-friendly approach. Youngsters should be taught on the importance of environmentally-oriented options as this may heavily influence their future choices.

Although the transition to all-electric cars will certainly take some time, with a solid focus in mind and some work, the future of transportation may turn green sooner than it was initially expected.

5 leading in EV sales countries in Europe and factors influencing their popularity. Learn more about e-mobility strategies.

Top 5 e-mobility countries - what we can learn?

Everything is "E" but what's the deal with it?

Krzysztof is our Head of Products and he leads the technical development behind the suite of our ready-made solutions. Throughout the years in Solidstudio, he gained an invaluable insight into the eMobilty industry’s requirements and is now more than qualified to share his knowledge with others.

Krzysztof Ciombor

From convenient new ways of ticket purchasing, traffic alerts, and accessible forms of public & private transport to search for long-distance connections. In recent years mobility as a service rapidly gained popularity. Now, since we face huge global crises, accelerated by the dynamic society evolution, it might be a good moment to take charge of the growing service sector. With zero-emission declarations, new forms of green energy supplies, dynamic e-sector development, and top-down state regulations MaaS quickly evolve into eMaaS - 

. How to adapt and take advantage of still unexplored territories?

Several factors contributed to the success of mobility as a service. Since smartphones took over the world, the ways we consume goods changed. Development in the area of research and design of user-friendly solutions launched a space for new business models. With easy access to the net, growth of new transport options available, and car limits in city centers, owning particular properties became an unnecessary cost generator. MaaS became an innovative mobility concept, offering the possibility to get from A to B in an elastic, custom, on-demand, and straightforward way, often through a single interface.

MaaS owes its success to a user-centric focus and a different benefit package. As a service mobility allows passengers to choose the most suitable transportation dictated by their personal views and current circumstances. It could be price, rapidity, distance, weather conditions, or carbon footprint. Each user values a different available option. Powered by excellent frontend MaaS can provide various possibilities combining public transportation with solutions assured by the private sector. Supported by backend MaaS can deliver a huge dataset of transport preferences at different times of day and year. This will lead to a better understanding of user behavior and offered alternatives modeling.

With this growing concept of MaaS, the distributed transportation industry receives insight into the use of means of transport. Using a shared & integrated interface of transportation will lead to yet another value - a cheaper fee as “one journey” instead of paying a higher fee at each point. For vendors, this will mean shared fixed costs, a source of data for better business decisions, and new growth opportunities.

Electric mobility as a service ecosystem is a resultant of the earlier concepts solving common big city and mobility challenges, such as growing population, air pollution, increased pedestrianization, car-free zones, access to e-charging stations, and becoming environmentally friendly. Dictated by the transition to greener solutions there has been a rapid evolution of MaaS to eMaaS, which combines:

Shared, Electric Mobility Services (SEMS)

with the technical capability to design and develop a user-centric solution, market adaptation, and business skills to make the product rock in a sustainable way. eMaaS as a concept integrates the chopped up market of mobility options like e-car, e-bike, and ride-sharing, combining with public transport. With a major purpose to replace fossil-fuelled cars and increase the usage of zero-emission mobility assets.

In highly competitive markets shared services take the lead, providing value for each participant. Electric mobility as a service has a better chance to excel, also thanks to government actions and statements of the biggest players on the market. Reduction of exhaust emissions, maintenance, and development of new green energy sources, as well as e-form of transport, create new markets.

Changes caused by external factors will require top crafted technologies for a seamless run, thoughtful, engaging design, and easy compatibility for further development and maintenance. 

 delivered to the market will lay the foundations for prospective integrated systems. The duty of those in charge of e-development will be to skillfully select experienced partners supporting e-solutions. And lastly, designing solutions for future eMaaS integration demands not only tech but also a set of soft skills with a forward-looking approach.

We face yet another revolution. It’s e-revolution, that sets a challenge to deliver an innovative, e-solution so distinctive, that will give the advantage of creating exceptional value to users. And at the same time remaining easy to adapt on a large scale. Many factors determine the competitive advantage or even the success of e-mobility ventures. Government support programs, increased social awareness & approval, IT capabilities become key drivers on the road to create outstanding conditions for e-development.

Electric mobility as a service, with its all participants - suppliers, owners, and recipients - creates an extensive system of connected vessels, forming a powerful framework for e-business development.

Everything is "E" but what's the deal with it? Find out what eMaaS is all about.

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