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Summary

Thank you to all those who participated at the Forum Europe European Electric Vehicles Conference 2011 on the 26th May in Brussels. All the presentations that have been provided will be available for download shortly. In the meantime, if you would like to find out about our plans for next year's event and how you can become involved, please contact James Wilmott on +44 (0) 2920 783 022 or email james.wilmott@forum-europe.com.

Speakers include

Siim Kallas

Vice-President & Commissioner for Transport

European Commission

Dirk Sterckx

Member

European Parliament

Isabel Fernandez

Chief Commercial Officer, EMEA

GE Capital

Akihito Tanke

Executive Advisor to the President

Toyota Motor Europe

Shai Agassi

Founder and CEO

Better Place

Harry van Dorenmalen

Chairman Europe

IBM

João Dias

National Coordinator of the Program for Electric Mobility in Portugal

MOBI.E

Jean-Luc di Paola-Galloni

Vice Chairman

ERTRAC, Group Corporate Vice-President Sustainable Development and External Affairs, Valeo

Kulveer Ranger

Mayor's Environment Advisor & Digital London

Mayor of London

David Dossett

President

CENELEC

You can read the European Commission's press release here.

Taking place during EU Green Week, this Forum Europe and CEPS conference has as its context the recent publication by the European Commission of the transport white paper, which calls for the complete removal of conventionally-fuelled cars in cities by 2050. The conference will analyse the key policy and business steps required to deploy electric vehicles on a commercial scale and will be of interest to stakeholders in the energy, transport and environment sectors.

The arguments surrounding how best to achieve a low carbon transport system in Europe are now well developed however how best to proceed and where resources should be best allocated remains open for debate, as reaction to the recent EU transport white paper illustrates. The drive to move from fossil fuels to electrically powered cars in all their various guises, has been promoted by some as a silver bullet carrying both environmental and economic advantages, however there remain significant challenges before electric vehicles are rolled out on a commercially viable scale.

With passenger cars (including light vans) accounting for 20% of all CO2 emissions within the European Union and even with the significant reductions stemming from the recent CO2 emissions standards, EU GHG targets up to and beyond 2030 cannot be met without a technological step-change. Electric vehicles over the longer term offer excellent prospects for innovation, growth, jobs and EU competitiveness within the global context, however the work required before 2030 will be key.

How should European policy-makers, car manufacturers, suppliers and energy companies react to ensure electric vehicles become a viable EU wide option for consumers, and are there blockages in the system which are preventing Europe from playing a leading role in the development of these innovative technologies?

Please contact James Wilmott on +44 (0) 2920 783 022 or email james.wilmott@forum-europe.com for more information on the event and to discuss sponsorship opportunities. More details can also be found by clicking here.