IBM Making Green Highway for Electric Vehicles

Tech company IBM (NYSE:IBM) today announced it has teamed with Zapadoslovenska energetika, a. s. (ZSE), a distributor and supplier of electricity in Slovakia, on a smart energy “feasibility” study that will help prepare the capital city Bratislava for electric vehicles (EVs).

Using e-mobility technology, the study will help identify the possibilities of connecting two neighboring metropolitan areas – Bratislava, Slovakia and Vienna, Austria with a “green” highway. This highway will interconnect the two cities with a network of public charging stations for electric vehicles.

Announced today, April 9, this study is part of a larger pilot project – VIBRATe’ (VIenna BRATislava E-mobility), a first of its kind in Central Europe, with a goal to reduce emissions with a smarter, energy efficient transportation system. Currently, the average combustion engine produces about 45 kg of CO2 per year during the route from Vienna to Bratislava.

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“Rising fuel prices and energy consumption are two major issues facing many cities around the world, these factors coupled with aging roads and infrastructures, can affect city planning, local economy, and overall community satisfaction,” said Guido Bartels, general manager of IBM’s Global Energy and Utilities Industry.

“This mobility project with ZSE tackles all of these issues. It has the potential to introduce a modern, convenient and more intelligent way for consumers to commute, which in turn may encourage more to make the shift to an electric vehicle, while reducing stress on the energy grid.”

This e-mobility study along with other projects such as Edison, EcoGrid EU and EKZ in Switzerland, aims to develop a reliable energy and transport infrastructure that supports the adoption of electric vehicles.