Energy for cities of the future: In May and June, the FUTURE FORUM by BMW Welt will focus on electrification.

Munich. In the coming weeks, the FUTURE FORUM by BMW Welt dialog platform will be providing exciting insights into the world of tomorrow. The overriding theme for May and June is electrification. With input from a variety of experts, this topic will be viewed from lots of different angles. Among other things, the individual events will focus on the life cycle of a battery, the logistical challenges of electrification and the sound of e-mobility. The latter also marks the start of the new series of events on the subject of sound with Renzo Vitale, Creative Director Sound BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce.

Energy and mobility in transition.

Electrification stands for new drives and energy structures and as yet unknown possibilities in vehicle and sound design. This trend will play a major role for cities of the future because electric mobility will become a central component of a smart and resource-saving urban lifestyle. But innovations in this field will impact not only the automotive industry. Electrification will affect the entire logic of energy and mobility. Electric vehicles will become cross-innovations that will transcend conventional industry boundaries and will be used in the future as additional flexible energy storage devices for the smart power grid. 

May 19, 2020, from 7 pm: Life of a battery.

One particular question is at the heart of discussions on electrification, namely how will electrical energy be stored. For this reason, the first event in the series is dedicated entirely to the battery. Experts in battery research, development and recycling will highlight the different stages of a battery’s life cycle – from the extraction of the raw materials to battery manufacture and from usage to secondary recycling. Among the guests are Michael Baumann, Co-Founder & Managing Director from Twaice, Dr. Matthias Buchert, Head of Resources and Mobility at the Öko-Institut e.V., Matthias Dohrn, Senior Vice President at BASF and Andreas Raith, Head of R&D Battery Technology, BMW Group.

In addition to purely technical aspects, the focus will also be on environmental protection and responsibility, as well as research into alternatives and superbatteries. Please note that this event will be held in German.

May 28, 2020, from 7 pm: Power to go: focus on charging infrastructure.

What will the charging infrastructure look like in the next one to two years? And what about in five to ten years? Experts and young innovators from the fields of energy management, charging infrastructure and charging technologies such as Daniela Märkl (Juice Technology) and Lex Hartmann (Ubitricity) will tackle these and other questions as part of a panel discussion. The event will be hosted by Thomas Köhler, an expert and thought leader on digitalization and cyber security. Among other things, it will consider current diversity of suppliers, the new phenomenon of range anxiety and the Smart Grid power network. Please note that this event will be held in German.

June 3, 2020, from 7 pm: Reclaim the future – storage for the energy revolution: why solar power plants and wind turbines alone are not enough.

Together with cooperation partner 1E9, an event from the RECLAIM THE FUTURE that has been launched in April series will also take place in June. This will be all about how sustainable power can best be stored in the city of the future. A wide variety of solutions are being investigated worldwide, such as home storage systems which can be combined to form a virtual power plant. Other researchers are focusing on electric vehicles that can become part of the electricity grid or plants that use excess electricity to produce gas that can later be used to generate electricity. The various concepts will be presented and scrutinized at the event. Please note that this event will be held in German.

June 23, 2020, from 7 pm: Soundscapes of electrification.

In June, an English-language series of events will be launched at the FUTURE FORUM by BMW Welt on the subject of sound with Renzo Vitale. The series kicks off with “Soundscapes of electrification” in which Renzo Vitale and selected experts and artists will embark on a multi-faceted journey through the various aspects of sound. What will electrification sound like? What new possibilities will sound engineering open up? Cities, cars and music – how will new technology change their sound? The topic will be examined from various perspectives in thought-provoking presentations from such experts as Dr. Brigitte Schulte-Fortkamp, Professor of Psychoacoustics and Noise Effects at the Technical University of Berlin. 

The complete calendar of events and further information on all the events and live streams can be found at www.bmw-welt.com/futureforum.

The dates at a glance:

FUTURE FORUM by BMW Welt 

When:                May and June  

Where:             Digital (all information here)

Attendance:    Free of charge