On Land, on Sea, and in the Air
Mobility, as we know it today, will change over the next 15 years more than we can probably imagine. In this extract of our second quarterly report 2019, you will gain a brief overview of the three future trends in sustainable mobility and how each is evolving. The new ways that mobility will change are:
1. The Way of Hydrogen Powered and Battery Powered Mobility
2. The Way of Autonomous Mobility
3. The Way of Connected Mobility
These developments apply on land, on the sea, and in the air.
Personally, I gained my first 
inspiring experiences with fuel cell vehicles at the Daimler and Ford automotive fuel cell cooperation centre during my studies. Over the past six years, I have started to use battery-powered electric vehicles from BMW’s pilot model ActiveE and i3 or the Tesla Model S in my daily life.
1. The Way of Hydrogen Powered and Battery Powered Mobility
As sustainable strategy consultants, we at Bunsen Consulting are committed to making a significant contribution with holistic management methods and strategies towards an integrated European economic and climate policy to achieve a climate-neutral Europe by 2050 at the latest. In order to achieve these climate targets, consumption of fossil fuels in the transport sector must be gradually replaced by battery-powered or fuel cell-powered vehicles. In this sector alone, the share of all global greenhouse gas emissions is 14 %.
The energy of the future will come from natural sources. A large part of this energy will be hydrogen created by electrolysis with electricity from solar or wind power. Currently, hydrogen is produced by the reaction of water vapor with coal or natural gas. It is an unsustainable process, as it is based on fossil fuels.
Battery-power will be used in light vehicles and for short-haul distances due to its low power density and comparably longer charging times. For long-distance and heavy-load vehicles, the fuel cell will assert itself with advantages over batteries, such as a high energy density, but not before 2025 with sales in the single-digit percentage range.
2. The Way of Autonomous Mobility
If the European countries can reach an agreement soon, autonomous driving in Level 4 and 5 could take place by 2025 on public roads in Europe. This alone would reduce fuel consumption in the transport sector by 60 % and reduce fatal accidents by 90 %.
If the European Union completely adopted autonomous vehicles, the public benefit alone billion a year in 2035.
- Nearly 50 % of the benefits would be due to increased security and fewer accidents by human error, for example, lower costs for hospital stays and medications.
- Around 30 % of the benefits would stem from the rebuilding of unnecessary parking spaces into green spaces or residential areas.
On the other side, the European revenues associated with autonomous vehicles in urban areas could reach up to €330 billion a year in 2030—the combined 2018 revenues of Apple and BMW.
3. The Way of Connected Mobility
Connected Mobility is poised to become the basis for safe and comfortable public transport systems to create new ways of generating sustainable value for drivers, businesses and the public. With connected mobility, vehicles will become centres of information and communication.
The more cars equipped with connecting technology, the more impact this will have on the optimisation of traffic flow. Next year alone, we expect an increase share of networked vehicles in new car sales of 45 %. This mobility revolution offers a new dimension to create value for drivers, the public and businesses like manufacturers and innovative service providers. Vehicles will be equipped with artificial intelligence and intuitive interfaces. Closed vehicle systems will develop into open platforms, which will also create enormous opportunities in B2B and B2C business outside of mobility.
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