Fossil fuels still represent the predominating energy source in the transportation domain. However, oil and gas resources are limited and the production of petroleum is getting more expensive since less economic reservoirs have to be made accessible in order to fullfil the increasing demands. Moreover, the increasing environmental pollution (especially emission of greenhouse gases) due to the combustion of fossil fuels leads to stringent governmental regulations concerning the emissions of vehicles and pushes forward the invention of low and zero-emission vehicles. Electric vehicles and other alternative propulsion concepts are being discussed during the last decades, fossil fuels remain the predominating energy source for personnel and public transportation. However, environmental considerations and the limitation of fossil energy pursuit the investigation of alternative propulsion concepts and the introduction of hybrid technologies in order to increase the efficiency of vehice. Future investigations and inventions are obvious for the transport industry. Fossil oil, at the moment the only economic appropriable fuel, will run out for broad use till 2040. Therefore new technologies, reducing consumption and increasing efficiency, are necessary to shift this expected date in the future. But this isn’t the only item which should be decided.  Before oil will run dry the emissions of the increasing consumption of fossil energy will damage our environment.
One way to change this future is in research and development of alternative power train concepts. Many developments for this step had been done in the past, but it has to be done even more in the future. The hybrid technologies group of the EMT work in different areas to help the industry to reach this goal. Please find detailed information about our fields of activity in the subtopics.