Around 200 participants from local governments in Europe and worldwide, decision-makers from various levels of government, energy service providers and business representatives, as well as experts on sustainable energy and urban mobility gathered to discuss, exchange, learn and get ideas for local policy and local action, framework conditions, infrastructure and technological developments at Local Renewables Freiburg 2010.

Much of the discussion centred around the role of the e-car, with Eicke Weber from the Fraunhofer Institute summarising the fascinating range of technological innovations in the electrical mobility field by saying, ‘the race is on’. However, it was clear that the race is far from over, with many of the experts from the industry and analysts like Lew Fulton from the IEA Paris agreeing that e-cars will need to be accompanied by new solutions in fuel cell technology and sustainable biofuels, especially when buses and transport vehicles come into play.

With e-vehicles the hot topic, local was another of the buzz words of the event, with speakers from ICLEI member cities such as Bremen (Germany), and Stockholm (Sweden) showing that technology and new fuels have to be locally embedded into an overall integrated management strategy for carbon responsible urban mobility and transport.