The International Vienna Motor Symposium, being organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK), was held for the 46th time this year. As a tradition it took place at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria from May 14th to 16th, and was attended by far more than 1,000 participants from over 25 countries.

  80 lectures were held in three moderated parallel sessions, 68 of which were held on site and a further 12 in-depth video lectures were held virtually on the web platform.

Official event logo (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Logo: © Copyright ÖVK/Klaus Ranger)

  At this annual event, experts from automotive OEMs and component suppliers and academics come together to exchange opinions on future climate-neutral drive solutions.

  The topics of the lectures ranged from the latest passenger car and commercial vehicle drive concepts to the application and evaluation of non-fossil fuels, sustainability concepts and modern software-defined vehicles.

  The full agenda of lectures can be viewed on the official website (https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/programme/technical-programme) and the conference documents - also for previous symposia - can be ordered here (https://wiener-motorensymposium.at/en/conference-documents).

  On the evening of the first day and during break time, participants had the opportunity to visit 50 booths at the accompanying trade exhibition. Suppliers, service and solution providers, research institutes and engineering consultancy companies showcased their latest products, technologies and concepts.

  In the outside area participants was offered the possibility to take a close look at the latest technologies in vehicles on display and experience these by having a test drive.

Test vehicles at the entrance of the venue and booths of certain suppliers demonstrating their technology in the open air (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Photo: Copyright © MarkLines Co., Ltd. All rights reserved)

  In keeping with tradition, the event was once again opened with a fanfare from George Friedrich Händel's “Water Music” by five members of the Vienna University of Technology Orchestra. In a short opening speech, Prof. Dr. Bernhard Geringer, Chairman of the Board of the Austrian Association for Automotive Engineering (ÖVK), emphasized that when assessing “Net Zero Mobility”, not only the emissions during operation, but the entire cycle of a vehicle from raw material extraction to production and disposal must be taken into account.

  "The goal would be better described as ‘defossilization' rather than ‘decarbonization'. To achieve this goal, we need a concerted effort and the full physical diversity of climate-neutral energy sources, including the corresponding drive technologies," he said. He also emphasized the importance of a reliable legal framework not only for the passenger car and commercial vehicle industry, but also for sustainable energy, so that investments in development and production can be planned for the longer term.

  According to Professor Geringer, the current EU fleet legislation for pure greenhouse gas emissions from vehicles is inadequate; an overall system view, such as in Japan, is necessary in order to give climate-neutral fuels and energy-efficient drives such as range extenders a chance in Europe.

  This is part one of the event report, which summarized the keynotes of the opening plenary session, in which board members from Bosch, HORSE Powertrain, Mercedes-Benz and MAN discussed ways to achieve net zero emissions.

  Part two will cover an outline of the plenary closing session with lectures held by PHINIA, ZF and Volkswagen on sustainable mobility, alternative fuels, technological openness and the future of the European automotive industry. Part three we will highlight a selection of the technical lectures.

Opening plenary session (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Photo: Copyright © ÖVK/Klaus Ranger)	photo of the venue at the Hofburg in Vienna, Austria (46th International Vienna Motor Symposium, organized by the Austrian Society of Automotive Engineers (ÖVK) and the Institute for Powertrains and Automotive Technology (IFA), Vienna University of Technology; Photo: Copyright © MarkLines Co., Ltd. All rights reserved)

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