The 7th Annual Future of Transport Conference

The 8th Annual Future of Transport Conference

Event Overview

Europe’s transport and mobility sectors are at the start of an unprecedented transformation. For the vehicle industries and those in the value chain including the aftermarket sector, zero-emission mobility is the near future, demanding a significant restructuring of business models, manufacturing processes and innovation. As data, AI and connectivity begin to deepen their integration with vehicles and transport networks, the potential to drive insights, efficiencies and services becomes ever more apparent, promising improvements to traffic management, safety, diagnostics and repair, while boosting and enabling European and global climate objectives.

Arguably, electrification is now also essentially mandated, with EU rules stating that cars and vans available on the EU market from 2035 must be zero-emission. The rules also state that there should be a 55 per cent cut in CO2 emissions for new cars sold from 2030 versus 2021 levels. While this will accelerate the transition towards electrification in the transport system in Europe, it also poses several critical questions for the automotive, energy, and broader industry ecosystems.

For the 2035 deadline to be viable, Europe’s access to raw materials, vital in producing batteries and semiconductors for vehicles, must be vastly improved, so that supply chain issues do not block rollout. Investments in charging networks across Europe must be ramped up to ensure adequate capacity. At the same time, the availability of reliable energy sources is a prerequisite to ensuring that electrification, including the building of new battery cell factories and other energy-intensive industries in Europe, are viable. The discussion around the contribution that synthetic fuels can make will be vital in the coming years. Significant focus also remains on improving the affordability of EVs and on driving down the carbon footprint of EV production.

The 8th Annual Future of Transport Conference

Copy of WAL_4477

Forum Europe’s attention to detail, organization, and execution truly made this year’s Future of Transport Conference a standout occasion that left a lasting impression on our team.

Seeing so many knowledgeable and influential individuals gathered together in one place was inspiring. We found the discussions incredibly informative and thought-provoking. It was a pleasure to lead the panel discussion on the transition to zero-emission vehicles with distinguished experts representing tech, industry, public policy, and the EU Commission.

Overall, I have nothing but positive feedback for your team and the event that you put together.

Geraint Edwards

FiscalNote

Key Themes

Achieving an interconnected multimodality transport ecosystem Icon

Ensuring a thriving European automotive market for 2035 and beyond

Security, Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition Icon

Security, Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition

Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the Revolution of the Vehicle Icon

Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the Revolution of the Vehicle

Confirmed Speakers

Adina Valean

Adina Vălean

Commissioner for Transport, European Commission

Untitled design - 2023-03-02T144503.591

Georges Gilkinet

Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Mobility,
Belgium

Sigrid de Vries

Sigrid de Vries

Director General,
European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA)

Mes-240.png

Daniel Mes

Member of Cabinet, Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans
European Commission

MEP Ismail Ertug

Ismail Ertug

Member
European Parliament

Mark Nicklas

Mark Nicklas

Head of Unit, Mobility & Energy Intensive Industries, Mobility, DG GROW,
European Commission

Max Lemke

Max Lemke

Head of Unit, Internet of Things, DG CONNECT
European Commission

Holger

Holger Krahmer

Head of EU Affairs,
Mercedes-Benz Group AG

Untitled design - 2023-03-03T102814.265

Mikael Isaksson

Public Affairs Officer
Volvo Cars

Renata Surowiec

Renata Surowiec

Director Government Affairs
Ford Motor Company

Juliana Koza (1)

Juliana Koza

Senior Manager Government Affairs EMEA
Qualcomm

Untitled design - 2023-03-06T164233.481

Michael van der Sande

Managing Director,
Europe,
Lucid

Ingrid De Keijser

Ingrid de Keijser

Head of Press and Public Relations,
Zeleros

Jeremy-Rollison-1

Jeremy Rollison

Senior Director
EU Government Affairs
Microsoft Europe

M Schafer (1) (1)

Michael Schäfer

Managing Director, Mobility Data Space
Germany

Joost (1) (1)

Joost Vantomme

CEO
ERTICO-ITS Europe

Sofie Defour

Sofie Defour

Freight Director
Transport and Environment

Raluca - Marian

Raluca Marian

Director, EU Advocacy & General Delegate
IRU

Marion Jungbluth

Marion Jungbluth

Team Leader, Mobility and Travel,
Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv)

Benjamin Denis

Benjamin Denis

Senior Policy Advisor
IndustriAll Europe

wolfgang blau

Wolfgang Blau

Managing Partner Climate Hub, Brunswick
Co-Founder of the Oxford Climate Journalism Network

Geraint Edwards

Geraint Edwards

Managing Director
FiscalNote Europe

Paul Adamson

Paul Adamson

Chairman
Forum Europe

Agenda

This year’s conference will look at Europe’s automotive sector in its role as a significant employer and innovator facing unprecedented volatility and upheaval. What does the future look like for the European vehicle and batteries sector? What support does it need from regulators to survive and thrive in the green transition? How will geopolitics impact progress to zero-emission mobility for 2035? What progress is the sector making in the tilt towards software and digital, and as we move towards 5G-Advanced and eventually to 6G, what new use cases and applications are going to emerge and how can these be harnessed to make our roads and cities smarter and safer?

Note: All timings are in Central European Time (CET)

The 8th Annual Future of Transport Conference
2023-03-28
09:00 - 09:30
Registration and Coffee
09:30 - 10:15
Keynote Session
Keynote Session image
Adina Vălean
European Commissioner for Transport
Keynote Session image
Georges Gilkinet
Deputy Prime Minister & Minister for Mobility, Belgium
Keynote Session image
Sigrid de Vries
Director General of the European Automobile Manufacturers' Association (ACEA)
Keynote Session image
Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
10:15 - 11:30
Session 1 – The Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles – Ensuring there is a market and a thriving industry for 2035

Up until a few weeks ago, the promulgation of the EU’s law stating that cars and vans placed on the EU market must be zero-emission from 2035 seemed a ‘done deal’. With a number of Member States now objecting to the legislation as it stands and pushing for a new proposal including provisions that would allow the sales of vehicles with combustion engines running on e-fuels, the passage of the law seems now uncertain. Proponents for the new proposal claim that it would make the process more technology neutral, opponents argues that synthetic fuels require a lot of energy to produce and would therefore compromise the EU’s commitment to creating an energy-efficient transport sector in Europe, as outlined in the ‘Fit for 55’ package. Regardless of what is ultimately agreed, an accompanying policy framework that ensures the 2035 deadline is viable will be required. What will progress look like, and what will conditions in 2035 have to be for this transition to succeed?

 

As the European automotive and aftermarket sectors transform, there has been much discussion about their ability to continue to be globally competitive. This session will analyse the transition these sectors are making and the development of the market for EVs in Europe. In the context of the 2023 year of European Skills, what will this major transformation of such a significant European sector mean for skills and employment to meet these obligations? How will the industry evolve? What role will there be for the continuation of the production of ICE vehicles for export? To avoid stunting the market for EVs, what needs to be done to ensure that supply chains are resilient, particularly in the case of both semiconductors and raw materials? How will so-called techno-nationalism interact with the development of the market for EVs through until 2035?

Session 1 – The Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles – Ensuring there is a market  and a thriving industry for 2035 image
Mark Nicklas
Head of Unit, Mobility & Energy Intensive Industries, Mobility, DG GROW, European Commission
Session 1 – The Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles – Ensuring there is a market  and a thriving industry for 2035 image
Holger Krahmer
Head of EU Affairs, Mercedes-Benz Group AG
Session 1 – The Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles – Ensuring there is a market  and a thriving industry for 2035 image
Sofie Defour
Freight Director, Transport and Environment
Session 1 – The Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles – Ensuring there is a market  and a thriving industry for 2035 image
Benjamin Denis
Senior Policy Advisor, IndustriAll Europe
Session 1 – The Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles – Ensuring there is a market  and a thriving industry for 2035 image
Jeremy Rollison
Senior Director, EU Government Affairs, Microsoft Europe
Session 1 – The Transition to Zero-Emission Vehicles – Ensuring there is a market  and a thriving industry for 2035 image
Geraint Edwards
Managing Director. FiscalNote Europe
11:30 - 12:00
Coffee Break
12:00 - 13:15
Session 2 – Electrification, Infrastructure and the Energy Markets: Security, Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition

The green transition in Europe will rely on low and zero-carbon energy sources to succeed. Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and the subsequent impact on inflation and energy prices have demonstrated that Europe’s strategic autonomy must now stretch to ensure that the energy consumed in the EU comes from reliable renewable and low-carbon sources. Both the electrification and digitalisation of transport systems will depend on this scenario, and consumers will require affordable prices to participate in this transition. What are the latest developments in the EU’s RePowerEU initiative, and what work is necessary to decouple Europe from unreliable energy sources? What does the likely development of Europe’s industrial base, including the building of new battery cell factories and other relevant energy-intensive industries, look like in the current context? Is the European Commission’s 45% share of renewables in the European energy mix by 2035 in the current volatile context realistic? What is the likely input and share in the energy mix of renewable, synthetic and e-fuels? How are car makers innovating to drive down the total cost of ownership of EVs?

Session 2 – Electrification, Infrastructure and the Energy Markets: Security,  Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition image
Daniel Mes
Member of Cabinet, Executive Vice President for the European Green Deal Frans Timmermans
Session 2 – Electrification, Infrastructure and the Energy Markets: Security,  Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition image
Renata Surowiec
Director Government Affairs, Ford Motor Company
Session 2 – Electrification, Infrastructure and the Energy Markets: Security,  Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition image
Michael van der Sande
Managing Director, Europe, Lucid
Session 2 – Electrification, Infrastructure and the Energy Markets: Security,  Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition image
Raluca Marian
Director, EU Advocacy & General Delegate, IRU
Session 2 – Electrification, Infrastructure and the Energy Markets: Security,  Affordability, and Sustainability for the Green and Electric Transition image
Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
13:15 - 14:30
Lunch
14:30 - 14:55
Thinking Point: Future Transport Scenarios – Progress Towards European Hyperloop
Thinking Point: Future Transport Scenarios – Progress Towards European  Hyperloop image
Ingrid de Keijser
Head of Press and Public Relations, Zeleros
Thinking Point: Future Transport Scenarios – Progress Towards European  Hyperloop image
Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
14:55 - 15:15
Thinking Point: Future Transport Scenarios – ERTICO-ITS
Thinking Point: Future Transport Scenarios – ERTICO-ITS image
Joost Vantomme
Chief Executive Officer, ERTICO-ITS Europe
Thinking Point: Future Transport Scenarios – ERTICO-ITS image
Paul Adamson
Chairman, Forum Europe
15:15 - 16:30
Session 3 – The Tilt to Software: Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the Revolution of the Vehicle

In parallel to the transition to zero-emission, both the automotive and related sectors such as the aftermarket are undergoing a digital transformation that will revolutionise how vehicles will be manufactured and repaired, how they operate and their interactions with the external environment. New electric vehicle architectures offer an opportunity to build vehicles with coherent software platforms from the ground up, but how are European manufacturers developing their software competencies, and what are the innovation stakes at play? What is the latest concerning the development of transport and mobility data spaces in the EU, and what might be the innovation and data access benefits? How are 5G-enabled technologies such as autonomous vehicles and vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication already starting to redefine the automotive sector? As we move towards 5G-Advanced and eventually to 6G, what new use cases and applications will emerge, and how can these be harnessed to make our roads and cities smarter and safer?

 

What opportunities are emerging for new revenue streams in connected cars, and how does regulation need to evolve to facilitate new business models? On-demand services, sharing offers, and vehicle usage concepts are already on the market, but what will be the long-term contribution of these new mobility solutions? As new manufacturers enter the marketplace, particularly from Asia and the US, how are European automotive manufacturers working to ensure global competitiveness?

Session 3 – The Tilt to Software: Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the  Revolution of the Vehicle image
Max Lemke
Head of Unit, Internet of Things, DG CONNECT, European Commission
Session 3 – The Tilt to Software: Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the  Revolution of the Vehicle image
Michael Schäfer
Managing Director, Mobility Data Space, Germany
Session 3 – The Tilt to Software: Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the  Revolution of the Vehicle image
Juliana Koza
Senior Manager Government Affairs EMEA, Qualcomm
Session 3 – The Tilt to Software: Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the  Revolution of the Vehicle image
Mikael Isaksson
Public Affairs Officer, Volvo Cars
Session 3 – The Tilt to Software: Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the  Revolution of the Vehicle image
Joost Vantomme
Chief Executive Officer, ERTICO-ITS Europe
Session 3 – The Tilt to Software: Digitalisation, Connectivity and Data Access in the  Revolution of the Vehicle image
Marion Jungbluth
Team Leader, Mobility and Travel, Federation of German Consumer Organisations (vzbv)
Select date to see events.

If you are interested in speaking in any of the above sessions, please contact Rebecca Williams at [email protected] / +44 (0) 2920 783 077.

Sponsorship Opportunities

To discuss sponsorship and visibility opportunities at The 8th Annual Future of Transport Conference, please contact Rebecca Williams on [email protected] / +44 (0) 2920 783 077.

Why sponsor The 8th Annual Future of Transport Conference?

Placeholder

Exclusive speaking positions  | Your organisation can contribute to the discussion.

Placeholder

Engaging and Interactive format | Engage in a fully immersive and interactive debate with decision makers, businesses and policymakers.

Placeholder

EU and global outreach | Convey your message to a broad and international audience.

Placeholder

Networking opportunities | Connect with your fellow attendees during coffee and lunch breaks throughout the event.

Placeholder

Visibility Opportunities | Ensure maximum visibility through branding on the event website and marketing activities.

Placeholder

Exhibition and demos area | Showcase your products and solutions or share a position paper with the audience.

Sponsors & Partners

MSFT logo for ws
Qualcomm logo for w_s
FiscalNote
Encompass logo for WS

Venue

Thon Hotel EU
Wetstraat/Rue de la loi 75, 1040 Brussels

Receive our event updates

Sign up to receive updates on our upcoming policy events. We will only send you emails about the conferences and topics that interest you, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact

For more information on any aspect of this event, please contact Rebecca Williams using any of the details below.

Rebecca Williams
Senior Event Manager | Virtual & Hybrid Production Coordinator
Forum Europe

[email protected]

Tel: +44 (0) 2920 783 077