Research-driven clusters & green mobility : a cross-regional comparison

The improvement and sustainability of urban transport systems is a necessity for quality of life, wellbeing and safety of citizens. Germany, France, Norway, the UK, the Netherlands and Sweden are anticipated to be the top six European countries for Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) on the road in 2020. In total 4 regional and 24 national electromobility-related RTDI policy measures have been identified for Austria, Czech Republic, France, Hungary, Germany and Switzerland, comprising top-down and bottom-up initiatives. Research-driven clusters (RDCs) entail a high potential to stimulate electromobility-related RTDI activities at the regional level and increase the competitiveness of regional economies. Electromobility is expected to become a central topic in several regions. Hence, it is even more important for regions engaging in this field to specialise. "Smart Specialisation Strategies" (S3) can be viewed as promising approach for "specialised diversification" that exploits the economies derived from related variety.