BRAUNSCHWEIG, Germany, (July 11, 2016)

Dr. Joachim Taiber, Chief Technology Officer of the International Transportation Innovation Center (ITIC) in Greenville, S.C., was a featured speaker at the recent DRIVE-E Academy event, which was hosted at the Automotive Research Center of Lower Saxony in Braunschweig, Germany. A joint venture of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Education and Research and Germany’s leading research organization Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft which employs more than 20,000 people, DRIVE-E aims to get interested young researchers enthusiastic about electromobility and offer them the opportunity to network and exchange ideas with their peers. The weeklong DRIVE E Academy is a conference featuring experts from industry and research who present the latest developments and research findings on the future technology of electromobility. The theme of this year’s DRIVE-E Academy was “Mobility of the Future – Exchange of Ideas.”

Dr. Taiber’s presentation was titled “Concept Development and Implementation of Open and Closed Testbeds to Validate Technologies for Connected, Automated and Zero-Emission-Enabled Driving.” Using examples currently underway today at ITIC testbed sites, Dr. Taiber was able to talk about the latest advances in technologies in the transportation eco-system and how ITIC’s approach is to validate them under real-world conditions, and in particular considering the need to develop joint standards and test/certification procedures within the automotive community.

Dr. Taiber, who was the only distinguished speaker from the United States, said, “ITIC is focused on strengthening the transatlantic connection between South Carolina and Europe. The discussions I had at DRIVE-E with both German government officials and private industry executives make it clear there is great
opportunity.”

Headquartered at the South Carolina Technology & Aviation Center (SCTAC) in the heart of North America’s Southeastern automotive cluster, ITIC is an independent organization that plans, builds and operates closed and open testbeds supporting sustainable transportation and networked vehicle systems. One of ITIC’s largest projects under development is a 559-acre testing facility in Greenville, South Carolina, designed to deliver an unparalleled automotive testing and research environment with a specific focus on vehicle automation and vehicle electrification.