M2G Sym­po­si­um 2025: Elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on of public trans­port and vehic­le depots in Bra­zil and Germany

Tran­si­ti­on Pro­cess, Impacts and Risks

10th —  11th Sep­tem­ber 2025

Atten­dance

The event will take place hybrid. You can take part in this event on site in Rio de Janei­ro or online via Zoom (click on the Zoom box). Plea­se regis­ter in advan­ce. The regis­tra­ti­on form, our pro­gram and fur­ther infor­ma­ti­on can be found fur­ther down on this page.

On Site in Rio de Janeiro

Day 1

Novo­tel RJ Pra­ia de Bota­fo­go Pra­ia de Bota­fo­go, 330 — Bota­fo­go, Rio de Janei­ro — RJ, 22250–040, Brasil

Day 2

Novo­tel RJ Pra­ia de Bota­fo­go Pra­ia de Bota­fo­go, 330 — Bota­fo­go, Rio de Janei­ro — RJ, 22250–040, Brasil

Online via Zoom

Digi­tal par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on (via Zoom) is pos­si­ble during the event peri­od via the fol­lo­wing link:

(Code: 242424)

Link to the Zoom meeting

Intro­duc­tion

The inte­gra­ti­on of elec­tric bus sys­tems and digi­ta­li­zed depots will be the focus of a two-day public sym­po­si­um orga­ni­zed in part­ner­ship with the Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (UFRJ) on Sep­tem­ber 10 and 11, 2025.

TU Ber­lin will con­tri­bu­te insights from over a deca­de of rese­arch on bus sys­tem elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on, con­duc­ted in coope­ra­ti­on with Ber­lin’s public trans­port ope­ra­tor, BVG. Par­ti­cu­lar empha­sis will be pla­ced on the tech­ni­cal and spa­ti­al design of depots and hubs, dra­wing from ongo­ing pro­jects on fleet elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on, auto­ma­ted char­ging, and digi­tal depot manage­ment car­ri­ed out at the Mobility2Grid rese­arch cam­pus in Berlin.

UFRJ will pre­sent the spe­ci­fic chal­lenges and oppor­tu­ni­ties rela­ted to bus elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on in Bra­zil, with a par­ti­cu­lar focus on the metro­po­li­tan con­text of Rio de Janei­ro. The sym­po­si­um will also seek to iden­ti­fy solu­ti­ons tail­o­red to Brazil’s needs, lay­ing the ground­work for long-term rese­arch col­la­bo­ra­ti­on bet­ween the two institutions.

This joint event will ser­ve as a vital plat­form for exchan­ging per­spec­ti­ves on emer­ging trends in elec­tric bus infra­struc­tu­re and plan­ning. It aims to fos­ter dia­lo­gue not only within aca­de­mic cir­cles, but also among urban plan­ners, public aut­ho­ri­ties, and indus­try stake­hol­ders. By bridging theo­re­ti­cal insights and prac­ti­cal demands, the sym­po­si­um seeks to ensu­re that elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on stra­te­gies are respon­si­ve to the diver­se geo­gra­phic, spa­ti­al, and social rea­li­ties of Ger­ma­ny and Bra­zil. 

The event takes place in Bra­sí­lia Stan­dard Time (BRT).

Pro­gram

10th Sep­tem­ber
Con­tent
Pre­sen­ta­ti­ons
9:00
Ope­ning Session

Prof. Dr. Suz­a­na Kahn Ribei­ro (Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro/ COP­PE Director)
Clau­dia Seid­ler (Con­sul General)
Prof. Dr. Glayd­s­ton Ribei­ro (Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro)
Prof. Dr. Mar­co Auré­lio (Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro)
Dr. Katha­ri­na Fou­rier (Direc­tor of the DWIH-SP and DAAD Bra­zil in Rio de Janeiro)
Bru­no Stu­kart (Ener­gy Economist/ Ener­gy Rese­arch Office)
09:30
 Ses­si­on 1: Elec­tro­mo­bi­li­ty in Bra­zil and Germany

The ses­si­on Elec­tro­mo­bi­li­ty in Bra­zil and Ger­ma­ny will open with an intro­duc­tion to the rese­arch cam­pus Mobility2Grid in Ber­lin, high­light­ing its inter­di­sci­pli­na­ry approach to sus­tainable urban mobi­li­ty. This will be fol­lo­wed by a com­pa­ra­ti­ve over­view of the cur­rent sta­te of bus sys­tem elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on in Bra­zil and Ger­ma­ny, exami­ning tech­no­lo­gi­cal deve­lo­p­ments, ope­ra­tio­nal models, and poli­cy frame­works. The ses­si­on sets the stage for broa­der dis­cus­sions on inter­na­tio­nal coope­ra­ti­on and local­ly adapt­ed solu­ti­ons for the tran­si­ti­on to zero-emis­si­on public transport
Sil­ke Bell: DWIH in Bra­zil and worldwide

Deut­sches Wis­sen­schafts und Inno­va­ti­ons­haus (DWIH) São Paulo

Dr. Mar­tin Geg­ner: Intro­duc­tion: The rese­arch cam­pus Mobility2Grid in Berlin

Mobility2Grid/ Social Sci­ence Cen­ter Ber­lin, WZB
Down­load Presentation
10:30
Ses­si­on 2: Poli­ci­es and Finan­cing for Electromobility

The ses­si­on Poli­ci­es and Finan­cing for Elec­tro­mo­bi­li­ty will address key poli­cy and fun­ding chal­lenges rela­ted to the elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on of muni­ci­pal bus fleets, with a focus on imple­men­ta­ti­on bar­riers and stra­te­gic per­spec­ti­ves at the local level. It will also explo­re inno­va­ti­ve finan­cing mecha­nisms for air qua­li­ty pro­jects, high­light­ing recent trends and best prac­ti­ces from both natio­nal and inter­na­tio­nal expe­ri­en­ces. Spe­cial atten­ti­on will be given to the role of deve­lo­p­ment banks, cli­ma­te funds, and cross-sec­to­ral gover­nan­ce in enab­ling sus­tainable urban trans­port transitions.

  
Simo­ne Cos­ta: Elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on of muni­ci­pal buses: Chal­lenges and perspectives

 Under­se­cre­ta­ry of Trans­por­ta­ti­on Plan­ning and Con­ces­si­ons of the Muni­ci­pal depart­ment of Trans­por­ta­ti­on of the City of Rio de Janeiro
Down­load Presentation
Die­go Blanc: Brea­the Cities presentation

C40 Cities Advisor
Down­load Presentation
11:30
Ses­si­on 3: Elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on and Ener­gy Planning

The ses­si­on Elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on and Ener­gy Plan­ning will exami­ne how the tran­si­ti­on to elec­tric trans­port sys­tems inter­sects with broa­der ener­gy plan­ning stra­te­gies. Pre­sen­ta­ti­ons will address the inte­gra­ti­on of elec­tric buses into urban ener­gy sys­tems, the design and imple­men­ta­ti­on of elec­tric trans­port net­works, and the long-term impli­ca­ti­ons for ener­gy demand and emis­si­ons. Dra­wing on expe­ri­en­ces from Bra­zil and Ger­ma­ny, the dis­cus­sion will explo­re both tech­ni­cal and poli­cy-ori­en­ted per­spec­ti­ves, high­light­ing rese­arch-dri­ven approa­ches to alig­ning mobi­li­ty elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on with sus­tainable ener­gy transitions.

  
Bru­no R. L. Stu­kart: Ener­gy Rese­arch Office Presentation 

Ener­gy Rese­arch Office

Prof. Dr. Rober­to Schaef­fer: Rese­arch in inte­gra­ted ener­gy plan­ning and reflec­tions on the elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on of trans­port networks

Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro
Down­load Pre­sen­ta­ti­on (Stu­kard)
Down­load Pre­sen­ta­ti­on (Schaef­fer)
Prof. Dr. Diet­mar Göh­lich: 10 years of Bus Elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on in Ber­lin: Rese­arch on the design and imple­men­ta­ti­on of elec­tric trans­port networks

M2G/ TU Berlin
12:30 Lunch Break  
14:00
Ses­si­on 4: Business Per­spec­ti­ves on Electromobility

The ses­si­on Business Per­spec­ti­ves on Elec­tro­mo­bi­li­ty will explo­re how com­pa­nies are respon­ding to the gro­wing demand for low-emis­si­on trans­port solu­ti­ons, with a focus on indus­tri­al stra­te­gies, tech­no­lo­gi­cal inno­va­ti­on, and mar­ket deve­lo­p­ment. Dis­cus­sions will address the role of manu­fac­tu­r­ers and the pri­va­te sec­tor in sha­ping sup­p­ly chains, advan­cing vehic­le tech­no­lo­gies, and sup­port­ing the local adapt­a­ti­on of elec­tric mobi­li­ty solu­ti­ons. The ses­si­on will also con­sider oppor­tu­ni­ties for inter­na­tio­nal coope­ra­ti­on and invest­ment bet­ween Bra­zil and Ger­ma­ny in the elec­tro­mo­bi­li­ty sector.

  
Mike Luís Ambró­sio Munhato

Mer­ce­des-Benz do Bra­sil Ltda

  
Prof. Dr. Car­los Arentz 

 Sta­te Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro
 Down­load Presentation
16:30 End of day one  

11th Sep­tem­ber
9:00
Ses­si­on 5: Elec­tro­mo­bi­li­ty Pathway in Bra­zil: Stra­te­gies and Opportunities

The ses­si­on Elec­tro­mo­bi­li­ty Pathway in Bra­zil: Stra­te­gies and Oppor­tu­ni­ties will focus on the stra­te­gic and insti­tu­tio­nal frame­works nee­ded to advan­ce the elec­tric bus sec­tor in the coun­try. Dis­cus­sions will include pro­po­sals for a natio­nal plan to deve­lop the elec­tric bus value chain, as well as the role of public finan­cing instru­ments in sup­port­ing muni­ci­pal elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on initia­ti­ves. The ses­si­on will also exami­ne the indus­tri­al and geo­po­li­ti­cal dimen­si­ons of value chain loca­liza­ti­on, dra­wing com­pa­ra­ti­ve insights from Bra­zil and Ger­ma­ny to inform future poli­cy and invest­ment strategies.

  
Dra. Cami­la Gram­kow: Gui­de­lines and pro­po­sals for a natio­nal plan for the elec­tric bus chain in Brazil

Acting Direc­tor, CEPAL Brazil
 Down­load Presentation
Fili­pe de Oli­vei­ra Sou­za: Mecha­nisms and Out­co­mes of Finan­cing Bus Elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on Poli­ci­es in Bra­zi­li­an Cities

Urban mobi­li­ty mana­ger in BNDES
 Down­load Presentation
Gabri­el Pabst: Value Chain Dyna­mics in Elec­tric Bus Manu­fac­tu­ring: Insights from Ger­ma­ny and Brazil

Alex­an­der von Hum­boldt Fel­low at TU Berlin
 Down­load Presentation
11:00
Ses­si­on 6: Regio­nal Dyna­mics and Plan­ning for E‑Mobility

Ses­si­on 6 will address regio­nal dyna­mics and plan­ning pro­ces­ses for e‑mobility in Bra­zil, focu­sing on the con­tri­bu­ti­ons of inter­na­tio­nal coope­ra­ti­on, civil socie­ty, and local govern­ments. The dis­cus­sion will explo­re stra­te­gic approa­ches to sup­port­ing the deploy­ment of elec­tric mobi­li­ty solu­ti­ons, inclu­ding initia­ti­ves led by deve­lo­p­ment agen­ci­es and pro­grams aimed at impro­ving urban air qua­li­ty. It will also fea­ture a case stu­dy from a Bra­zi­li­an city curr­ent­ly imple­men­ting an elec­tric bus pro­ject, offe­ring prac­ti­cal insights into the local plan­ning, gover­nan­ce, and ope­ra­tio­nal chal­lenges asso­cia­ted with tran­si­tio­ning to zero-emis­si­on public trans­port systems.

  
Thai­se Kemer: GIZ stra­tegy on sup­port­ing E‑Mobility in Brazil 

Deut­sche Gesell­schaft für Inter­na­tio­na­le Zusammenarbeit
Down­load Presentation
Cla­ris­se Cun­ha Linke

Insti­tu­to de Polí­ti­cas de Trans­por­te e Desenvolvimento

  
Leo­nar­do Medei­ra Martins

Secre­ta­ria de Pla­ne­ja­men­to e Coor­den­a­ção de Teresina

  
Maria Cris­ti­na Moli­na Ladeira

Secre­ta­ria Muni­ci­pal de Mobil­ida­de Urba­na de Por­to Alegre/ RS
Down­load Presentation
Argel Fran­ce­schi­ni

Volks­wa­gen

  
12:30 Lunch Break  
14:00
Ses­si­on 7: Tools for Elec­tric Trans­port Planning

The ses­si­on Tools for Elec­tric Trans­port Plan­ning will pre­sent metho­do­lo­gi­cal approa­ches and digi­tal tools used to sup­port the plan­ning and fore­cas­ting of elec­tric trans­port sys­tems. Topics include the ener­gy impli­ca­ti­ons of auto­no­mous vehic­le adop­ti­on across dif­fe­rent sec­tors, the use of com­pu­ta­tio­nal models to esti­ma­te elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on sce­na­ri­os, and the appli­ca­ti­on of com­bi­na­to­ri­al opti­miza­ti­on methods to impro­ve public trans­port plan­ning. The ses­si­on will high­light how inter­di­sci­pli­na­ry rese­arch and data-dri­ven models can inform more effi­ci­ent, sus­tainable, and adap­ta­ble elec­tric mobi­li­ty strategies.

  
Dra. Cami­la Ludo­vi­que: Ener­gy Impli­ca­ti­ons of Auto­no­mous Vehic­les Adop­ti­on: A Mul­ti­na­tio­nal Com­pa­ra­ti­ve Stu­dy of Public and Pri­va­te Uses 

Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro
Down­load Presentation
Lud­ger Hei­de: Use of com­pu­ter sys­tems and inte­gra­ted ana­ly­sis to fore­cast the elec­tri­fi­ca­ti­on of the trans­port sector 

TU Ber­lin
Down­load Presentation
Pro­fa. Dra. Lau­ra Bahi­en­se: Appli­ca­ti­on of Com­bi­na­to­ri­al Opti­miza­ti­on Sys­tems to Elec­tric Trans­port Planning 

Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro
Down­load Presentation
16:00 Reflec­tion and Final Remarks, end of day two  

Spea­k­er

Prof. Dr. Göhlich

Chair of Methods in Pro­duct Deve­lo­p­ment and Mecha­tro­nics at the TU Berlin

 Spo­kesper­son for the Mobility2Grid rese­arch campus.

Dr. Katha­ri­na Fourier

Direc­tor of the DWIH-SP and DAAD HD Bra­zil in Rio

Gabri­el Pabst

Alex­an­der von Hum­boldt Fel­low at TU Berlin

Trans­por­ta­ti­on rese­ar­cher at the Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro

Prof. Dr. Suz­a­na Kahn Ribeiro 

Gra­dua­te School of Engi­nee­ring Direc­tor at the Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (COPPE/ UFRJ)

Dr. Maí­na Colidônio

Muni­ci­pal Secre­ta­ry of Trans­por­ta­ti­on of Rio de Janeiro

Prof. Dr. Mar­co Aurélio 

Ener­gy Plan­ning Direc­tor at Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (PPE/ COPPE/ UFRJ)

Prof. Dr. Glayd­s­ton Ribeiro

Pro­fes­sor in the Gra­dua­te Pro­gram in Trans­por­ta­ti­on Engi­nee­ring at Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (PET/ COPPE/ UFRJ)

Dr. Mar­tin Gegner

Mobility2Grid/ Social Sci­ence Cen­ter Ber­lin WZB

Bru­no Stukart

Ener­gy Eco­no­mist at Ener­gy Rese­arch Office (EPE)

Prof. Dr. Edval­do Carreira

Pro­fes­sor at Gra­dua­te Pro­gram in Metall­ur­gi­cal and Mate­ri­als Engi­nee­ring at Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (PEMM/COPPE/UFRJ)

Head of the Hydro­gen Labo­ra­to­ry (LabH2)

Alex­and­re Batista

Brea­the Cities Lead at Clean Air Fund Brazil

Prof. Dr. Rober­to Schaeffer

Pro­fes­sor at Gra­dua­te Pro­gram in Ener­gy Plan­ning at Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (PPE/COPPE/UFRJ)

Coor­di­na­tor at Cent­re for Ener­gy and Envi­ron­men­tal Eco­no­mics (Cen­er­gi­aL­ab)

Prof. Dr. Alex­and­re Szklo

Pro­fes­sor at Gra­dua­te Pro­gram in Ener­gy Plan­ning at Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (PPE/COPPE/UFRJ)

Coor­di­na­tor at Cent­re for Ener­gy and Envi­ron­men­tal Eco­no­mics (Cen­er­gi­aL­ab)

Dra. Cami­la Gramkow

Acting Direc­tor at Eco­no­mic Com­mis­si­on for Latin Ame­ri­ca and the Carib­be­an (CEPAL)

Fili­pe de Oli­vei­ra Souza

Urban mobi­li­ty mana­ger in Bra­zi­li­an Deve­lo­p­ment Bank (BNDES)

Dra. Cami­la Ludovique

Post‑doctoral Rese­ar­cher at the Cent­re for Ener­gy and Envi­ron­men­tal Eco­no­mics in Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro

Lud­ger Heide

Rese­arch Asso­cia­te at the Depart­ment of Methods of Pro­duct Deve­lo­p­ment and Mecha­tro­nics at Tech­ni­sche Uni­ver­si­tät Berlin.

Pro­fa. Dra. Lau­ra Bahiense

Pro­fes­sor at Gra­dua­te Pro­gram in Ener­gy Plan­ning at Fede­ral Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janei­ro (PPE/COPPE/UFRJ)

Sil­ke Bell 

Deut­sches Wis­sen­schafts und Inno­va­ti­ons­haus (DWIH) São Paulo

Die­go Blanc
C40 Cities Advisor

Mike Luís Ambró­sio Munhato 

Mer­ce­des-Benz do Bra­sil Ltda

Prof. Dr. Car­los Arentz 

Sta­te Uni­ver­si­ty of Rio de Janeiro

Cla­ris­se Cun­ha Linke 

Insti­tu­to de Polí­ti­cas de Trans­por­te e Desenvolvimento

Leonar­do Madei­ra Martins 

Secre­ta­ria de Pla­ne­ja­men­to e Coor­den­a­ção de Teresina

Secre­tá­rio Adão de Cas­tro Júnior 

Secre­tá­rio de Mobil­ida­de Urba­na de Por­to Alegre/ RS

Maria Cris­ti­na Moli­na Ladeira 

Secre­ta­ria Muni­ci­pal de Mobil­ida­de Urba­na de Por­to Alegre/ RS

Secre­tá­rio Adão de Cas­tro Júnior 

Secre­tá­rio de Mobil­ida­de Urba­na de Por­to Alegre/ RS

Maria Cris­ti­na Moli­na Ladeira 

Secre­ta­ria Muni­ci­pal de Mobil­ida­de Urba­na de Por­to Alegre/ RS

Argel Fran­ce­schi­ni

Volks­wa­gen

Cont­act

Cont­act per­son in Rio de Janeiro:

Gabri­el Pabst
Rese­arch Cam­pus Mobility2Grid (M2G)
Chair of Work Stu­dies, Tech­no­lo­gy & Par­ti­ci­pa­ti­on (ARTE)
Tech­ni­sche Uni­ver­si­tät Berlin
gabriel.pabst.da.silva@campus.tu-berlin.de

Cont­act per­son in Germany:

Dr. Mar­tin Gegner
Rese­arch Cam­pus Mobility2Grid
Ber­lin Social Sci­ence Center
Martin.gegner@wzb.eu

Regis­tra­ti­on