#WeDrive2Zero: Interview with Stephan Neugebauer, EGVIAfor2Zero Chair

Could you briefly introduce yourself?

I have a classical background, as a mechanical engineer from the Technical University of Munich with a strong experience in experiment, testing and simulation.
At BMW, I always had the opportunity to work in different fields: development of Diesel Engines, Gasoline Engines, Hydrogen, Electrification, Thermal and Energy management, and as a Head of Vehicle projects, including global production, distribution and business administration.
In each these positions, I have learnt that the world is not “black or white” and that we should never put “all our eggs into one basket”.

And then, you decided to tackle additional new challenges and to become the EGVIAfor2Zero Chair, why this decision?

Indeed, it is one of the most strategic transitions available to an industrial company representative, moving from responsibility for a running series project to pre-competitive research collaboration at the European level. But I have had some experience in the early stages of the policy-making process, and I am strongly convinced that policy makers need advice from technical people to shape the framework research programme.
In addition, it is a challenge to combine the different interests of those involved and develop those interests into a common, single programme. But, with a strong team of professionals in our association, it has gone quite well so far.
And, by the way, the regular exchange with world class scientists and engineers across Europe is an exciting process.

From your perspective, why does the work and the projects funded in the 2Zero Partnership matter? What difference can they make?

In Europe, we have a strong automotive industry. But, more and more, the innovations cannot be developed or deployed by the vehicle manufacturers in isolation since many, such as electromobility, require a system approach. Without the charging infrastructure or a shift in the energy sector, or without expertise in battery technology it is impossible to make a successful shift to electromobility.
This system approach is also needed in many other areas, such as the circular economy or in automated driving.
Innovation today requires a broad community of stakeholders, from different sectors and different levels. The European research and innovation programme is an excellent opportunity to bring together these different actors, to align their strategies and to execute pre-competitive projects in a European network.
Europe is in strong competition with other areas of the world and each single European country is too small to create globally viable solutions. To compete with other parts of the world, we need to work together at an EU level: the 2Zero SRIA, by identifying common R&I priorities, can really help with this.

The 2Zero SRIA was updated in 2023: how does this new version reflect the first achievements of the Partnership and which new priorities have been identified, if any?

By the time of the update, a lot of projects were just at mid-term, so with this series of interviews from our co-leaders, all stakeholders will be able to learn more about where we are.
In addition, the most challenging areas will certainly keep us busy in the next years, topics such as cost reduction, where a lot has been achieved but a lot still needs to be done, for example in batteries or beyond. Some other important aspects include further efforts to reduce critical raw materials use, reinforce all dimensions of a circular economy applied to the automotive industry, better integrate electric vehicles into the energy system, develop modular software or interfaces and digital services.

What can you share regarding activities upcoming until the end of the Partnership that will bring new perspectives in the 2Zero domain?

The 2025 Work Programme is out – the deadline to apply is early September – and we have a lot of very interesting topics this year, e.g. from cybersecurity to fire safety, from wireless charging to new tools and solutions to accelerate the freight transition to electrification. Have a look!
There is not much we can officially disclose at the moment regarding the 2026/2027 Work Programme, but even though we will have a limited number of topics, all partnership pillars will be well covered, and 2Zero will have its first topic about electrified coaches.
Other forward-looking activities, such as SDV, will also be included.
Relevant activities are also developed together with other partnerships, for example the “reverse factory”, where 2Zero wants to push the circular economy approach of automotive industry.

The 2026/2027 is already the last Horizon Europe Work Programme. What is coming next?

Early 2025, Commission president Ursula von der Leyen launched the Strategic Dialogue with the Automotive Industry.
One of the key outcomes from this is the proposal to launch a single, large-scale partnership for automotive R&I in the next EU budget.
We are already working on a proposal, with a broad community of stakeholders: more will come in the coming months, based on the learnings from 2Zero and its partners.
In line with has already been initiated in 2Zero (and its predecessors EGCI and EGVI), this new proposal should bring a decisive contribution to the competitiveness of the automotive industry, for the benefit of Europe and all its citizens.