Electric mobility: past, present and future

Together with researchers from the National Research Council (NRC), we trace the extraordinary evolution of the electric motor: from its pioneering origins, through decades of silence, to its return to the spotlight. We will examine the most common criticisms and doubts about electric mobility, from battery range limits to concerns about the supply of raw materials for the transition to electric. We will mix science, history and economics to better understand the future of both private and commercial electric mobility. 

Birth, death and rebirth of the electric motor for sustainable mobility

Few are aware that the electric motor has an older history than the gasoline engine. The first car to reach 100 km/h was equipped with an electric motor, just as the first successful cars were electrically powered. Between 1900 and 1910, 38 percent of cars on the road were electric, 40 percent were steam-powered, and only 22 percent were gasoline-powered. Even Henry Ford, despite producing millions of gasoline-powered Ford T cars for the masses, preferred to drive an electric car.

Moderator
Gabriella de Girolamo, Director of the Exhibitions Observatory

Speakers
Vincenzo Palermo, CNR research executive, Director of the Institute for Organic Synthesis and Photoreactivity (ISOF) in Bologna, Affiliated Professor Chalmers University in Gothenburg, writer and science popularizer. He has authored the “Stories of Science” column in Sapere magazine since 2014.

Electric mobility on the road: an unstoppable change
The electric motor is more efficient, simple, and reliable than the internal combustion engine, while lithium-ion batteries are constantly advancing. Nothing will stop the spread of the electric car, but the Italian motorist remains among the most skeptical in Europe. We try to help him untangle so much superficial, and sometimes false, information. 

Speakers
Nicola Armaroli, Research Director at CNR, is one of the most internationally cited Italian scientists. He works in the field of solar energy conversion and studies energy systems in their complexity. He is the author of 12 books, winner of prestigious scientific and literary awards, and editor of the historic magazine Sapere.