Barbara Lenz

Highly developed technology, high-performance batteries and high cost effectiveness – the demands placed on modern, daily-use electric vehicles are quite clear. But what about human beings? How are they going to accept and use this new technology? How are transport and traffic going to change? In her position as head of the Institute for Transport Research at the German Aerospace Center (DLR) in Berlin-Adlershof, Professor Barbara Lenz takes up this human perspective to shed light on the future of electromobility. 

How does electromobility change cities?

Barbara Lenz has been working at the DLR in Berlin since 2002. In 2007, she became head of the Institute for Transport Research. Her research focuses on mobility behavior, environmental factors, sustainability, networking, modes of transport and the interplay of transport/traffic and industry. For Lenz, electromobility has a special fascination: “I consider it entirely realistic to have the goal of bringing one million electric vehicles to German streets by 2020,” she says. However, the establishing of electromobility would lead to a number of new questions: “For example, would air quality in cities improve as a result of comprehensive electromobility? What effects would electromobility have on the consciousness and behavior of traffic participants? These are the questions that interest me.”


These strategic location advantages are exactly what drew Lenz from Stuttgart to Berlin in 2002. “I was very interested in the work being done in transport research at the DLR and their tech and business-oriented approach,” she says. 

Research Focus: Car Drivers and Their Experiences with eVehicles

The German Aerospace Center (DLR) is participating in a number of projects designed to further research in the field of electromobility. One of those projects is a fleet test involving plug-in hybrid Volkswagen vehicles. As Lenz notes: “Our main focus is on user behavior with these vehicles and concrete daily driving experiences.” 

The DLR is also participating in the “E-City-Logistik” project as part of the Berlin/Potsdam model region. This project examines the question of whether delivery traffic is also possible with electric vehicles and what realistic logistics concepts would look like in this field. The DLR has taken on responsibility for the project’s associated sociological research and is working closely with the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Systems and Design Technology and the Berlin Traffic Management Center (VMZ) to study the use of electric vehicles.

Fresh Air, Less Urban Noise, Innovative Concepts

As Barbara Lenz notes: “We can’t yet draw any definite conclusions from our research projects.” But this is exactly what she hopes to do in the future. “Mobility is routine. People have to get used to changes first. I’m very curious to see what kind of effect electromobility will have on a major city like Berlin.” And what does she expect? Lenz says: “In the best case scenario, more and more innovative concepts such as mobile car-sharing will be developed, air quality will improve and urban noise will be reduced.”