Second edition of the International Automotive and Mobility Congress

• On the first day of the Mindtech fair, the opening ceremony was followed by the celebration of the International Automotive and Mobility Congress (AutoMob Summit), with renowned international leaders from Benteler, Borgwarner, Michelin, Atalaya Mining, DoBa Solutions and NTT Data.

AutoMob Summit, una visión de futuro para la movilidad que viene

The International Automotive and Mobility Congress of the Future, AutoMob Summit, came to Mindtech yesterday for the first time. In this special edition on the occasion of the third edition of the benchmark industrial fair of the Iberian Pole, the top managers of leading industries in this sector at an international level took place at the Ifevi.

In a panel that captured the attention of many of the fair’s attendees, they discussed the challenges of future mobility, the state of the industry as a whole (automotive, aeronautics and transport as a whole), the supply chain, the challenge of decarbonisation and digital disruption.

Ricardo Garcia, Executive Vice President South Europe at Benteler, highlighted the company’s ambitious mission to make “tomorrow’s mobility lighter, safer and more sustainable”. “We are implementing innovative technologies, such as smart factories and harnessing Big Data, and developing eco-friendly products, such as the Holon Mover and green tubes, to lead this shift towards a responsible transport future”.

María Paz Robina, General Manager ES and PT at Michelin, addressed the issue from the experience of this business group, which aims to be completely sustainable by 2050, using 100% raw materials of biological or recycled origin. “To get there, we are decarbonising our manufacturing processes, working on tyres with lower rolling resistance so that they consume less fuel, emit less CO2 and also allow them to be recovered and recycled. But the challenge goes beyond tyres and we are developing H2 fuel cells or sails for cargo ships to reduce their fuel consumption.

Alberto Lavandeira, CEO at Atalaya Mining, highlighted the role played by raw materials in this challenge of future transport, with minerals such as lithium being key to the development of electric batteries: “Each electric car carries twice as much copper as a combustion car, but it also carries nickel, lithium and other specific metals.Until now these minerals and rare earths have come from outside the EU, but we can no longer rely on China. There are several mineral deposits in Europe that can reduce this external dependence and contribute to supplying the industrial chains with more than 70% of minerals. The challenge is huge, currently 8.5 billion dollars need to be invested in mines every year in order to cover the current deficit of minerals in the world”.

Silvia Lazcano, President at DoBa Solutions with more than 20 years of experience at Airbus, explained the challenge from a sustainable aviation perspective.”Despite the pre-covid demonisation of aviation, society’s behaviour has shown that air mobility will continue to grow. However, achieving net zero emissions by 2050 is feasible. The aviation sector has a range of pathways and enablers that will make this possible, the challenge now is to accelerate this roadmap through green hydrogen and other disruptive technologies”.

Carlos Castaño, Vice President of Engineering at BorgWarner Emissions, Thermal and Turbo Systems, highlighted that “the rapid transition to electric vehicles is bringing a huge transformation for automotive companies, which are currently facing many challenges but also opportunities.In this unprecedented transformation, companies like BorgWarner are undergoing a major shift in their product portfolio, where innovation will be the decisive element.

Pablo Martin García, Partner in charge of the Automotive Sector at NTT Data, explained that “the automotive industry has always been a benchmark for logistics and production efficiency. The high levels of demand in terms of deadlines and quality, together with increasingly fierce competition, make it difficult to stay in the market. The correct use of new technologies can be the lever for the automotive industry in Spain to continue to be one of the main players worldwide”.