Federal Minister Hubertus Heil visits Gifhorn

As part of his constituency visit, Hubertus Heil has stopped in Gifhorn, virtually a home game for the native Hildesheim inhabitant, who has been representing his constituency of Gifhorn-Peine as a member of parliament since 1998.
In addition to a meeting with the newly elected Gifhorn Works Council member, the program also included insights into important IAV development projects.

The start marked a trip in the data bus “Elcty”, a diesel double-decker, which was retrofitted with the electric drive system of the same name developed by IAV. The minister was interested in the potential of the bus. “The bus shows that with innovative concepts, the change to e-mobility is not only successful in new motor vehicles, but also in existing ones,” says Hubertus Heil.

In addition, Heil received up-to-date information on the harvesting robot project, which can pick strawberries in a fully automated way. The robot is intended to ensure that it is still possible to carry out the production of regional special cultures in Germany in the future. Heil praised IAV’s approach, saying that one is providing a technological response to the problem that it is very difficult to get labor for this kind of work here in Germany.

The end of the visit was the presentation of the Quartier Energy Management System developed by IAV and established on site. This is a digital tool that precisely determines the energy demand and uses its smart forecasts to open potential savings in terms of energy production and consumption.

At the end of the meeting, not only Hubertus Heil, but also the welcoming Works Council member, drew a positive conclusion: “This was a very good start for hopefully many more discussions,” says Jörn Klenner, Works Council Chairman of the Gifhorn location.