On the 18th birthday of ExtraEnergy, people "pilgrimaged" from all the corners of Germany to Tanna, which (to some) has become the Mecca of e-vehicles. The huge selection of e-vehicles on show and expert knowledge at hand also drew representatives of trade and industry to the small town in Thuringia. 
 

 
The sun shone bright on ExtraEnergy's 18th birthday. Many visitors were enticed by the cloudless sky, comfortable temperatures and more than 50 pedelecs and e-bikes on display to ride a few test rounds around town and into the forest.

Extensive guided tours of the more than 600 e-vehicles on display in the ExtraEnergy museum gave the day its educational touch. In the museum ExtraEnergy chairman Hannes Neupert informed visitors of ExtraEnergy's activities, market developments, product selection, motors, batteries and their safety and pepped his talks up with practical examples - burnt out batteries, a huge collection of different re-chargers and EneryBus plugs.

Together these objects paint an interesting picture of the development history of electric transport, and give the visitor an idea of where e-transport might be heading in future.

All day long, the ExtraEnergy team was at hand to answer questions, assist test riders and serve hungry visitors grilled sausages and cold drinks.

Bernd Schorr of the Gesellschaft für Internationale Wirtschaftsförderung und Management mbH (IWM) in Erfurt, a long-standing partner of ExtraEnergy, handed Hannes Neupert a bouquet of flowers and congratulated him on the organization's 18th birthday.

Complimented as pioneers, Mr. Neupert and his team now look to the future with extra energy.

Copy: Daniel Hopf and Susanne Brüsch
Translation: Christoffel Volschenk
Photo: Michael Burger

14 July 2010