AUTOMOTIVE & BATTERY FORUM 2023 OUTLINED THE TRENDS AND ACHIEVEMENTS IN THE INDUSTRY
From April 25 to 27, Bulgaria was the host of the international conference Automotive & Battery Forum 2023, organized by Automotive Cluster Bulgaria, in partnership with the InvestBulgaria Agency and Kinstellar. The event was held over three thematic days, during which over 40 established international experts from the automotive industry presented the latest breakthroughs and outlined the future development of battery technologies, digitilization of production, automotive software, cyber security, artificial intelligence and much more. The conference took place just one day after the signing of the declaration of Bulgaria’s accession to the European Battery Alliance – confirmation of our country’s and Automotive Cluster Bulgaria’s commitment to building a strong European battery value chain and a competitive industry. Among the official guests at the opening were the Deputy Prime Minister for the Management of European Funds Atanas Pekanov and the Minister of Economy and Industry Nikola Stoyanov. Deputy Prime Minister Pekanov emphasized the presence of all the prerequisites for a flourishing battery industry in our country, and Minister Stoyanov pointed out that electric mobility will determine the future of the industry in the next 10 years. It was also announced that a new industrial zone for the automotive industry would be established near the capital of Sofia – in Dobroslavtsi, which aims to attract new foreign investments with several government incentives and opportunities for partnerships. In line with the government’s efforts, Automotive Cluster Bulgaria continues to work actively to support new investors in finding suitable locations, partners and staff in Bulgaria. The Cluster has an impressive track-record, having already supported most of the large automotive investors in the region, such as Bosch Engineering Center, Etem Gestamp and many others, in their establishment in the country. On the second day of the Automotive & Battery Forum, which was named Innovation Day, several expert speakers discussed recent breakthroughs in the industry. Among them was Mariana Iteva from Veolia, who revealed what the company’s solutions are for a sustainable future of the industry. Eng. Krasimir Krastev from Siemens presented the company’s solutions guaranteeing safety in the production, storage and charging process of Li-Io batteries, and James Glover and Ross Bearman from Viridian EV and Orlin Radev from Ampeco took part in the panel on the future of charging infrastructure. The variety of international guests confirmed the increasing partnership of Automotive Cluster Bulgaria with several international organizations – Leena Thomas from Global Business Inroads talked about cooperation between India and Europe, while Abdullah Çerekçi from Zorlu Holding discussed the opportunities for partnership between Turkey and Bulgaria, which ACB is promoting thanks to a signed memorandum with its Turkish counterpart. The third day, Automotive Software Day, highlighted two key areas in the field of automotive – artificial intelligence and cyber security. This also corresponded with Automotive Cluster Bulgaria’s plans to develop a training center to upskill professionals in the automotive industry.