The heureka Foundation for Environment and Mobility is honouring Prof. Dr Adolf Müller-Hellman with the Life Time Award 2024 for his life’s work and in particular his pioneering contributions to the promotion of electromobility in local transport.
Prof Dr Müller-Hellmann is known as a pioneer of electric bus technology. He is one of the initiators of the Electric Bus Conference, which was first organised in 2010 and has established itself as a meeting place for the industry. Since 2015, the conference has been complemented by the trade fair “ElekBu” (since 2024 “mobility move”), which is the world’s largest trade fair for electric mobility in public transport. The market-ready development and introduction of electric buses in Germany is largely due to his tireless commitment.
As Managing Director of Technology and later also as Managing Director of the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV), he championed issues such as the standardisation of vehicles, European standardisation, the use of lightweight and low-floor vehicles, tunnel construction, the integration of regional and urban transport and environmental protection. Among experts, he is known for the “BOStrab Revision” and for the “Blue Books” published by the VDV, which still serve as reference works today.
In 1987, Adolf Müller-Hellmann received his first teaching assignment at the RWTH for the lecture “Electrical Local Transport Systems” and was appointed honorary professor in 1995.
Adolf Müller-Hellmann is characterised by his search for innovative technical solutions to make public transport better and more environmentally friendly. He was the first to unerringly identify pioneering technologies and promote their development and dissemination. He manages to inspire and convince others with his visionary power and ultimately motivate them to take joint action.
The heureka Foundation honours Prof. Dr.-Ing. Adolf Müller-Hellmann with the Life Time Award 2024. In doing so, the foundation is honouring his commitment and success in creating environmentally friendly and attractive local transport.
Adolf Müller-Hellmann studied general electrical engineering and electrical power engineering at RWTH Aachen University, where he completed his doctorate in 1979. He initially worked for the Association of German Transport Companies (VDV) as Head of the Railway Technology Department, then from 1991 as Managing Director of Technology and from 1998 to 2008 also as Managing Director. Adolf Müller-Hellmann has been awarded the Federal Cross of Merit 1st Class (Bundesverdienstkreuz 1. Klasse).
The purpose of the non-profit heureka foundation is to promote sustainable, environmentally friendly mobility. This is achieved by supporting appropriate target-orientated planning processes and planning methods in transport as well as young scientists who have made an outstanding contribution in this field. The founders are experts in various disciplines from science and practice. They established the heureka foundation in 1994 and have been working together in various functions in the fields of traffic and transport since 1975.
19.03.2024
