The island of Astypalea serves as a future laboratory for sensible, sustainable mobility. As a part of a joint undertaking of the Volkswagen Group and the Hellenic Republic, it’s to be step by step transformed to e-mobility, digital mobility options and inexperienced power.
First outcomes are optimistic: The brand new, digital mobility options are properly established, 25 p.c of the inhabitants recurrently use the ASTYBUS ridesharing service. Over the previous twelve months alone it has accomplished greater than 200,000 buyer kilometres. Electrification additionally makes progress: Virtually all new vehicles to be registered on Astypalea at the moment are absolutely electrical.
The Volkswagen Group helps Astypalea with its complete mobility know-how in addition to automobiles from the Volkswagen, Volkswagen Business Automobiles, Ducati and SEAT MÓ manufacturers. The measures to rework the mobility sector have been nearly utterly carried out. These embrace, specifically, the general public charging infrastructure, the particular subsidy scheme for personal clients and firms, the electrification of authority automobiles (e.g. police, airport), in addition to the mobility providers ASTYBUS and astyGO. The variety of electrical automobiles on the small island has risen from zero to 84 in a brief time frame.
The ridesharing service ASTYBUS has changed the normal bus line, which had provided a really restricted native transport on Astypalea. Not like the bus line, ASTYBUS operates all yr spherical and connects many extra locations on the island. Relying on the season, as much as 5 automobiles are used for this service. Via the car sharing service astyGO, clients can hire e-cars from Volkswagen in addition to e-scooters from SEAT MÓ and e-bikes from Ducati. The reserving is made by way of smartphone by way of the built-in astyMOVE app.
Maik Stephan, Head of Enterprise Improvement of the Volkswagen Group, mentioned: “Over the subsequent twenty years, we are going to see lots of the adjustments that make up the Astypalea undertaking in different areas of Europe as properly. Significantly spectacular is the folks’s change in temper from preliminary skepticism to nice approval. This reveals that speedy transformation is feasible if corporations, politicians and society work collectively.”
Inexperienced power: 3-megawatt photo voltaic park to start out in 2024
The following step is to resume the power system, which is to be step by step transformed to utilizing domestically produced, renewable power. The already present smaller photo voltaic crops are supplying, amongst different issues, the present e-fleet with inexperienced power. The following milestone is the development of a hybrid energy system, consisting of a photo voltaic park with a capability of three,5 megawatts and a battery storage system, which is scheduled to start out operation in 2024. This method will cowl 100% of the island’s power wants for e-mobility and as much as 60 p.c of its normal power wants. The Greece-first tender for this power undertaking was only recently closed.
By 2026, the power system is to be additional expanded and, within the last stage, will cowl round 80 p.c of the full power demand. To date, the island has primarily been equipped with electrical energy from diesel mills, which emit as much as 5,000 tons of CO2 per yr.
Accompanying scientific research: Transformation meets with nice approval
The scientific research, which is a part of the undertaking, reveals a excessive stage of assist for the transformation: 80 p.c of the folks on Astypalea have a optimistic view of e-mobility and mobility providers. This can be a vital enchancment in comparison with the primary survey at first of the undertaking in 2021 and underlines how essential it’s to supply related details about new applied sciences and providers. The ridesharing service ASTYBUS is rated notably properly, with 97 p.c approval. Amongst different issues, the versatile use mixed with low costs is appreciated.
The survey additionally reveals that on Astypalea, prices are a decisive think about switching to electrical vehicles. The charging infrastructure, however, is not seen as an impediment. The surveys passed off in two waves in winter 2022/23 and summer season 2021, with a complete of 211 and 221 folks collaborating. The research is being carried out by scientists from the College of the Aegean (Greece) and the College of Strathclyde (Scotland) and can consider the undertaking for a number of years.
Sustainability within the Volkswagen Group
Sustainability is one in all 10 strategic fields of motion that the Volkswagen Group is pushing ahead at full velocity below the management of CEO Oliver Blume. For instance, the Volkswagen Group is putting a transparent deal with e-mobility and is planning an formidable ramp-up throughout the Group’s manufacturers. Final yr, Volkswagen additionally tightened its CO2 targets in manufacturing and is now aiming to scale back production-related CO2 emissions from passenger vehicles and lightweight industrial automobiles by 50 p.c by 2030.
Jun 16, 2023