Background
The municipality of Karlskrona had recently launched an exciting initiative by investing in an electric vehicle fleet. Despite initial hopes, it turned out that the fleet—consisting of cars and bicycles—was not being used as frequently as desired. As a result, officials sat down to brainstorm creative solutions to increase awareness and usage of these eco-friendly modes of transportation. This is where Innoventum comes into the picture.
Why Innoventum?
The Giraffe features an incredibly unique design that blends perfectly into the urban environment. The solution consists of a wooden structure supporting 24 solar panels and a wind turbine proudly positioned at a height of 12 meters. When Kent Lindström from the City of Karlskrona discovered our energy solutions, he was immediately inspired and fell in love with the design of our beautiful and climate-neutral solutions. He also realized that he could solve two problems at once:
- Ensure sustainable charging for electric vehicles through Giraffen’s own electricity generation.
- Raise awareness of electric bikes and electric cars by drawing attention to them through the Giraffe’s eye-catching design. By attracting attention to the car and bike sharing station beneath the Giraffe, we could increase the use of these vehicles and thus quickly recoup the investment costs for the entire project.
What was the result?
The project turned out to be a real success. By installing the Giraffe, the vehicle-sharing service gained greater visibility—both visually for all passersby and through media coverage. As a result, usage of the vehicle pool increased—and this growing popularity has enabled an expansion of the fleet, including cars, bicycles, and cargo bikes, which has strengthened the social and economic sustainability of the entire project.
“We could never have hoped for this result. Our goal was to reach a point where we were cost-neutral. Now we’ve increased our utilization rate and achieved cost savings as well.”
In an interview withthe Council for Sustainable Cities , Kent explains that cost neutrality was achieved in just ten months, and after three years, the project has actually managed to reduce costs by an impressive 30 percent compared to the previous internal and fossil-fuel-based car pool. Achieving cost savings while increasing usage was a feat that may not have been entirely obvious from the start, but which has now proven to be entirely possible and successful thanks to Giraffen.
You can read the Swedish Energy Agency’s full report on Giraffen in Karlskrona here.
Are you also looking for a sustainable solution for charging electric vehicles? Contact us today, and we’ll tailor a solution that meets your specific needs and helps build a greener future.