The webinar was opened by representatives from the Embassies in Stockholm and Berlin. The German State Secretary of the Bundesministerium für Umwelt (BMU), Florian Pronold, argued that the cooperation agreement has been, and will continue to be, important for both Sweden and Germany because of the opportunity to implement best practices from joint experience and knowledge.
Florian Pronold, State Secretary of the Bundesministerium für Umwelt (BMU)
Lena Erixon, Director General at theSwedish Transport Administration, responded that the Transport Administration do not want to find a Swedish solution that stands alone, rather they are searching for common standards, that will be vital for Europe. The collaboration between nations and stake holders, is important to speed up the transition.
Lena Erixon, Director General at the Swedish Transport Administration
The members of the coalition participated, and the message was clear; to electrify heavy transport we need to increase collaboration within value chains, because no stake holder can solve this on their own. Challenges need to be addressed; the urgency created by climate change, regulation, policies, cost of operation, investments, the need for new business models, and the speed of change itself.
Fredrik Boije, H&M Group
“We are searching for opportunities throughout our whole supply chain. In partnerships and joint projects, we do not see this as a cost, rather an investment into the future.” Fredrik Boije, Head of Global Logistics, H&M Group.
Magnus Höglund, Scania.
“To get started and scale up the present pilot projects, we need policy that supports the transition to renewable energy. Public investments in infrastructure are key to increase the number of electrified heavy vehicles.” Magnus Höglund, Head of Charging Solutions, Scania.
Johan Mörnstam, E.ON.
“Our key message is that, given the lead times to increase capacity in the grid, we need policy descsions and an adapted regulatory framework that will support rapid increase of grid capacity.” Johan Mörnstam, Senior Vice President, Energy Networks Europe, E.ON.
Mikael Leksell, Siemens
“We need to start implementing mature technologies, we don’t have the time to wait but there is no silver bullet, so the mix of solutions will change over time.” Mikael Leksell, CEO Sweden and Nordics, Siemens.
Stefan Koetz, Ericsson
“We can’t just replace fossil fuel with renewable energy, we need to be more efficient. We think this can be done in two ways; controlling and steering smart grids and controlling and steering the trucks in efficient ways. We are certain that digital solutions will contribute greatly to the transition [toward electrified transport].” Stefan Koetz, CEO Germany, Ericsson.
To sum up an important seminar with participants from governments, leading companies, and the research community together with roughly 200 attendees: We need to act now and collaborate to move faster together.
