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Swedish Press N Y A
S V E N S K A
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September 2018 Vol 89:07 $5.95
Sweden Drives Forward with Sustainable Transportation
07 2018
Swedish Electric Cars Interview with SAS Max Knagge Gudrun Sjödén
Sweden Races to Meet its Sustainability Deadline
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By Lara Andersson weden is racing to meet its deadline for reducing CO2 emission by 70 percent by 2030. Despite an already impressive standing in environmentally sustainable growth reports – currently, Sweden accounts for less than 0.2 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions – Sweden’s determination has only intensified by seeking to be a role model in technology innovation and ethics. Transportation based on fossil fuel is one of the most pernicious culprits of climate change, so Sweden is adopting new measures to electrify mobility. The Swedish government has long deterred its citizens from excessive energy consumption by enacting a “polluter pays” principle. Already in the 1920s, there was a tax placed on energy sources, and in 1991 an additional tax was introduced on carbon emissions. In July of this year, Sweden altered its car policies, levying a heavier tax on standard gasoline and diesel vehicles while offering bonuses to electric vehicle users. Cars boasting zero emissions have the opportunity to receive bonuses of up to 60,000 kronor (approximately 6,700 dollars), and cars running on bio-gas can claim up to 10,000 kronor (1,100 dollars) in bonus. These bonuses certainly incentivize buyers to seek out more environmentally friendly
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automobiles, though it is worth noting that the bonus may not exceed 25 percent of the car’s new price. In addition to enticing buyers to go electric when choosing their automobiles, the Swedish government is also offering benefits for those who choose alternative forms of electric transportation. The Swedish Environmental Protection Agency has introduced a grant for buyers of electric bikes, motorcycles, mopeds and certain vehicles that assist people with physical handicaps. For 2018, 386 million kronor have been set aside for people who apply. Anyone is eligible as long as they are a resident of Sweden and can provide a copy of their receipt within six months of purchase. As of now, the limit is one allowance per individual. Not only is the government impacting the car industry by implementing the Polestar 1. Photo © Polestar aforementioned strategies, but Swedish manufacturers are seeking to push technologies in the automobile sector in their own right to create the most advanced electric vehicles. Volvo, for example, is developing Polestar 1. The Polestar 1 is labeled by company boss Thomas Ingenlath as “an electric car with support from an internal-combustion engine.” It will be the only hybrid to carry the brand’s new badge, as Volvo is committed to developing the subsequent Polestars as fully battery-powered electric vehicles (BEVs), beginning with a Tesla Model 3 rival and a larger SUVstyle machine. At the present time, the first model will cost 155,000 dollars, which prevents it from becoming readily available to the majority of consumers. However, the end goal is to make the Polestar models more affordable so that they may be widely marketed and achieve a greater environmental impact. While many manufacturers are recrafting their automobiles, others are focusing
on creating smart, efficient methods for keeping electric vehicles charged. The world’s first electric road system was inaugurated just outside of Gävle, Sweden in 2016. The two-kilometer strip on the E16 motorway was able to charge Swedish Uniti One. Photo © Uniti company Scania’s electric trucks using conductive overhead cables developed by Siemens. This milestone was the result of many years of teamwork between the Swedish government and the private sector, which includes Scania . Since then, electronically charged roads have evolved into more versatile solutions which no longer utilize overhead cables but instead charge vehicles using a method resembling a slot-car track. These vehicles employ a small, moveable arm that extends from the undercarriage and connects to an electric rail which is embedded in the road surface. The arm has a flexible design that allows the car or truck the freedom to move laterally along the road (e.g. for overtaking) without becoming disconnected. eRoadArlanda, the world’s first electrified public road, opened in April of 2018. Hans Säll, chairman of eRoadArlanda, explains that “for a heavy truck to be 100 percent electric, it would need a battery that weighs 40 tonnes. But if technology like the eRoad is readily available, the truck’s battery could weigh as little as 600 kilograms.” This would be a significant step towards requiring less material and less energy to power large trucks. While eRoadArlanda is designed with the capacity to power heavier vehicles like trucks, it is also able to feed power to smaller cars and buses. The Sweden Road and Transport Agency has lofty goals for the expansion of electric roads. Within the next two to three years, the Agency plans to initiate the implementation of eRoads via a pilot project utilizing between
20 and 30 km of eRoad. They will closely monitor the performance of the eRoad during the trial period so that they know how to optimize performance when the technology goes mainstream all over the country. From individuals to larger companies, Swedes are committed to a greener future. New educational programs are emerging left and right with sustainability in focus. Chalmers University has a micromasters program in electronic and autonomous vehicles, while institutes like RISE (Research Institute of Sweden) are widening their course offerings as a partner for sustainable digitalization in industry and society. This all comes just as Swedish lawmakers voted (with a majority vote of 254 to 41) to reach net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. This is even more ambitious than Photo © eRoadArlanda the 2015 Paris agreement in which the country pledged to be carbon neutral by 2050. On the whole, Swedes are a good test market for new, sustainable products as they are early adopters of, and exceptionally receptive to, cutting edge technologies. They also possess high environmental awareness. Moreover, electricity prices are lower in Sweden than in many other European countries, making electric vehicles a financially sound option. These facts, coupled with the Swedish government’s commitment to an entirely fossil-fuel free fleet by 2030, mean that Sweden will be a country to watch to see how to radically transform a society and its infrastructure for the better. Illustration by Matt McKey.
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SAS och flygbranschens “Survival of the Fittest”
Swedish Press fick tillfälle att intervjua Max Knagge som tjänstgjort på SAS i 14 år, och som flyttade till USA med sin familj i januari 2015 för att påbörja sin nya tjänst som General Manager for the Americas. Här nedan berättar han om sitt arbete och om flygbolagets många utmaningar förr och nu i den benhårda konkurrensen som kännetecknar flygbranschen.
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Berätta om din uppväxt och hur du upptäckte ditt intresse för en karriär inom flygbranschen. Jag växte upp på Ekerö utanför Stockholm. Som så många andra, gillar jag att resa. Dels har jag rest omkring en del med familjen och dels även bott utomlands, bl.a. i Italien under ett år. Jag tycker om att se och uppleva nya saker och träffa nya människor. SAS var nog mest en slump. Jag studerade till ingenjör på KTH, gick på maskinteknisk linje med inriktning på industriell ekonomi och organisation. När jag sedan skulle göra mitt examensarbete så hamnade jag på SAS, vilket slutade med att jag fick anställning där. Jag började inom den tekniska delen av verksamheten, nämligen logistik, men gick ganska snart över på det mer kommersiella området med vikten på passagerare. Där jobbade jag under årens lopp med olika funktioner kopplade till SAS’ passagerarverksamhet. Det är alltid spännande, det står aldrig still, konkurrensen är benhård, så vi tvingas ändra kundreferensen hela tiden. Hur bidrar SAS till att minska flygets klimatpåverkan? Jag vill understryka att sustainability är ett ämne som står högt på vår dagordning. Flygets klimatpåverkan är en viktig angelägenhet för oss. Först kan jag nämna den stora investeringen vi gjort i nya bränslesnåla flygplan, nämligen
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Airbus A330 Enhanced (fr.o.m. 2015), Airbus A320neo (fr.o.m. 2016), och Airbus A350 (fr.o.m. 2019). Dessa möjliggör att utsläppen reduceras drastiskt. Sedan 2005 har vi lyckats minska utsläppet av koldioxid med totalt 14 procent, trots att passagerarantalet ökat. På längre sikt delar vi målsättningen inom IATA [International Air Transport Association] att kunna flyga helt utan utsläpp av växthusgaser år 2050. Vidare har SAS och bränsletillverkaren Preem tecknat en avsiktsförklaring om att framställa förnybart flygbränsle. SAS har som ambition att ersätta dagens bränslevolym för inrikesflyget med biobränsle till år 2030. Utbudet av biobränsle för flyg är väldigt lågt just nu, och det handlar om at utveckla den tekniken. Vi har köpt upp allt biobränsle som det går att få tag på i vår region i norra Europa. Samtidigt verkar vi för att produktionen ska intensifieras och kostnaden bli mer rimlig, så att vi kan öka andelen biobränsle när vi tankar våra flygplan. Vi var också först i världen med vad som kallas ”gröna inflygningar” där man optimerar inflygningsbanan med hänsyn till vindriktning med mera. Därmed drar planen mindre bränsle och minskar utsläppen. Slutligen vill jag nämna ett unikt initiativ hos SAS, nämligen att vi “CO2-kompenserar” resenärer i åldern 12 – 26 år som flyger på ungdomsbiljett. Kompenseringen sker genom att SAS gör en motsvarande
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frivillig investering i förnybara drivmedel. Vad gör ni på SAS för att stimulera intresset bland nordamerikaner att besöka Skandinavien? I Skandinavien känner naturligtvis alla till SAS, vare sig man har en positiv eller negativ uppfattning. På den amerikanska marknaden med över 300 miljoner invånare är SAS inte ett lika välkänt varumärke. Detta försöker vi sprida via media, press och PR. På det digitala området handlar det om sociala medier, där vi eftersträvar att nå relevanta kunder med relevant budskap och relevant erbjudande. Sedan arbetar vi mycket med resebyråer, agenter och turistråden, t.ex. Visit Sweden, med vilka vi har många gemensamma aktiviteter och initiativ för att på så vis öka intresset hos allmänheten för att resa till Skandinavien. Om man tittar på utvecklingen idag, så ser man att betydligt fler amerikaner reser till Skandinavien än för 3 – 5 – 10 år sedan. Så det finns ett stadigt ökande intresse för Skandinavien som destination, varvid vi naturligtvis påpekar möjligheterna att åka dit med SAS och dra fördel av våra olika erbjudanden. Miami blir en utvidgad destination för SAS i höst. Vilka andra destinationer i Nordamerika har tillkommit på sistone? För ungefär två år sedan gjorde vi en väldig expansion inom USA, då öppnade vi tre nya destinationer, nämligen Los Angeles, Boston och Miami, detta inom loppet av ungefär sex månader. Därigenom satte vi in cirka 25 procent mer kapacitet i
SAS Sustainability Report 2016/2017 © SAS AB
USA, och detta på kortare tid än vi gjort någonsin under vår 70-åriga historia. Vi öppnade Miami som destination för en tid sedan med förbindelser till Köpenhamn och Oslo. Senare lade vi till Stockholm nu i vintras. Vad vi gör nu i september är att fördubbla antalet flygningar mellan Miami och Stockholm. Hur når ni nya kunder – är det mycket skandinaver, eller är resenärer inte längre lojala mot sina ”national carriers”? Vi etablerade en strategi för ett antal år sedan som definierade en tydlig målgrupp. Tittar man på resandet i Skandinavien så kan man tydligt se att 70 procent av resenärerna flyger fem gånger eller mer om året, motsvarande 1.2 miljoner individer. Det är en väldigt tydlig målgrupp för oss, så vi har valt att fokusera på de frekventa resenärerna, oavsett om de reser i affärer eller privat. När de flyger, ska det alltså finnas en relevans att välja SAS och därmed skapa lojaliteten. Eurobonus är en komponent i detta som vi fortsätter att vidareutveckla. Mycket av
tjänsterna och produkterna som vi utvecklar är avsedda att beakta just behovet hos den här målgruppen. En sådan komponent är punktligheten som är mycket viktig – time matters! Vad vi hela tiden strävar efter när vi utvecklar tjänsteprodukter är att göra den primära målgruppens resande och faktiskt deras liv enklare. Det finna olika typer av lösningar, alltifrån fast track på våra flygplatser till att göra väntetiden mera rimlig. Nästa steg är att utveckla tillgången till WiFi ombord, där vi har en av de absolut snabbaste WifFi-lösningarna på våra kortdistansflygningar, så att man kommer att kunna surfa och streama ungefär som man gör hemma. Detta är ett sätt att adressera den här tydliga målgruppen. Det betyder inte att man är irrelevant om man bara flyger en gång om året, utan givetvis vill vi att man även då ska välja SAS utifrån de värden vi levererar. Om man har möjlighet att välja ett flygbolag som ger det man eftertraktar när det gäller pris, produkter och klimatomsorg, så skapar det en naturlig lojalitet. Intervjuad av Peter Berlin
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Swedish Press | September 2018 15
Hemma hos
Sweden Introduces the First Generation of Smart Electric Cars
[Design]
By Kristi Robinson
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he car is 100 percent electric, operates with the intuitiveness of a smartphone, has built in safety sensors and onboard software that helps to avoid a crash before it happens. It comes with a modest price tag of between 15,000 and 20,000 euros ($17,000 – $23,000). Now, three years since its inception as a research project at Lund University, Uniti has announced that their electric model ‘Uniti One’ will hit the road in 2019. The visionary behind the Uniti One is founder and CEO Lewis Horne. The people at Uniti felt that they didn’t need to design the best car in the world; they needed to design the best car for the world, so that was the starting point. Instead of making just another version of a typical electric vehicle (EV), Uniti’s approach was to reinvent it to be more in tune with the needs of society, by making it sustainable and by creating a vehicle that made for a great user experience.
Uniti One is driven with a combination of touchpad and joystick controls
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Incorporating new and emerging technologies in its design, Uniti might very well relegate the steering wheel to a bygone era of classic gasoline and diesel-powered cars. The streamlined dashboard has both a touchpad interface and joystick controls. The car comes in a two- or four-seater version. Mainly designed for city driving, the car can reach a top speed of 130 km/h (80 mph), so it is also suitable for highway driving. The vehicle has a range of 300 km (185 miles) using a Li-Ion battery. It takes between 30 minutes and 6 hours to charge the battery depending on the type of charger. There is also a solar panel on the roof for an extra boost of trickle charge that tops up the battery as it is being used. Uniti One can be operated by voice control and is connected to cloud-based services like Google Maps and Spotify. In parallel the manufacturers are developing new apps and services to improve the driving experience. The car will continue to evolve as new technologies become available, such a digital windscreen displays and wireless charging. The company found in their research that electric cars, despite their reduced exhaust emissions, aren’t much more sustainable when
considering their complete lifecycle. Uniti wanted to change this and build their cars with a combination of organic composites and recyclable carbon fiber – an extremely lightweight yet strong material. As a result, the car weights just 450 kg (992 lbs). Uniti is also striving to completely reinvent how cars are produced, so as to reduce the environmental impact. Instead of workers on the frontline in a factory, the company is working with Siemens Nordic to have the cars built by engineers who design the software to make production scaled down and fully automated. With these measures Uniti claims that the lifecycle carbon emissions of their car average about 88% less than gasoline-powered cars, and 75% less than a typical EV.
Sleek interior of the Uniti One.
There is no doubt that electric cars are the way of the future, and it is exciting that the Uniti has amped up the EV to a level of sustainability and technology we haven’t seen before. If Swedish drivers need any more incentive to own a Uniti One, consumers who purchase their electricity through EON will get a discount on their electricity bill that covers the cost of energy used to run their Uniti One for five years. All Photos © Uniti
Hemma hos
A Journey of a Thousand Miles... By Ulrika Pettersson
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emories of baking cookies with my sweet grandmother Rut inspired me to start Unna Bakery. I fondly remember riding on the back of her bicycle to share our cookies with friends in Östersund where I grew up. Fika is a cherished tradition in my family, and the best ones start with cinnamon buns and Coconut Oat and Vanilla Dream cookies, and finish with cake. Baking makes me feel at home, wherever I am, and it sparks my creativity. Early in my career, I was a photographer’s assistant and studied graphic design, which led to work in Hamburg and in Stockholm with POC, the sports gear company. I enjoyed this work, but after 15 years I was ready to try something new. My husband and I moved to New York City, where I started Unna Bakery in 2015. Before Unna I had never even been to a bakery! Hot Bread Kitchen, a culinary incubator and shared commercial kitchen space in Harlem, made my dream possible. I couldn’t have done it without them. Grandma Rut’s treasured recipes are at the heart of our all-natural creations, and I personally design the packaging. There’s truth to the Swedish proverb, En vandring på tusen mil börjar alltid med ett steg. (A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.) My parents taught me to never give up, and it’s been wonderful to start my own business and watch it
[Treats]
à l’Ulrika
grow. Unna Bakery cookies are available in 200 shops across the U.S., and we hope to expand internationally. This summer we began baking our seventh cookie flavor, Lemon Lime, which is a friendly nod to the tradition of serving seven different cookies at kafferep, the precursor to fika. I enjoy baking with my daughters Emmy and Vera. We keep our
heritage alive by speaking and reading in Swedish, enjoying fika, celebrating Midsummer in Battery Park, and Skype-ing with family back home. We love to return to Sweden each year, and I always take along Unna Bakery cookies. As Grandma Rut would say, “Everyone deserves a treat… Unna!” (Indulge!)
Brown Butter Cookies Ingredients: • 150 g (2/3 cup) butter, room temperature • 50 g (1/4 cup) browned butter • 180 g (3/4 cup) sugar • 300 g (2½ cups) flour • 1 tbsp syrup • 1 tsp bicarbonate • 1 tbsp water • 53 g (1/2 cup) almonds • 3 g (2/3 tsp) white vinegar
Preparation – Bondkakor: Brown ¼ cup of butter. Whisk all the time until the butter turns golden brown. Cool down in a bowl immediately. Mix room temp butter with flour, sugar, syrup and bicarbonate mixed with water, vinegar, and chopped almonds. Add the browned butter. Mix quickly to a dough. Make 4 rolls 1½” in diameter. Wrap in cling film and put in freezer until frozen. Cut in 1/8” slices and bake them at 200 deg C (400 deg F) for 5-7 min or until golden. They burn easily so keep an eye on them. Makes approximately 70 cookies.
Ginger Snaps Ingredients: • 125 g (1¼ cup) almonds • 200 g (1 cup) butter • 180 g (3/4 cup) sugar • 140 g (7 tbsp) Lyle’s Golden Syrup or from Dan Sukker if you can find it • 8 g (3 tsp) ginger • 8 g (3 tsp) cinnamon • 6 g (2 tsp) cloves • 5 g (2 tsp) bicarbonate • 360 g (3¼ cups) all purpose flour
Preparation – Franska Skurna Pepparkakor: Chop the almonds coarsely. Blend together butter, sugar, syrup, spices, bicarbonate, almonds and flour. Mix quickly to a dough. Split in 2 and shape thick rolls. Wrap the rolls in cling film and put them in the freezer until frozen. Cut the rolls in thin slices and put on trays with either parchment paper or butter. Bake them at 200 deg C (400 deg F) for 10 min or until golden. Makes approximately 75 cookies.
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