Over the past year, the 25 members of CoAction Lund worked intensively to shape the content of the project. The participants have presented ideas on what can be done together to achieve climate neutrality and have subsequently helped shape a number of work packages within the two focus areas of sustainable transport and a robust energy system. Lund Municipality by Markus Paulsson, Charlotte Hauksson, Per Eneroth and Erika Frimanson have since merged this into a project application for a two-year project granted by Vinnova at the beginning of June 2024.

Project Manager Markus Paulsson — why have you chosen sustainable transport and energy systems as your focus areas?

- In Lund, passenger transport accounts for the majority of CO2 emissions. In order for Lund to continue to be an attractive place for residents and businesses and for us to achieve climate neutrality, we need less emissions from transport and more sustainable modes of transport. We can achieve this by collaborating and implementing common solutions in bicycle, parking, shared mobility and freight transport.

- One consequence of more sustainable transport is that we need a robust energy system. As we get more electric vehicles, the energy system is central to avoiding power shortages, and we want to try a solution with more locally produced energy that can be stored and shared locally. To make this possible, we are trying out an “internetised” energy system.

What do you think are the most effective ways to make more transport sustainable?

- All members with operations in Lund develop a green itinerary and implement at least five measures to encourage sustainable choices for employees — such as carpooling, cycling or public transport. We will also be working on how we can get more people to travel sustainably through reduced access to cheap parking. In order to reduce freight transport, we can centralize certain purchases and work on route optimization, fuel requirements, joint charging and co-loading in local collaborations.

In the project, you will test an open, robust and flexible energy system. Can you tell us more about this?

- In CoAction Lund, we plan to increase the share of locally produced and stored renewable energy. We are also working on new methods to share energy between buildings and electric cars and release electricity through flexible control. With an open and independent energy protocol for digital management of energy resources, energy can be shared easily between neighbors in energy communities. ViaEurope is one of the members and they will collaborate with other project members through an innovative energy system that will be developed and validated in the project.

There are 25 players involved, why are you so many?

- The basic theory of CoAction is that different actors, municipalities, business, civil society and researchers, are interdependent and need to work together to achieve climate goals. CoAction Lund stands out from other projects in that we are different kinds of actors working together on a large scale. Through more than 40 activities within collaboration, mobility and energy, emissions will be reduced in Lund. We gather around difficult issues such as parking and behaviour, and discuss measures for which no one is currently solely responsible. The climate impact will be greater when measures are implemented simultaneously and in a similar way. Through our operators, we reach more than 25,000 employees in Lund, and that provides a really good foundation.

The way to collaborate is then part of what is to be conveyed to other cities.

- Collaboration, digitalization and communication are important parts of the project. We hope that CoAction Lund's creative approach and methods will inspire other cities, nationally and internationally, and that our models will spread and become the “new normal”. Therefore, we will also cooperate with external actors and work on influencing authorities,” concludes Markus Paulsson.

Co Action Lund is implemented with support from Vinnova, Viable Cities and the Swedish Energy Agency and amounts to SEK 20 million in support. CoAction Lund is a system demonstrator for climate-neutral cities and shows the way for other cities in Sweden and the world.

Read more about CoAction Lund here

CoAction Lund

Project Manager: Markus Paulsson, Lund Municipality

Financier: Vinnova, Viable Cities and the Swedish Energy Agency

Project Time: 2024-06-10-2026-06-17

Project funds: 20 MSEC

Partnerschappen: Academic Hus, Alfa Laval, Axis Communications, Camurus, Coride Sweden AB, EC2B Mobility AB, Energy Opticon AB, European Spallation Source ERIC, Future by Lund, Ideon Science Park, Innovation Skåne, Kraftringen, Lunds Kommuns Fastighets AB, LKP, Lund University, Medicon Village, Modity Energy Trading AB, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Skånetrafiken, Tetra Pak, Swedish Transport Administration, Trivector Traffic, ViaEuropa, Wihlborgs Fastigheter.