Alstom launches an innovation hub for mobility in Västerås, Sweden
- Enhances electrified transportation competence in Västerås and Lake Mälaren region
- Accelerates railway and vehicle industries’ transition to an emissions-free future
October 5th, 2021 – Alstom, a global leader in sustainable mobility, broke ground on a green e-mobility innovation centre in the Lake Mälaren region. The ongoing transition to electrified transportation creates the need for additional testing capacity.
“With its geographic location, proximity to companies in the area, and ties to Mälardalen University, Västerås is the perfect place for this initiative. Additionally, Sweden is at the forefront of the ongoing green transition. Alstom has over 100 years of experience with electrified transportation and the auto industry can learn a lot from us – and vice versa. The centre is meant to serve as a hub for the exchange of ideas and a place where companies can develop and test new sustainable mobility innovations,” says Rob Whyte, MD Alstom Nordics.
Industry cross-fertilization to accelerate the green transition
The core of the new centre’s operations will be the opening of Alstom’s lab in Västerås to external parties interested in testing and developing electrical drive systems. Doing so, Alstom will help to accelerate the transition to an emission-free future through cross-industry collaboration. The climate-smart mobility innovations of the future will result from cross-fertilizations between industry, universities, and start-ups.
“Sweden is in the middle of a green transition. But the electrification of road and construction vehicles requires competence that is relatively limited in Sweden. Cross-fertilization between industries is therefore necessary to accelerate the process,” Rob Whyte explains.
The centre has already begun operations quietly prior to the official ground-breaking ceremony. Alstom has invited external users into the testing lab and started collaborating with e-mobility start-ups. Today’s ground-breaking on the new annex marks another important milestone, with the centre expected to be completed by 2023.
Alstom is a sustainable mobility pioneer
Alstom has pioneered several sustainable mobility solutions in line with the ambition to facilitate the global transition to low climate footprint transportation systems. In Sweden, the company has global development centres for drive, control, and signalling systems in Västerås and Stockholm. Among other innovations, the new energy-efficient silicon carbide-based drive system technology demonstrated in the Stockholm subway in 2018 has its origin in Västerås.
This August, Alstom’s Coradia iLint passenger train, the first in the world to be powered by hydrogen, made its Swedish debut in Östersund for 2 days. This demonstration was an innovative answer to sustainable mobility without compromise.
Alstom is the largest player on the Swedish railway market, with over 1000 trains delivered. Alstom is holding several large maintenance contracts and is offering maintenance in 18 local depots.
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