Volvo working to convert hometown into emission-free, climate-neutral city

Volvo has joined forces with its hometown Gothenburg in Sweden for the creation of new urban zones that will be used as testbeds for future sustainable technologies. The carmaker aims to achieve a target of making its hometown a climate-neutral city by 2030.

The initiative, called Gothenburg Green City Zone, aims to establish an area inside the port city that is completely emission-free along with a variety of climate-neutral transportation modes and a connected infrastructure.

This will help to Volvo to accelerate development of technologies and services in the areas of electrification, shared mobility, autonomous driving, connectivity and safety. As part of the testbed, Volvo also plans to run robotaxis within the zone, operated by its fully-owned mobility provider M.

Volvo's investment in the shared mobility service M, that has developed proprietary AI technology to improve efficiency and utilization, is in line with its goals. “Essentially, we initiate a project that intends to limit the number of cars in the city – which is fully in line with our company’s purpose," said Håkan Samuelsson, chief executive of Volvo Cars.

Other technologies to be tested in the zone include geo-enabling solutions and services ensuring that cars operate in electric-only mode and remain within speed limits, as well as traffic infrastructure that can connect to active safety features in cars and share information between road users.

Other examples include fully electric mobility hubs; a complete, easy-to-use charging network for electric cars; and autonomous taxis.

The transformation to a climate-neutral and emission-free city requires a holistic approach to foster innovation and a deep and continuous collaboration between all stakeholders.