GREEN AND SAFE ROAD VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS IN WEST SWEDEN SAGE DELIVERABLE 2.2

Transcription

1 GREEN AND SAFE ROAD VEHICLE TECHNOLOGY CLUSTERS IN WEST SWEDEN SAGE DELIVERABLE 2.2 FINAL VERSION 4/10/2012 Safe and Green Road Vehicles Europe

2 Main and corresponding author: Hans Fogelberg, Region Västra Götaland With: Michael Balthasar, AB Volvo Hanna Blomdahl, Region Västra Götaland Peter Eriksson, Chalmers University of Technology Ann-Sofi Karlsson, AB Volvo Else-Marie Malmek, Chalmers University of Technology 1

3 Executive Summary Page 4 1. Introduction Page The SAGE project and the context of this report 1.2 Aim and scope of the study 1.3 Conceptual framework 1.4 Methodology 2. Background information on the cluster Page Regional environment 2.2 The national R&D system (in regional perspective) The Swedish system Regional impact of national R&D system Regional response 3. Ecosystem of the cluster Page National public administration (including policy and funding for the automotive sector) VINNOVA and the Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation Programme (FFI) The Swedish Energy Agency The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth Fouriertransform The Swedish Transport Administration National Forum for Innovation in Transport Sector 3.2 Regional and local public administration (including policy and funding for the automotive sector) Region Västra Götaland Four subregional organisations of municipalities Business Region Göteborg City of Gothenburg 3.3 The regional automotive sector 3.4 Vehicle industry OEM AB Volvo Volvo Cars Corporation (VCC) Saab Automobile (terminated in 2011) 3.5 Suppliers Autoliv Sweden AB Vicura AB Mecel VBG Truck Equipment AB 3.6 Consultants Consat Sustainable Energy Systems AB Epsilon HiQ Semcon Mutual Benefits AB QRTECH 3.7 Small- and medium-sized enterprises (SME) SME in Electromobility SME in Transport Efficiency SME in Biofuels Other 3.8 Universities and institutes research and education Technical university - Chalmers University of Technology The major general university in the region University of Gothenburg Other universities and university colleges in the region 2

4 3.8.4 The Technical Research Institute of Sweden (SP) Viktoria Institute The Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) SWEREA 3.9 Professional and lobby organisations BIL Sweden (Swedish vehicle industry lobby organisation) FKG (Swedish vehicle component supplier organisation) Hydrogen Sweden (Vätgas Sverige) Energy Technology Center for Batteries and Fuel Cells (Energiteknikcentrum) 4. Cluster initiatives Technology focus, competence profile Page 53 and organisational aspects 4.1 Green cluster initiatives Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Transportation Fuels (f3) Combustion Engine Research Centre (CERC) Competence Centre for Catalysis (KCK) Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC) CLOSER Cluster for transport efficiency FFI Green vehicles programme areas Commonalities in membership Views of interviewed actors on green cluster focus, competence and organisation 4.2 Safety cluster initiatives SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre AstaZero Active Safety Test Area FFI Safety programme areas Commonalities in membership Views of interviewed actors on safety cluster focus, competence and organisation 4.3 General cluster initiatives - collaboration platforms/organisations that have a focus on green and safe vehicle technology Innovatum Technology Park Lindholmen Science Park Test Site Sweden BRG - Business Region Göteborg Automotive Sweden Commonalities in membership Views of interviewed actors on cluster focus, competence and organisation 4.4 Conclusions of the cluster analysis 5. Implications for a regional policy for green and safe road vehicles Page Previous policy-oriented SWOT analysis 5.2 The distributed character of cluster initiatives 5.3 Tentative SWOT Annex A List of people interviewed Annex B Interview template Annex C Stakeholder list Annex D List of collaborative projects on safe and green road vehicles with at least one stakeholder from West Sweden 3

5 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The study This report describes the regional automotive cluster with a particular focus on mapping the actors and describing cluster initiatives and competences in the area of safe and green road vehicles. The report is conducted within the project SAGE safe and green road vehicles, which is a knowledge regions project with several European partners. The project is also part of a broader context and previous strategy work among actors in the region. The topic of management of collaborative initiatives has been on the agenda of discussions between industry, science parks and the regional authority. A recent regional mobilisation towards challenge-driven innovation that was initiated by a call from the national agency, National Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA), led to the formation of two cluster agent groups in which many stakeholders mobilised, one for goods transport and one for mobility. The preparation of a possible Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KIC) call in the European system for transportation provides a relevant context in which several actors have already negotiated research roles. Finally, the large national sectorial R&D programme in the automotive sector contains several groups that have conducted strategy work in this area. The SAGE report, which aims to contribute to these discussions, is based on cluster analysis and an innovation systems analysis methodology. It maps regional assets in the form of organisations and infrastructure for innovation in these areas, and it defines and analyses the collaboration between actors that fulfil certain key functions of a cluster initiative. The mapping is not conclusive. It first relies on a mapping of the obvious organisations in the region and second on organisations that interviewees highlighted during the study. Actual data collection was through desktop analysis and communication with organisations. A short characterisation is given of each organisation s history and activity in the area of green and safe vehicles. Admittedly, that overview is incomplete and partly limited by the available data and the available timeframe for this study. Interviewees were primarily chosen not as representatives for their organisations but for their ability to comment on regional development issues in a broader sense. Room exists for a more detailed cluster analysis that goes deeper into each technical field, as represented by the cluster initiatives listed in this report. Background of the regional cluster The regional cluster analysis is put into a national context. A large share of the Swedish automotive industry is located in the region of Västra Götaland, whereas national research policy and major innovation funding agencies originate from a national context. Hence, to understand the characteristics of regional research-driven clusters, one must also understand the national system that is relevant to safe and green road vehicle development. The stategoverned system for a publicly funded R&D system and the large vehicle OEM industry have primary roles in advanced technical research and knowledge-intensive development in the region. Strategic regional cluster development discussions in technical areas and among OEMs have occurred as governance processes with close links to the national system. More than 50 percent of Swedish R&D funding likely ends up in or passes through the automotive industry in the region. The region has the largest general export share in Sweden and is considered a research-intensive region. Private research is highly concentrated in a few large firms, and is represented in the vehicle sector by large OEMs. A strong concentration of these research activities also exists in the region within the local industry and through universities 4

6 in the Gothenburg area. However, research-driven or research-intensive suppliers and SMEs are few in number and are mostly small (lack of medium-sized businesses and higher-tier suppliers in the ecosystem). Local actors have promoted biogas and project development for the greening of the transport industry (primarily not research-based projects). The regional level of innovation management has primarily aimed to initiate and support innovation milieus and platforms for cluster development by using a network of existing constellations of actors. Ecosystem of the cluster The ecosystem section in this report provides a listing of actual and potential stakeholders, categorised as public, OEM, suppliers, consultants, SMEs, lobby, university and institute organisations. The list also provides, as best as possible, information on competence, capacity and role. The public actors that promote advanced technical research are national agencies (national support of advanced competence ), primarily VINNOVA and the Energy Agency. Regional and local public actors primarily support the organising of public private collaboration and co-fund parts of the R&D spectrum for which further technology development and implementation require that testing is conducted in real-world situations. The latter often demands broad collaborations between actors (consisting of regional/local support of collaboration projects and innovation platforms that support cluster initiative development). Primary regional and local funding actors include Region Västra Götaland and Business Region Gothenburg. The divide in the Swedish automotive sector between large, R&D-intensive OEMs and lower tier suppliers is also visible in the area of future technology for green and safe road vehicles (but perhaps less so in the safety area because of the presence of Autoliv). The large OEMs are Volvo Cars Corporations and organisations within AB Volvo, such as Volvo Buses Corporation, Volvo Group Trucks and Advanced Technology & Research (within Trucks). The elements of the supply chain ecosystem described were selected for their roles as research and/or development intensive organisations that focus on green or safe technology development. Several existing engineering consultancy firms have development engineering competences in the studied areas, and new firms will likely develop in this area. The listed SMEs primarily consist of small firms within emerging ecosystems for e-mobility, biofuels and transport efficiency. (Please note that a more detailed study of a specific knowledge area within green and safe will lead to more organisations being listed and analysed, which was not within the scope of the present study.) Both major academic institutions in the region and the institute sector have clear imprints from the fact that they exist in a region with a history of automotive research, development and manufacturing. In particular, university colleges and large universities are local in the sense that many students are from the region and stay to work in the region after their education. The vehicle or transport industry is one such sector. The research universities, primarily the technical university Chalmers, host research centres for hybrid technology, alternative fuels, combustion and catalysis, and take on certain cluster initiative roles. The Research Institute of Sweden, SP, has testing facilities for vehicle technology and is active in the development of biofuels. 5

7 Competences and organisation Mapping the actual (not stated) competences and capacities of actors was the most difficult task from a cluster analysis perspective. In this report, some data were provided for each organisation that may indicate its capacity and competence as part of a cluster (this information is found in several chapters and in the stakeholder list in the appendix). Primarily, the data represent an indication of capacity and competence based on the organisational and economic size of the organisation, and on the historical track record of that organisation in a particular technology area. Indeed, the data merely represent a proxy of capacity and competence and must be related to a context to make sense. That context is largely not regional but rather national or specific to a technology sector (in other words, not confined to regional or national boundaries). Using only absolute numbers to measure the competitiveness of an organisation or the stakeholders of a regional cluster cannot explain, for example, why a nation such as Sweden is strong in the heavy vehicle segment. That said, not everything is possible for a small nation or a region within a small nation, and development strategies need to be refined to account for both long-term technology options and mediumterm industrial priorities. However, the organisational conclusions drawn from the study are somewhat more (methodologically) solid. The following are several tentative conclusions. 1. Many different cluster initiatives exist that occur in parallel, which is a result of how the European, national, regional and local public research and innovation funding actors manage innovation and how local actor networks use different funding options. This situation has created a highly distributed system of different cluster initiatives. One effect is that the roles of cluster agents and strategic cluster management have become polycentric. They are only loosely coordinated on an ad hoc basis and often depend on personal contacts. 2. Clusters initiatives within a specific field that are too numerous or too small, or are unclearly or weakly coordinated in-between, are not likely to affect the actual cluster in a manageable or foreseeable way. 3. Currently, many candidates exist in the public system that all assume a broader coordination and management role. However, not all candidates can have this role simultaneously and effectively, and legitimacy for this wider role is still an open issue. This area represents homework for local, regional and national authorities. Public private constellations likely remain an attractive option for the cluster management role/function. The problem is to agree on suitable locations in the system (for example, platforms, development milieus and forum groups). 4. Although clusters and cluster initiatives operate in a seemingly uncoordinated manner, several real organising functions are at work that this report describes in detail. These functions are located at various and highly specialised positions in the overall cluster, within each cluster initiative, within board functions of R&D programmes or within stakeholder forum groups. Therefore, a de facto coordination function exists in technical speciality fields; however, as one moves up to higher-level cluster definitions and broader organising ambitions (say, from battery research cluster to e-mobility cluster or from e-mobility cluster to green cluster ), the coordination function weakens dramatically. 5. Commonalities between the different cluster initiatives exist. A limited number of actors tend to be partners and reappear in all or at least many of the different regional cluster initiatives, opening up the possibility of developing a meta-management 6

8 function in the regional cluster. A group of people from major organisations may potentially have such a function. Policy questions and implications This mapping is only a first step. Additional details on each technology-specific field may be needed to understand its real competences and capacities. This report provides some indications; however, from that perspective, losing an OEM is clearly a disaster. The activities and relative size of the research in the region are based on the fact that OEMs exist that are considered important to the nation, which is why Sweden funds R&D in this area. A changing industrial landscape will most probably reduce R&D in all parts of the system, affecting universities, institutes, SMEs and other relevant entities. The following possibilities may be considered. A regional meta cluster initiative group may be developed with the aim to coordinate other cluster initiatives. This function will likely not be effective at the uppermost level of cluster definition because it becomes too abstract to stakeholders. However, such a function still needs to be developed at a somewhat higher level than is currently the case. This development involves setting up or further developing a kind of clearing house function that can safeguard a minimal degree of coordination and integration between actors and cluster initiatives. The regional cluster initiatives need substantial coordination between public organisations at different levels. Regional and national agendas have to be linked in new ways. 7

9 1. INTRODUCTION 1.1 The SAGE project and the context of this report SAGE (Safe and Green road vehicles) is a project under the European Regions of Knowledge programme framework. The purpose of the regional Swedish SAGE subproject is to describe and analyse the regional cluster initiatives and the automotive cluster of West Sweden with respect to two areas of competence related to road vehicles: safe and green. The areas of green and safe are approached as two knowledge-intensive thematic clusters within each regional automotive industry sector. The results from this report provide input into a subsequent analysis of regional strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (SWOT) and, finally, the development of a common SAGE joint action plan and business development plan. 1.2 Aim and scope of the study Regional analysis of the status and prospects for safe and green road vehicle technology in West Sweden was carried out between December 2011 and June 2012 by a group of six individuals representing industry, academia and the regional government under the auspices of a steering group. The report has two purposes. First, it aims to provide common solid ground on which regional actors may discuss cluster initiatives and future prospects for the automotive cluster with respect to the two competence areas. The ambition is to provide a more detailed and complete picture of the regional competences and capacity than was previously the case in studies of West Sweden or the Swedish vehicle industry. The second aim of the report is to provide detailed information on the regional and Swedish system to enable a comparison with cluster analysis of other regions and nations. In particular, the report describes how regional actors and initiatives act as coordinators of important parts of the overall Swedish automotive cluster. 1.3 Conceptual framework The present study uses the concept of cluster to describe a regional and sectorial (technology specific) innovation system and its change agents. The literature makes an important distinction between (evolutionary) clusters, which are historical results representing industrial and academic proximity and interaction, and (constructed) cluster initiatives, which are arrangements between a group of actors that aims to either create a new cluster or change the development path of an existing cluster. 1 A cluster initiative is an organised ongoing effort in a region that involves geographical proximity, capability of self-evaluation, communication between actors and a degree of governance and concerted action between actors. The studied initiatives usually consist of the three triple-helix groups: industry, government and academia. A cluster initiative can be initiated by any of the triple-helix partners or jointly between partners. A public programme, private funds or membership fees may fund the organisation of the cluster initiative. The aim of the cluster concept is to identify a particular organising activity and function in the innovation system (sometimes conducted by a formal cluster organisation but not in the case of West Sweden). The primary qualifier to 1 Sölvell, Ö (2009) Clusters. Balancing Evolutionary and Constructive Forces. Stockholm: Ivory Tower Publishers; Sölvell, Ö., Lindqvist, G., and C. Ketels (2003) The Cluster Initiative Greenbook. 8

10 determine a cluster initiative is that it is an ongoing organising activity that represents a historic cluster with respect to the competence areas of green and safe road vehicles. A cluster initiative can, but need not, have an organisational form and be a formal cluster organisation. Cluster initiatives are typically initiated publicly and are funded policies for research, innovation and collaboration in dedicated technology areas, or are funded as a project, programme or in other ways. However, the resource base of a cluster initiative may vary and the cluster concept does not prescribe any particular form for this variance. A cluster organisation is a dedicated organisational form that drives or promotes the cluster initiative. Both represent a small (but sometimes crucial) part of the real cluster, with which the initiative and organisation aims to interact. 1.4 Methodology Whereas the European region of knowledge framework and SAGE is not a scientific innovation studies project in the sense of relying on a firm scientific approach, the SAGE project and this report rely on methodologies commonly used in the field of innovation studies. Four different data collection and analysis activities were used to produce this report. The first methodology was a desktop analysis of prior studies and reports, which included major studies on the Swedish automotive sector that were produced in the region or by national agencies. The second methodology was quantitative analysis of the automotive sector through the analysis section at Region Västra Götaland jointly with the analysis department of the National Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA). This analysis was based on data from Statistics Sweden (SCB). The statistical analysis that concerns academic competence was formulated in collaboration with the Transport Area of Advance at Chalmers University of Technology. Third, 16 semi-structured interviews were conducted with a selected group of 19 key actors using an interview template (see Annex B). The regional SAGE-member group conducted the interviews, which were typically one to one-and-a-half hours long and were recorded or logged by taking notes. Fourth and finally, a stakeholder workshop was conducted with the aim to discuss regional cluster initiatives and governance issues. 9

11 2. BACKGROUND INFORMATION 2.1 Regional environment Figure 1: The region of Västra Götaland The regional territory of Västra Götaland is a 24,000 km 2 geographical area situated on the Swedish west coast. Its 1.6 million inhabitants are distributed over 49 municipalities, with a strong concentration in the Gothenburg area that, together with nearby municipalities, represents a population of more than one million people. Gothenburg and vicinity host the majority of the industrial activity in the region, especially in R&D-intensive industrial sectors. The three largest cities in Sweden, Stockholm on the east coast, Gothenburg in the west, and Malmö in the south, represent with their respective regional environments about half of the total Swedish population and national GDP. 2 Comparably, West Sweden is an active region with a larger gross regional product (GRP) per inhabitant than the European average, and the region ranks number 34 among 300 European regions. Industry in the region relies heavily on exports. Västra Götaland has the largest export share of all Swedish regions (also see subsequent sections), representing a total value in 2010 of SEK 248 billion. The region benefits from a long history of industrial activity and 2 Region Västra Götaland Utbildnings- och arbetsmarknadsprognos för Västra Götaland med sikte på Report No 2011:4. 10

12 international trade and attracts approximately 25 percent of total industrial investment in Sweden. Internationalisation of the regional industry is a strong trend and the economy relies heavily on exports and foreign ownership of businesses. International ownership currently accounts for 24 percent of all employment in the region. Many small businesses operate in the region. Approximately half of the employees in the region work in businesses with less than 50 employees. However, the number of mediumsized businesses is limited, similar to the general pattern in Sweden. The small businesses that exist rarely grow to become medium-sized enterprises. The other side of the equation is that a few very large enterprises are the primary engines in the regional economy, either directly or indirectly through the economy they generate in subsectors or in the public services and utility sector. With respect to the R&D landscape, this industrial mix creates a divide between two very different cohorts: a small number of large, R&D-intensive enterprises that have access to research-educated people and a large number of very small businesses with low educational levels and little or no R&D activity. Of course, a number of research-based spinoff firms exist; however, they usually employ only a few people and, in many cases, have research and development as their main market (for example, scientific instrumentation). By 2005, the largest R&D intensive firms in the region accounted for 92 percent of all private R&D funding in the region. A large portion of this R&D investment and activity is related to the vehicle industry of the region (another R&D concentration is with AstraZeneca and biomedicine, and the third is in ICT linked to Ericsson). By 2010, the share of inhabitants with a post-secondary education was 32 percent (the European average is 25 percent). However, approximately 60 European regions (many of which are regions with a capital city) have citizens with a higher level of post-secondary education compared with the region of Västra Götaland. The higher education system in the region accounts for 53,000 full-time equivalent students that study at two universities and four university colleges, representing more than 100,000 active students. Approximately 2700 research education students exist, representing 16 percent of the total national PhD education system. The two largest universities in the region are located in Gothenburg and account for the majority of the students and research education in Västra Götaland. 3 In terms of economic turnover, the two universities in Gothenburg account for 85 percent of the total economic turnover in the academic sector in the region. 4 The public awareness of this situation is widespread. Citizens in the Västra Götaland view the region s higher education and research, together with the automotive sector, as most important The national R&D system (in a regional perspective) The Swedish system 3 VGR, Fakta om Västra Götaland. VGR, Fakta & Analys 2011:2 En kortrapport från regionutvecklingssekretariatet. VGR, Forskning och utveckling - inom Västra Götalands näringsliv. Report on growth and development, No 2007:06. 4 Nilsson L and L. Weibull Regional utveckling i Västra Götaland Högre utbildning och forskning. In L. Nilsson (ed) En Region blir till. Västra Götalandsregionen Göteborgs Universitet: Göteborg, p Nilsson L and L. Weibull Regional utveckling i Västra Götaland Högre utbildning och forskning. In L. Nilsson (ed) En Region blir till. Västra Götalandsregionen Göteborgs Universitet: Göteborg. 11

13 Similar to other nations systems, the Swedish R&D system is primarily a policy construct of post-wwii development, during which nations developed larger and explicit R&D policy systems. The institutional and historic differences between different national research systems that have developed during more than six decades are profound. The prospect of creating smart specialisation at the European level through a strategic combination of regional R&D that aims to bring together vehicle technology capability from different national R&D systems will depend on the ability to understand these differences. The Swedish R&D landscape is shaped by several historical specificities. Not participating in two wars put the country in a position to develop its economy during the strong growth that took place in the post-war period from the early 1950s. Military non-alliance politics during the cold war era created a need for a strong domestic R&D and military technology sector. Sweden developed and produced submarines, fighters, tanks, weapon systems and advanced information systems. This activity was also indirectly responsible for the comparably large amount of R&D funding in several civil advanced technology sectors, in particular computer sciences and material sciences. Scientific instrumentation and laboratories have been a priority. For example, Sweden has three large materials research laboratories. MC2 in Gothenburg on the Chalmers University of Technology campus is claimed to be one of the largest academic clean room facilities of its kind. Another important historical characteristic in the Swedish system is the strong reliance of the Swedish economy on comparably few large industrial sectors and companies, several of which were already operating in the late 19 th century. These large industry sectors were developed in a double helix and co-development mode and through the relationship between the state and industry. This development was by no means unique, but it may have been particularly strong in the case of Sweden. In several cases, this development created a subsequent platform on which industries later become global players in their respective sectors, with examples such as ABB, Ericsson, Volvo and Astra. The Swedish academic R&D system evolved according to the logic of being a knowledge provider for this industry. The R&D system served the needs of a large and increasingly globalised Swedish industry (the vehicle industry being a case in point). Therefore, the role of universities in the Swedish system is different from that of several other countries, which have a larger and more developed institute sector. In Sweden, the institute sector is relatively small and large industrial partners have collaborated directly with research groups within universities in many research-intensive areas. The national research policy that emerged was adjusted and became responsive to the needs of the large industry. This R&D system, and the significant level of public funding on which it relied (see below), evolved to become a specificity of the Swedish system. Research within technical universities became intrinsically embedded with industrial development, and the role of intermediary institutions was for a long period relatively small. These specifics have an effect on both the actual cluster and how cluster initiatives are formed and operate in the Swedish system. This topic is further developed in chapter Regional impact of national R&D system For the historical reasons previously mentioned, Sweden developed a comparably R&Dintensive system. In Sweden, the share of R&D in relation to GDP was large, at 3.59 percent 12

14 in 2009, which made Sweden second in the world in terms of R&D spending per capita (the average in EU-27 was 1.92 and 2.3 in the OECD). A strong geographic concentration of R&D activity exists in Sweden in the three regions with the largest cities: Stockholm, Gothenburg and Malmö. Approximately 70 percent of all private and public R&D occur in these geographical regions (SEK 78 billion out of a total SEK 112 billion). R&D activities in Västra Götaland approximate SEK 24 billion, or 22 percent. Total Swedish R&D in the vehicle industry is estimated at SEK 16 billion; however, precise data on the regional share of vehicle industry R&D spending are lacking. Industry and universities are the primary R&D actors, at SEK 79 and SEK 27 billion, respectively. R&D within government agencies is small. R&D conducted in-house by national authorities and agencies account for less than SEK 3 billion, and at the regional or municipality level only approximately SEK 2 billion are spent on R&D. 6 Therefore, the state-governed system for publicly funded R&D and industry play a primary role in publicly funded technical research and knowledge-intensive development in the region. Strategic cluster development discussions in technical areas and among the OEMs traditionally occur as governance processes within the national system. In many cases, new research programmes are created as a result of such discussions, and subsequent programme board structures and project member constellations are seen as expressions of the primary interests in different technology areas that govern (cluster) initiatives. With the implementation of a regional authority level in several regions in the Swedish system, and through strengthening of regional development through the European system, governance of clusters has become a primary topic for the regional network of actors Regional response Thus, regional authorities, such as Region Västra Götaland, play a comparably small role in research funding in technical areas compared with nations in which regional funds account for a larger share of the R&D funding portfolio. Fundamental research, applied research and research-intensive development are usually not part of the policy portfolio of regional authorities development initiatives. Universities and industry in collaboration primarily conduct research activities that are mostly funded using national or European funds (and inkind resources from industry). However, and as described in subsequent sections, the regional level has become important in the development of cluster initiatives and in supporting collaborative project activities within these cluster initiatives, which are activities primarily oriented towards development, testing and demonstration. More recently, regional public actors have begun to discuss actual implementation, through innovation-driving procurement and by using the local setting as a living lab for sustainable transport solutions. These initiatives are activities that require a wider range of collaborators than the primary industrialacademic axis, and they rely on negotiations between several private and public actors. With respect to the regional automotive industry, the term R&D often means advanced engineering and development rather than research in an industrial laboratory, whereas for a university it is often the other way around. For universities, R&D means primarily academic research activity. The balance between research and development naturally varies between industry sectors. The majority of academic technical research in Sweden is within the so- 6 Statistics Sweden Research and experimental development in Sweden 2009 An overview. Swedish national statistics, UF 16 SM

15 called mode-2 type of research, indicating that research is conducted in the context of industrial application and is directly or indirectly linked to industrially relevant knowledge areas. 7 This research is typically applied research and occasionally advanced engineering in collaboration with industrial partners. Hence, the role of universities in total R&D activity in the national research system is comparably large, which is also the case for regional research in the automotive sector. National R&D agencies carry out the major public research policy and funding function for technical R&D in Sweden. Moreover, because the vehicle industry is concentrated in Västra Götaland, national policy in this area automatically becomes a major part of the circumstances for the regional R&D system and the regional cluster for technological competence. The development, testing and demonstration done outside the automotive engineering laboratory face a similar situation and, therefore, require wider constellations of actors that need to collaborate. The regional level is by no means the only level for regional cluster initiatives and governance. The development of national level support is aimed at stimulating partnerships and occurs in the regional cluster. Similarly, the European system also supports regional cluster development. Both support structures overlap with regional support and the cluster governance role, indicating that different actor groups attempt to build a cluster shop around a system of rather uncoordinated support structures. Often, one level of support helps initiate new cluster development; however, it is unfaithful in the long run (the end of the programme) and the responsibility to further the life of emerging clusters ends up in other parts of the system. 7 Gibbons et al The new production of knowledge. The dynamics of science and research in contemporary societies. London: SAGE Publications. 14

16 3. THE CLUSTER ECOSYSTEM This chapter maps the actors already integrated into the regional automotive cluster(s), primarily SMEs that may be potentially integrated into cluster(s). The chapter is organised according to the triple-helix type of actor: government, academia and industry. Chapter 4 describes the different cluster initiatives as actors. 3.1 National public administration (including policy and funding for the automotive sector) VINNOVA and the Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation Programme (FFI) Currently, the primary national policy actor in areas relevant to sustainable and safe vehicle technology is the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA). VINNOVA was established in 2001 under the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications. Approximately 200 people work at VINNOVA s offices in Stockholm and Brussels. The aim of the agency is to increase the competitiveness of Swedish researchers and companies and promote sustainable growth by funding needs-driven research and the development of effective innovation systems. The annual project budget is 220 million. An important task for VINNOVA is to increase cooperation between companies, universities, research institutes and other organisations in the Swedish innovation system. Activities towards this end include investment in strong research and innovation milieus, investment in projects to increase commercialisation of research results and the creation of catalytic meeting places in the form of conferences and seminars. VINNOVA is the national contact agency for the EU Framework Programme for R&D. Currently, VINNOVA hosts the secretariat for one of only two national sectorial R&D programmes in Sweden, one for road vehicles and the other in aerospace (the government changed its policy from sectorial R&D programmes to strategic R&D programmes in all but these two sectors). The vehicle sector programme is so large that it plays the role of a sectorial agency in the Swedish system, even though it is formally a programme linked to VINNOVA. This role was developed under the national Programme Board for Vehicle Research (PFF) that governed the national road Vehicle Research Programme (FFP), now termed Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation (FFI). These structures were developed based on funding the primary function for vehicle-related R&D in Sweden. Vehicle-related research is also funded by the national Swedish Energy Agency, which cofunds FFI and funds several programmes for demonstration and implementation. Partners in FFI during startup year 2009 were: National Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation Systems (VINNOVA) National Road Administration (Vägverket) AB Volvo Scania CV AB Volvo Cars AB Swedish Automotive Suppliers Group (FKG Fordonskomponentgruppen) Saab Automobile AB 15

17 Public private partnerships became a new policy for vehicle research in Sweden from the late 1990s. The vehicle research programmes focused on different areas of research between 1994 and 2008, including PhD education, public private partnership development projects, aftertreatment and ITS and vehicle ICT. From 2009, vehicle R&D in Sweden concentrated on a single overarching programme structure (FFI) that has subthemes corresponding to the previous programmes. The FFI programme currently has an on-going structure and effort in the Swedish system. Table 1. National automotive public private R&D programmes. 8 Period Programme theme Public/private funding EUR million Vehicle Research Programme (FFP) 51/ Green Car Programme (Gröna Bilen) 85/ Emissions Research Programme (EMFO) 14/ Intelligent Vehicle Safety Systems (IVSS) 28/ Vehicle ICT (V-ICT) 13/ Production Programme (MERA) 31/ Programme for Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation (FFI) 180/180 The Green Car Programme set the scene for a new policy in automotive R&D: public private partnerships, greater public funds, industry control and practical technology focus. The automotive cluster analysis done in the late 1990s prepared for the Swedish government s new focus on public private partnerships in vehicle R&D. The strong areas that the study emphasised were safety systems, powertrain technology (including engines) and interiors. Considering the geographical location of many OEMs, this analysis applies also to the view of the regional strength of the automotive cluster in the late 1990s. Table 2. Competence in the Swedish automotive sector by segment in the late 1990s 9 Segment R&D competence Manuf. Sales competence Total competence competence Surface treatment Brakes Tools Engineering Plastic components After market Other components Wheels/Tyres Raw material Electronics Sheet metal proc Body/Exterior Powertrain Safety Systems Seats Interior Chassis This table is adopted from Pohl. H. (2012) Evaluating governmental support to automotive research and development (R&D): a Swedish case. Int. J. Automotive Technology Management 12(1): 1 21, page Table is adopted from the preparatory report for the Green Car Programme: Arthur D Little AB (1999) Development through environment. Report to the Ministry of the Environment and the Ministry of Trade and Industry, January 29, Produced by Arthur D Little AB, Report No

18 Volvo Olofström Total very high, 3. high, 2. medium, 1. low A Green Car Programme was agreed to in 1999 between the state and the major vehicle manufacturing OEMs (two car manufacturers and two heavy vehicle manufacturers). Three of these vehicle producers were based in Västra Götaland and, whereas actual R&D was distributed over other regions and Swedish universities, a significant share of competence generation from the programme occurred in the region. The emphasis on powertrain was pursued and implemented in the Green Car Programme, phase 1 ( ), which had a very strong focus on internal combustion engine technology. The priorities of industry during this period did not include a strong focus on electric and hybrid electric vehicle technology; therefore, neither did the Green Car Programme. Public funding in the first phase of the programme was cash from the state at a level of MSEK 500, representing an overall share of 27.5 percent of the total programme budget of MSEK (industry share was primarily in-kind), making this the single largest R&D programme ever in this sector in the Swedish context. The programme also represents the shift in Swedish policy in the automotive sector. Public private partnership and co-funding started to become a norm in Swedish vehicle technology R&D and this mode currently represents approximately 95 percent of all publicly co-funded R&D in this sector (see Figure 2 below). 10 Figure 2. Development of public private partnership in the national portfolio Only the vehicle industry could apply for project funding in this programme. A board of representatives from industry and national government agencies manage decisions regarding funding. Advanced internal combustion concepts and, in particular, the homogeneous combustion diesel engine R&D, account for more than half of the total R&D effort in this programme in its first phase, whereas, for example, fuel cell and hybrid electric vehicle technology represented only 5 percent of the conducted R&D. 11 This percent changed over 10 This figure is used with permission from innovation analyst Hans Pohl. The figure is similar to a published version in Pohl. H. (2012) Evaluating governmental support to automotive research and development (R&D): A Swedish case. Int. J. Automotive Technology Management 12(1): 1 21, p Avtal om Samverkansprogram mellan staten och fordonstillverkarna kring utveckling av mer miljöanpassade fordon. VINNOVA document dated

19 time and the funding of powertrain technology has a break-even point where electric and hybrid electric R&D becomes larger than R&D in conventional powertrain technology. Public funding of vehicle R&D is small in absolute numbers in comparison to the R&D budget of vehicle manufacturers. However, considering that less than 10 percent of the OEM company budget for R&D counts as long-term R&D and knowledge accumulation, the programme is still regarded as considerable support to the Swedish industry in this sector. Because of the regional clustering of the automotive industry within Västra Götaland, a strong regional bias of programme activities exists. Mid-term evaluation of the Green Car Programme showed that approximately 63 percent of the total programme budget was allocated to regional partners in Västra Götaland. 12 The second phase of the Green Car Programme was later followed by the present Strategic Research and Innovation Programme (FFI). The thematic distribution in project funding is that 67 percent is for climate and environment and 33 percent is allocated for safety. 13 The regional bias in FFI is that 65 percent of the budget was granted to projects led by stakeholders in West Sweden. In the area of energy and environment, this number is approximately 71 percent and in the area of safety, the figure is 78 percent. When looking at beneficiaries (and not projects), statistics show that 42 percent of FFI funding was allocated to stakeholders in West Sweden. 14 The new FFI consists of the following areas (see below). Each thematic area has its own governing board that decides what is to be funded under FFI. The thematic FFI board structure also functions as a new locus for strategic analysis and discussions within the Swedish automotive cluster. The different programme area groups agree on future goals, conduct studies and develop strategic roadmaps for how the industry should achieve these goals. Table 3. National Programme for Strategic Vehicle Research and Innovation (FFI) Area Theme (relevance) Main funding agency Energy & Environment (including Electromobility) Green (primary) Energy Agency Vehicle R&D Safety/green (indirect) VINNOVA Production Technology Green (indirect) VINNOVA Vehicle Safety and Traffic safety Safety (primary) Road Administration Transport Efficiency Green (primary) VINNOVA This concentration created an effective analytical centre in the Swedish cluster with respect to vehicle technology research (FFI is vehicle-focused). However, the effect of technology actors views is parallel with a decreased emphasis on social studies policies, socio-technical analysis and systemic approaches for topics concerning transport research and innovation, which decreased over time (see, for example, safety research). At the same time that politicians and policy promote innovation, innovation research and increased knowledge about innovation is not promoted. This lack of promotion is a defect of the system that will, in 12 Mid-term evaluation of the first period of the Green Car Programme, in Persson, G.A., Fogelberg, H., Holmelius, K., Persson, J.C., and Olle Åslander (2003) Samverkansprogram mellan staten och fordonstillverkarna kring utveckling av mer miljöanpassade fordon. Utvärdering våren Vinnova-Report. The relative share of 63 percent is an estimate based on a list of project leaders in the project portfolio list of the Green Car Programme. 13 FFI programme stakeholder contract (VINNOVA Dnr ). 14 Please note that the numbers in this paragraph are approximations, estimates and calculations made from official statistics from VINNOVA and the Energy Agency. Energy and Environment is not included in the 42 percent because data on beneficiary level are not available. 18

20 the long run, have a negative effect on the knowledge base of cluster initiatives and cluster organisations. Figure 3. Safety projects financed by Swedish transport research agencies, 1974 and Industry oriented/tech Society/planning oriented Road user oriented 0 TFD TFB/KFB VINNOVA PFF The Swedish Energy Agency (Energimyndigheten) The Swedish Energy Agency operates in various sectors of society to create conditions for efficient and sustainable energy use and a cost-effective Swedish energy supply. The Swedish Energy Agency is supporting long-term research and development that focuses on the production of motor fuels from renewable sources and more efficient vehicle engines that run on alternative fuels. The current activities in the area of safe and green vehicle technology are structured by the numerous programme activities. Demonstration of electric vehicles is a programme operating from 2011 to 2015 on a budget of SEK 200 million. The objective is to identify and overcome barriers towards a large-scale introduction of electric vehicles in the Swedish market. The main focus has been on Swedish markets and not on leveraging Swedish development for external markets. The user perspective is in focus and information sharing is a key element. The programme, Energy efficient road vehicles, operates from 2011 to 2014 on a budget of SEK 80 million. The funds are reserved for academic research in three areas: electric and hybrid vehicles, efficient combustion engines for both fossil and renewable fuels and aerodynamic, light-weight material and other technologies developed to minimise the energy use of the vehicle. A similar programme ran between 2007 and Chalmers Technical University received funding for 11 projects under this programme. Together with a few additional projects from the Volvo Group and ETC, the share of funding from this programme to the Western Sweden automotive cluster amounted to a bit more than 50 percent. The programme Energy efficiency in transport: research and demonstration, operating from 2010 to 2013 on a budget of SEK 70 million, is divided into two subprogrammes, one for research projects and the other for demonstrations, technology procurement and market introduction of methods, products or services for energy efficiency in the transport sector. Both passenger and goods are included. The alternative fuels programme, Processes in ethanol production, operates from 2011 to 2015 on a budget of SEK 130 million. This programme aims to build knowledge and competence in regards to cellulose-based ethanol production to develop technology that can be deployed. A similar programme operated between 2007 and Figure adopted from VINNOVA Effects of Swedish traffic safety research VINNOVA Report VA 2007:10, p

21 3.1.3 The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket) The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth (Tillväxtverket) is part of the national government s system for regional development, which both complements and overlaps with the responsibility of the regional government for regional development. This agency has 11 regional offices and approximately 300 employees, and its aim is to strengthen regional development and facilitate enterprise and entrepreneurship in Sweden. One regional office is located in Västra Götaland. The entity s overall objectives are to increase the number of companies in the area of sustainable growth, enhance regional development and make it easier to set up and operate small businesses. In 2006, the Swedish Government commissioned the Agency to implement a development programme addressing the supply chain companies in the automotive industry. The programme, which ends in 2013, has a total budget of SEK 121 million. The objective of the programme is to strengthen the competitiveness and market position of the automotive suppliers. Companies can apply for support on their own or in collaboration with others. The programme is divided into the three subthemes of product development, internationalisation and strategic development. A number of green projects are found within the subthemes of product development and strategic development. Electromobility is a reoccurring topic in several of the projects. By late 2011, a total of SEK 108 million was distributed to different projects. Ten percent was allocated directly to suppliers in Western Sweden and 40 percent went to projects that involved suppliers from Western Sweden Fouriertransform national venture capital organisation for the Swedish automotive cluster Fouriertransform is the state-owned venture capital company for the development of the Swedish automotive cluster s commercial competitiveness. Through a decision passed by the Swedish Parliament in 2008, Fouriertransform was allocated equity of approximately SEK 3 billion for commercial cluster development in the automotive sector, and its mission includes taking an active role as an owner. Fouriertransform contributes expertise by placing qualified representatives on the boards of all of the companies in which it holds an interest. Primary strategic investment areas are: Sustainable vehicles, including areas such as battery technology, hybrid systems, combustion/engine technology and technology that improve the efficiency of materials and energy; Smart vehicles, encompassing the smart functions in both commercial vehicles and cars based on a technical platform in the vehicle and on content services made possible by such a platform; and More efficient production, an investment area that includes sustainable production with profitability potential based on strong environmental driving forces such as energy efficiency, emissions, recycling and waste The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket) The Swedish Transport Administration was created in 2010 through the merger of the Swedish Rail Administration, the Swedish Road Administration and the Swedish Institute for Transport and Communications. It is divided into several operational areas: Society, Transport, Investments, Major Projects and Profit Centres. Six regions operate under the Society operational area. Regional offices are located in Luleå, Gävle, Stockholm, Eskilstuna,

22 Kristianstad and Gothenburg. The Administration s executive and key functions are located in Borlänge. The Swedish Transport Administration has approximately 6500 employees and is responsible for the construction, operation and maintenance of all state-owned roads and railways. The administration also develops long-term plans for the transport infrastructure for roads, railways, sea and air. This responsibility includes ensuring that the infrastructure is effectively used and that it promotes safe and environmentally sound transport, which includes funding for R&D in this area. The Swedish Transport Administration coordinates the West Swedish Agreement, which is a series of interrelated infrastructure development initiatives for trains, buses, trams, bicycles and cars that stretch to around 2027 and that aim to contribute to positive and sustainable growth in West Sweden. The agreement represents a 3.4 billion investment made by the Swedish Government, the two regional authorities in West Sweden and the City of Gothenburg. One of the primary objectives of the administration is safety. Sweden s long-term road safety goal is no fatalities or serious injuries connected to road traffic. This goal was ratified by the Swedish Parliament in 1997 and is based on the Vision Zero programme. Swedish road safety work is based on the notion that there is no acceptable level of human death or lifelong suffering as a result of road traffic accidents. The Swedish Parliament decided in June 2009 on a new interim target for road safety, whereby from 2007 to 2020 the number of fatalities was to be halved and the number of serious injuries was to be reduced by a quarter. Sweden is among the countries with the lowest number of traffic fatalities relative to its population. After the introduction of Vision Zero, the number of fatalities in road traffic has continued to decrease. Important activities that have contributed towards this goal are median barriers, new speed limits, speed limit cameras and safer cars. In recent years, the number of fatalities in road traffic in Sweden has remained at approximately National Forum for Innovation in Transport Sector A new national forum for innovation in the transport sector was formed as a result of studies reported by the Swedish Government Official Board. The aim of the forum is to be a platform for strategic collaboration between private and public interests in the transport sector, including businesses, municipalities, regions, academy and government. This forum is expected to have a coordinating function for future transport issues addressed by the government. It should have a broad role and focus on the transport system as a whole, including infrastructure, vehicles and functions that contribute to the transport of goods and persons. A main working method is to develop common research and innovation agendas among the various actors in the sector, including common indicators and goals for a sustainable transport system, a common research strategy and innovation agenda, road maps for this innovation process, to act as a meeting place for information exchange and learning, initiating innovative projects and, finally, supporting Swedish activities in international forums. 17 Members are from major actors in the transport system, from operative parts of the different organisations but at a high level. The forum is open to new members Forum Forum för innovation inom transportsektorn. Programförklaring, version rev. 18 Membership as of June 2012: Västra Götalandsregionen, Luftfartsverket, Sjöfartsverket, Trafikverket, Energimyndigheten, VINNOVA, Transportstyrelsen, AB Volvo, Scania CV, Bombardier, Stena, Vattenfall, NCC, Ericsson, SAAB Group, Green Cargo, DB Schenker, ICA, SSAB, Jernhusen, Göteborgs Hamn, SL, Keolis, SWEDAVIA, VTI, Chalmers samt KTH. 21

23 Strategic innovation roadmaps in the transport sector are being developed during Roadmaps to be developed in the road transport area include High Capacity Transport, a process for which CLOSER at Lindholmen Science Park will organise the development; Bus systems, including the large bus OEMs, such as AB Volvo and Scania, which have a shared responsibility to develop the roadmap in this area; New fuels, which will develop a roadmap; however, the organising of that process remains to be decided (as of June 2012) and Electrification of road transports (e-mobility including electrified roads), which will prepare a roadmap under the auspices of the national road administration and the national energy agency. Traffic management (icl. ITS). A common roadmap will be developed by SAAB (Swedish Aeroplan Company Limited), the Swedish Maritime Administration and the Swedish Transport Administration and will include all transport modalities. 3.2 Regional and local public administration (including policy and funding for the automotive sector) There are 49 municipalities, four subregional associations of municipalities, and, given the relative size of Gothenburg in the region, a one-municipality logic that needs to be accounted for. Region Västra Götaland (VGR) is the regional authority that represents all inhabitants of the 49 municipalities in the region (not the 49 municipalities). The 49 municipalities are grouped into four Association of Local Authorities that develop inter-municipal collaboration and that play roles in infrastructure planning and development: the Sjuhärad, Skaraborg, Fyrbodal and Gothenburg Region. (The four associations also operate through a common interest organisation, VästKom.) Part of the coordination in transport- and infrastructurerelated topics are handled by a Committee for Sustainable Development (BHU), which consists of members from the regional authority and the four associations. The Göteborg Region (GR) represents the 13 municipalities, with Gothenburg as the central economic node. The region coordinates, among other things, transport infrastructure issues. However, industry and business development that have a more direct effect on cluster development are delegated to a separate organisation, Business Region Göteborg (BRG), which is a wholly owned company by the city of Gothenburg and plays a role in representing the interests of the 13 municipalities in development projects and innovation. Policy measures and project activities related to road vehicle technology in this structure are primarily driven by Region Västra Götaland, and Business Region Gothenburg develops innovation projects Region Västra Götaland (VGR) Region Västra Götaland was formed in 1999 as one of Sweden s two self-governing regions. Before 1999, the national government had responsibility for growth through the County Administrative Boards (Länsstyrelser). Region Västra Götaland took over this responsibility (as did Region Skåne) in 1999, initially for a trial period. The responsibility became operational from about 2003 and the role was formalized in Today, four of Sweden s regions have this role. The major source of income for Region Västra Götaland is regional taxes and the annual budget of approximately 5 billion that is managed by the Regional Council with its 149 members directly elected by the region s inhabitants every four years. One central assignment is to plan and provide infrastructure and services in health care, road transport infrastructure and public transportation. The region has approximately 50,000 employees, making it one of Sweden s largest employers. Approximately 90 percent of these employees work in the health care sector. The role of research in that area is directly linked to 22

24 the regional responsibility for health care and medical treatment, such as clinical research and research that is part of the university hospital system, which is organised separately and linked to medical treatment organisations. Another area in which the region has a primary infrastructure and service responsibility is public transportation, and approximately 7 percent of the regional budget is directed towards thus area. A development and innovation role in that sector is also part of the responsibilities of the regional public transportation authority. Another assignment is the explicit regional developmental role that goes beyond the previous regional growth role, which until 1999 was concerned primarily with issues pertaining to planning, infrastructure and inspection (cf. regulatory control). 19 The earlier county administrative board system, which still exists in other regions in Sweden, had little to do with the organising of innovation, research at universities or the development of knowledge-intensive clusters through public private partnerships. Those issues were handled by the national agencies. In contrast, the new self-governing regions were mandated from the beginning to develop such an explicit role for economic development and innovation. Within this new role, Region Västra Götaland allocated an annual budget for a regional growth programme, currently an approximate SEK 770 million. A Regional Development Board organised a larger part of the activities under this budget through the approximately 65 persons of the Regional Development Secretariat. The Environmental Board and its secretariat are also active in vehicle and fuel-related projects. The Regional Development Board Development of and support for cluster functions The Regional Development Board is the transnational coordinator of Safe and Green Road Vehicles (SAGE), which is coordinated by the secretariat within the Research, Development and Competence section. 20 Approximately half of the SEK 770 million budget is invested in development projects, which are often co-financed by companies or organisations for which the total project budgets often amount to two to three times the regional share. 21 The other half of the budget is block funding to selected development organisations and innovation platforms that perform cluster development roles. The regional innovation strategy rests on three pillars: support of entrepreneurship, support for innovative SMEs and support functions for renewal within five selected research and technology driven cluster areas. The cluster areas are transport solutions, life science, green chemistry and bio-based products, marine environment and the marine sector and urban future. Within pillar entrepreneurship, activities are primarily seed financing and support to incubators and schools of entrepreneurship. Within SMEs, the programme funds innovation support structures such as incubators, arenas and platforms that can initiate and organise collaboration among actors and carry out projects. The programme also supports industrial development centres and SMEs that want to develop direct contact with academic researchers but that lack the resources and knowledge to do so without assistance. The automotive cluster is an important part of the important R&D-driven clusters in the region. To strengthen the automotive cluster, the Board co-funds centres of excellence, support cluster initiatives in existing cluster areas and potential new areas and development and demonstration projects. 19 Public record SFS 2007: The Culture Board also has a responsibility for development and growth but their budget and activities are excluded from this report. 21 Detaljbudget Regionutvecklingsnämnden

25 Substantial dialogue also exists with stakeholders at the local, regional and national levels. Representatives from the Regional Development Secretariat are members of several national policy groups, such as, for example, the National Forum for Innovation in the Transport Sector. The Regional Development Board has been particularly supportive of the open arenas function in the regional science parks. Six parks operate in the region, of which two, Lindholmen Science Park and Innovatum Science Park, play central roles in the automotive cluster area. The role of these parks is to act as a platform for and organiser of R&D collaborations between large and small enterprises, institutes, academia and other public actors. Twice during the lifetime of Region Västra Götaland, the automotive industry faced larger crises that led to regional mobilisation (and discussions about the cluster and its governance ). General Motors, owner of Saab between 2000 and 2010, decided in 2005 to move automobile production from Trollhättan in Västra Götaland to Rüsselheim in Germany. At the same time, large cost cuts were made and more than 500 employees in Trollhättan risked losing their jobs. Partly as a reaction to this crisis, the Swedish government launched two R&D programmes. One R&D programme aimed to support automotive-based manufacturing industry and its engineering competence (MERA), and the other programme aimed to strengthen competence in vehicle-based information and communication technology (V-ICT). The Region Västra Götaland and the Business Region Göteborg co-funded these programmes. As a complement, Region Västra Götaland launched a third programme, the Regional Development Arena Programme, whose aim was to support organisational and material infrastructure for cluster development in the area of automotive and transport technology in Västra Götaland. A total of SEK 54 million (SEK 34 million from Region Västra Götaland and SEK 20 million from the Swedish government) was invested in two Regional Development Arenas 22, Lindholmen Open Arena and Innovatum Project Arena, which are presented in subsequent chapters. Both were expected to develop cluster agent roles and be incubators of cluster initiatives. Three arena objectives were identified: increase the number of R&D projects in the area of automotive industry engineering and vehicle ICT, attract national and international funding and strengthen the regional innovation system for automotive and transport technology through collaborative actions. 23 When the recession hit in 2008, it immediately affected the automotive industry. Sales of cars and trucks radically decreased and cuts were made at OEMs and suppliers. The future for Volvo Cars and Saab Automobile became uncertain when their American owners Ford and GM faced severe economic problems and declared the Swedish affiliates for sale. To abate the effects of the recession, the Swedish Government decided to maintain the large innovation programme for the automotive sector (FFI) and to create a new national venture capital firm (Fouriertransform). 22 The Arena concept and organisation and its role in Swedish research and innovation policy is described in Fogelberg, H. and S. Thorpenberg Regional innovation policy and public-private-partnership: the case of Triple Helix Arenas in Western Sweden. Science and Public Policy. See also Alänge, S., Fogelberg, H., Lundqvist, M., Mellby, C., and Thorpenberg, H Project Open Arenas: The Evolution of the Lindholmen and Innovatum arenas and their Role for Innovation in Vehicle Technology. Visanu (ISA, NUTEK, VINNOVA), Report No 2005:8. 23 Regionala utvecklingsmiljöer för innovation och förnyelse (Utvärderingsrapporter 2008:03 Regionutveckling) 24

26 As a result of the recession, the Region Västra Götaland decided to launch an initiative aimed to complement the previously described national initiatives. In 2009, a three-year, SEK 150 million programme, InMotion - Collaborative action for environment, energy and sustainable transport, was launched. Its focus was initially the automotive and transport industry, but this focus gradually shifted to include energy and cleantech. The objectives were to stimulate triple helix cooperation, to support the development of new products and processes and to strengthen the regional infrastructure for testing and demonstration. That InMotion should build on previous and on-going initiatives, such as the regional development platforms at Lindholmen and Innovatum, was clearly expressed. The largest single project financed by InMotion was ASTA - Active Safety Test Arena, described in subsequent sections of this report. ASTA received approximately SEK 35 million from InMotion, SEK 20 million directly from the Regional Development Board and several million SEK from national agencies. InMotion ended in 2011 and was recently evaluated. Note that the programme had a positive symbolic value during a disturbing financial period, which strengthened the cooperation between stakeholders in the region, and that a regional initiative is more flexible and closer to commercial appliances than the other national or European research programmes. However, the programme was not very well known to stakeholders outside the core members of the regional development cluster. Long-term financial commitment was also determined to be difficult to secure, and the programme also funded a larger number of early phase studies, leading to uncertainties over the long-term commitment of the Region Västra Götaland to provide support in later full-scale phase of projects. 24 The Environmental Board The annual budget for the Environmental Board is approximately SEK 70 million, of which half is invested in development projects that are coordinated by partners in municipalities, industry and academia. 25 Their assignment is sustainable growth in the key areas of energy, water, food and transport. Bridging the key areas of energy and transport, alternative fuel, especially biogas implementation, has been a prioritised topic for the Environmental Board for many years. Today, Västra Götaland is one of Sweden s most developed biogas regions. Since 2001, the number of filling stations increased from 7 to 42, the number of gas vehicles increased from approximately 800 to 8,500 and the sale of biogas increased from 9 to 102 GWh. To support this development, the Regional Council of Västra Götaland decided to prioritise biogas in its own vehicle fleet. From 2010 to 2011, the number of gas vehicles in the fleet increased from 13 to 23 percent. 26 Regional biogas investments by industry and public actors have also led to several companies starting up their businesses in Gothenburg. One example is the English company Hardstaff, with expertise in gas vehicle technology for trucks, which moved production and its main office to Gothenburg in Another example is Alternative Fuel Vehicle AB (converts Volvo cars), which started out as a small business but grew through to early investments and is now part of the Canadian company Westport. 24 Evaluation of InMotion (Utvärderingsrapporter 2011:05 Regionutveckling). 25 Detalbudget Miljönämnden and data from Hanna Jönsson, PM Biogas West. 25

27 Region Västra Götaland has been one of the main financers and supporters of Biogas West since its inception, first as a project, in The aim was to drive market development in the biogas chain from biogas production and distribution to the expansion of gas filling stations and the use of gas-powered vehicles. 27 Until 2011, coordination of the project has been the responsibility of Business Region Göteborg. Since January 2011, Biogas West has been a regional programme coordinated by the Environmental Secretariat. It is a platform for collaboration, communication and joint action. An allocation of SEK 24 million was made for development projects and was coordinated within the frame of this programme. In addition to the Environmental Board, funders include the County Administrative Board and the Swedish Transport Administration. Biogas West mobilises stakeholders from the entire biogas chain, including waste management companies, energy production companies, energy distribution companies, municipalities, logistic companies, automotive manufacturers and non-profit organisations. The objective is for the production and use of biogas in Västra Götaland to increase by 25 times from 2009 to 2020, reaching 2.4 TWh per year. The Public Transport Board and Västtrafik Biogas and electric hybrid buses The regional Public Transport Board is the owner of the public transport company Västtrafik and is responsible for the strategic development of public transport in Västra Götaland. It also has responsibility for research and development in this area. Västtrafik is the second largest public transport company in Sweden, with 2,600 vehicles, 21,000 stopping places and over 750,000 travels each day. 28 In relation to the base year of 2009, Västtrafik made a commitment to reduce the amount of fossil fuels (per kilometre) in buses by 40 percent in the year 2012 and by 90 percent in the year In 2009, when Västtrafik decided on an action plan towards this goal, only 13 percent of bus transports were made with renewable fuels. 29 In 2012, the percentage of renewable fuels in bus transport reached 27 percent. Around half the renewable fuels is biogas and the other half is biodiesel. 30 Västtrafik is also involved in several development projects within electromobility. The contractor GS Buss has conducted field testing with a full hybrid bus from Volvo. A full hybrid produces the electricity used through its on-board diesel engine, but the electric grid does not charge the bus; the latter option is called plug-in hybrid. This full hybrid bus is approximately 30 percent more effective than a conventional bus and approximately 50 percent more effective than a gasdriven bus. Twenty-five full hybrid buses were added to the fleet in The plug-in hybrid bus has a battery with a larger energy capacity and an option that allows for electric grid charging and all-electric driving in certain driving conditions. Three Volvo plug-in hybrid buses using RME fuel in a diesel-electric powertrain and rapid charging at end stations will be tested and demonstrated in Gothenburg starting in April These buses are expected to use 60 percent less energy than a conventional diesel bus and achieve more than a 70 percent reduction in CO 2 emissions. 31 Another project in which Västtrafik and the Region collaborate with industry and other development actors is a battery-only commuter bus that is currently being prepared. The purpose is to demonstrate a regular route commuter electric bus that can be rapidly charged using inductive methods and can be used to solve specific commuter needs in the public transportation system. 27 Case study Biogas Väst ( Västtrafik Plan för avveckling av fossila bränslen Data from Leif Magnusson, Public Transport Secretariat 31 Hyper-Bus Project, Business Region Göteborg. 26

28 3.2.2 Four subregional organisations of municipalities The county of Västra Götaland has 49 municipalities grouped and organised into four associations of local authorities: Gothenburg Region, Sjuhärad, Skaraborg and Fyrbodal. Each subregion develops its own programme within the Growth Scheme for Västra Götaland and each programme is attached to a budget for regional development based on an agreement with Region Västra Götaland. The Gothenburg Region association (Göteborg Region Association for Local Authorities and Gothenburg City, GR) uses Business Region Göteborg (BRG) as its development actor. Business Region Göteborg is also responsible for coordinating the four subregional programmes. Region Västra Götaland and the four groups of municipal associations of Gothenburg cooperate closely. At the political level, a committee with representatives from all subregions exists that discusses strategies concerning growth and development, culture and environment before decisions are made in the Regional Council. At the administrative level, a group called KRETI regularly shares information. Additionally, the County Administrative Board is present in this group. In addition, a high-level group consists of the Director for Regional Development and the heads of each subregion. The associations for local authorities also operate an organisation called Västkom. The most active municipalities and cities in automotive development projects are quite naturally the ones with the largest automotive industries: Gothenburg (Volvo Trucks and Volvo Cars), Trollhättan (Saab Automobile) and Skövde (Volvo Powertrain). All four associations of local authorities (Gothenburg Region represented by Business Region Göteborg) are members of Automotive Sweden and Biogas Väst. The city of Trollhättan and the Fyrbodal Association of Local Authorities are co-financers of Innovatum Technology Park and of some pre-studies and development projects in regards to electric vehicles and biofuel. They also co-finance a transformation project (Fordonskommunernas omställningsprojekt) aimed at reducing the vulnerability of and increasing the opportunities for new employment in the Fyrbodal municipalities with the automotive industry. One of the results of this project was the establishment of a new company, BRC Sweden, agent for Italian Bogetti Romano Cherasco Gas Equipment, in Trollhättan. The new vehicle centre will convert Subaru cars to biogas vehicles. Trollhättan (together with Borås) was also one of the first cities in the region to invest heavily in gas vehicles for public transport and the municipal car fleet. The Skaraborg Association for Local Authorities and Skövde Municipality are financers of Gothia Science Park and Open Arena. One of four focus areas at Gothia is intelligent automation aimed to support efficient industrial production systems. Several development projects executed together with the automotive industry and the University of Skövde are currently operating within this area. The Skaraborg Association for Local Authorities cooperates with other stakeholders to promote biogas in a network called Biogas Skaraborg. 27

29 3.2.3 Business Region Göteborg 32 A 13-municipality development organisation in the Gothenburg area Business Region Göteborg AB (BRG) is a publicly owned company that aims to strengthen and develop trade and industry in the Gothenburg region. Today, approximately 90 people work at BRG. The objective is to contribute to sustainable growth, a high level of employment and diversity in trade and industry in the region. The company is 100 percent owned by the City of Gothenburg but represents 13 municipalities in the Gothenburg region. It was formed in the year 2000 and has a history that dates back to 1977 when the Trade and Industry Development Agency was established in the city of Gothenburg City of Gothenburg Gothenburg is the largest city in Västra Götaland with a population of half a million people. The city administration is actively involved in policy work and development projects related to the automotive industry and safe and green vehicles. Many of the activities are executed through Business Region Göteborg or Lindholmen Science Park. A lot of work is also being done at the Traffic and Public Transport Authority of the city. 33 They are well known both nationally and internationally for their work with inner-city freight distribution. The Traffic and Public Transport Authority has led several European projects on this and relating topics, including Civitas, Civitas Catalist and Tellus och START. Gothenburg City works strategically with its municipal car fleet (2500 vehicles), and invests in biogas and electric vehicles. The current ambition is to have 95 percent green cars in its own fleet (90 percent was achieved in 2010) and to have at least 100 electric or plug-in hybrid electric vehicles by In 2012, diesel cars were determined not to be counted as green and, therefore, will not be part of the municipal fleet. 3.3 The regional automotive sector The Swedish automotive industry is based around three major vehicle manufacturers: Volvo Cars (Geely), AB Volvo and Scania (VW). The first two are located in the region. These three companies employ approximately half (52,700) of the estimated 100,000 people working in the Swedish automotive industry. 34 Sweden depends on the automotive industry because it is one of the largest industries in the country and a leading sector for export, representing approximately 10 percent of the total Swedish export of goods. 35 Sweden was comparably late to enter the phase of fast motorisation, which occurred around 1950 alongside an increase in the production volume of cars, primarily by Volvo and its Gothenburg facility. Although the domestic market remained an important platform for development, the automobile sector s economy soon became based on exports, and this dependency remains see also chapter VINNOVA Företag inom fordonsindustrin Nationella, regionala och sektoriella klusterprofiler som underlag för analys- och strategiarbete. VINNOVA Report VA 2012: BIL Sweden

30 Table 4: Swedish companies production of automobiles and export share 36 Year In Sweden Outside Export share of total production % % % % % n/a n/a n/a % Although the Swedish automotive industry is important to the country s economy, it is significantly less important in the world market and in absolute numbers. The Swedish passenger car industry based on Volvo Cars (and previously Saab Automobile) amounts to less than 1 percent of world production. The picture is rather different when looking at the heavy vehicle sector and Swedish truck manufacturers, AB Volvo and Scania, which have a considerably larger share of the global market. These two companies are key players in their segment, as shown by their combined 20 percent share of the world market. 37 AB Volvo still has Swedish interests, which are majority owners. The vehicle industry is important for employment, and the region of Västra Götaland hosts a majority of this industry in terms of presence of OEMs, suppliers and consultancy firms. Approximately 42,000 people, or 4 percent of the total working population in the region, are employed in the automotive industry in Western Sweden (Västra Götaland and Värmland) The data are not coherent and originate from three sources: Period , Glimstedt 1993, p. 181; period , Berggren 1990, pp , 119; period , BIL Sweden Online Database. 37 VINNOVA Analys VA 2007:05 Nationella och regionala klusterprofiler: Företag inom fordonsindustrin i Sverige. 38 VINNOVA Företag inom fordonsindustrin Nationella, regionala och sektoriella klusterprofiler som underlag för analys- och strategiarbete. VINNOVA Report VA 2012:06. Only companies with more than 20 employees are included. 29

31 Figure 4. Regional concentration of Swedish automotive industry (as of 2010). 39 The competence of people in this sector within the region represents a large share of the total Swedish automotive sector s competence, in particular the higher educated people in this sector. Table 5. Educational level of workforce in Swedish vehicle industry Researcher University Degree Post high school less than three yrs High school Other Total Västra Götaland 467 7,117 5,127 17,610 4,556 34,877 County Stockholm County 171 3,126 1,440 5,198 1,704 11,639 Skåne County , ,938 Other Counties 173 3,758 3,344 17,435 4,073 28,496 Sweden ,357 10,212 41,768 10,79 77,950 The number of employees in the automotive sector shows a decreasing trend when considering a longer period, and workforce reductions during recessions are not fully restored. The latest economic downturn that ended with the bankruptcy of the General Motors-owned automobile manufacturer Saab Automobile in 2012 had a clear negative effect on the region, at least in the short term. The number of employees in the Swedish automotive industry as a 39 This figure is adopted from VINNOVA Företag inom fordonsindustrin Nationella, regionala och sektoriella klusterprofiler som underlag för analys- och strategiarbete. VINNOVA Report VA 2012: Data is from a specific analysis conducted for the SAGE project by the analysis department of Region Västra Götaland in collaboration with Statistics Sweden. 30

32 whole was reduced by 21 percent, representing approximately 24,000 fewer people at work from 2006 and The effect of this reduction was somewhat larger in the region of Västra Götaland (23 percent). 41 Table 6. Reduction in the number of educated people in the vehicle industry in the region Västra Götalands län Change % Researcher University Degree 7,078 7, Post high school less than three yrs 5,843 5, High school 23,361 17, Other 6,010 4, Total 42,730 34, An early indication is that approximately 60 percent of white-collar workers have already found a new job, some are closely related to the automotive sectors but most now likely work in other industrial sectors and some outside the region (e.g., Norway). The situation may be more problematic for blue-collar workers and people with lower educational levels, for whom the initial migration to new sectors has been slow. Vehicle-related research and development is conducted by a relatively narrow group of industrial actors in the region, yet this R&D activity is actually a large part of the Swedish R&D portfolio. The automotive industry accounts for more than 25 percent of the total investment in R&D in the entire Swedish industry. 42 In comparison with other industries, transportation has a high degree of publically funded R&D, amounting to 12 percent in Approximately one-tenth of the companies in the Swedish automotive industry conducts research by themselves or in cooperation with others. Among suppliers, only 4 percent are involved in R&D, most often with the specific focus of adapting their products to new customers. 44 Research and development activities are effectively concentrated with the four large manufacturers and a few larger institutes. Most of these actors are located in the region of Västra Götaland, have research and development units in several research fields and are responsible for the major part of the research funding available in the automotive industry. 45 The research and development cost for heavy vehicle manufacturers is between 3 4 percent of net turnover and approximately 5 6 percent for passenger vehicles. Vehicle manufacturers are increasingly expecting their major subcontractors to take on product development and innovation, activities that small- and medium-sized subcontractors cannot manage given low R&D tradition and tight financial margins. 46 The organisations subsequently described are selected according to the principle that they: (1) have as a primary or as an important part of their focus activities directly relevant to safe and 41 VINNOVA Företag inom fordonsindustrin Nationella, regionala och sektoriella klusterprofiler som underlag för analys- och strategiarbete. VINNOVA Report VA 2012:06. The table is also adopted from this source. 42 BIL Sweden Yasemin Heper, Den globala fordonsindustrin ur ett svenskt perspektiv, VINNOVA Analys VA 2007:05 Nationella och regionala klusterprofiler: Företag inom fordonsindustrin i Sverige. 45 VINNOVA Analys VA 2007:05 Nationella och regionala klusterprofiler: Företag inom fordonsindustrin i Sverige. 46 VINNOVA Analys VA 2009:12 Impact of government support to automotive research (Summary). 31

33 green vehicles, (2) conduct research and/or product development themselves and in collaboration with other partners and (3) engage in activities with a direct link to West Sweden in the sense that they are considered part of a cluster for safety or green road vehicles in the region. 3.4 Vehicle industry OEM AB Volvo The Volvo Group is one of the world s leading providers of commercial transport solutions and offers products through different business organisations: Trucks, Buses, Construction Equipment, Penta engines and drive systems for boats and industrial applications and Volvo Aero aircraft engine components. The Volvo Group has approximately 100,000 employees worldwide, including 21, located in Sweden. The company has production facilities in 19 countries and sales activities in approximately 180 markets. Group sales of products and services are conducted through both wholly owned and independent dealers. Its global service network handles customer demand for spare parts and other services. Quality, safety and environmental care are the corporate values of the Volvo Group. Quality is defined as reliable products and services, from product development and production, to delivery and customer support. The current safety focus is on making vehicles smarter and helping the driver avoid potentially dangerous situations. Environmental care focuses on increased fuel efficiency through enhanced engine combustion efficiency, powertrain friction reduction, waste-heat recovery, rolling resistance reduction, air drag reduction and improved controls. Volvo Buses Corporation is a business area within the Volvo Group, and is the world s second largest bus manufacturer. The product range includes complete buses, coaches and chassis, combined with a range of services. Volvo Buses also offers complete system solutions and has a global presence with product development offices and plants around the world, including China, India, Canada, the US, Mexico, Brazil, Poland and Sweden. Volvo Buses has approximately 6,700 employees worldwide. The head office is in Gothenburg, where product planning and product development are primarily concentrated. Volvo Buses also has a distributor network for aftermarket services, including servicing and spare parts distribution through 1,200 workshops in more than 80 countries. The core values of Volvo Buses and for the Volvo Group are quality, safety and environmental care. In 2010, Volvo Buses started the serial production of Volvo 7700 Hybrid buses with up to 35 percent lower fuel consumption. Volvo Group Trucks Technology has been operational since January 1, 2012, when activities within Volvo 3P, Volvo Powertrain, Volvo Parts, Volvo Technology and Non-Automotive Purchasing were merged. Today, Volvo Group Trucks Technology is a worldwide entity within Volvo Group that covers the value chain from long-term research and planning to final delivery of complete vehicles and services to the Volvo Group s truck business, and supports products in the aftermarket. It also supports and collaborates with Volvo Group Business Areas such as Buses, Construction Equipment and Penta. Volvo Group Trucks Technology 47 VINNOVA Företag inom fordonsindustrin Nationella, regionala och sektoriella klusterprofiler som underlag för analys- och strategiarbete. VINNOVA Report VA 2012:06. 32

34 has 10,000 employees working in global teams. Their areas of responsibility are Product Planning, Project & Range Management, Complete Vehicle, Volvo Group Advanced Technology & Research, Volvo Group Powertrain Engineering, Vehicle Engineering and Volvo Group Purchasing. Trucks Technology also participates in national and international research programmes through which it collaborates with other partners in the industry, authorities and academia. Through its research organisation, Advanced Technology & Research, Volvo Group Trucks Technology also selects and supports external customers, such as Volvo Cars. Advanced Technology & Research (former Volvo Technology, VTEC) is the Volvo Group s centre for innovation, research and development. VTEC focuses on technical solutions and services that may be on the market in 2 20 years. The Volvo Group s hybrid vehicle technologies and many safety-related functions were born at VTEC, the largest and most R&D-intensive private organisation in the regional automotive cluster and in the Swedish automotive sector. Advanced Technology & Research was established in 1969 and became an entity within Volvo Group Trucks Technology on January 1, Today, the entity has approximately 450 employees in Sweden, France, North America, India, Japan and China. It provides expert functions and develops new technology for both hard and soft products within the transport and vehicle industry. Primary customers include the Volvo Group Business Areas and Volvo Cars, as well as selected suppliers. Advanced Technology & Research s main areas of operation are research, advanced engineering, product development and business engineering, and it offers corporate services to Volvo Group in the areas of intellectual property (IP) management, standards, intelligence and materials technology. Main technology focus areas are the energy and the environment, soft products and transport solutions, safety and security, electrical and embedded systems, process and manufacturing technologies and new technologies. Advanced Technology & Research has a research infrastructure with advanced research laboratories for powertrain development and testing, single cylinder combustion development, special measurements and optics, ESS, fuel cell systems, electrical drives, gas bench tests, emission analysis, EATS systems, fuel reforming and sensor testing. Advanced Technology & Research participates in national and international research programmes in collaboration with other actors, partners and stakeholders within the industry, authorities and academia. It is the most active Swedish actor in European R&D within the framework programme, and is a primary actor in the national vehicle research system. The Volvo Group attracted approximately 30 million between 2007 and 2011 for research in competition from FP Volvo Cars Corporation The Volvo Car Corporation (VCC) is a global company and manufactures cars and develops services for customers in approximately 100 countries. The company was founded in 1927 and was part of the Swedish Volvo Group until 1999, when American Ford bought its car manufacturing segment. Since 2010, VCC has been owned by the Chinese entity Zhejiang Geely Holding Group. During the past 75 years, the company has developed into one of the most well-known brands in the automotive industry. Volvo Car Corporation has approximately 21,500 employees throughout the world, including 13,500 employees in Sweden 48. Its headquarters and large 48 VINNOVA Företag inom fordonsindustrin Nationella, regionala och sektoriella klusterprofiler som underlag för analys- och strategiarbete. VINNOVA Report VA 2012:06. 33

35 assembly plant are located in Gothenburg. Production of smaller car models is based in Uddevalla, 80 kilometres north of Gothenburg, and in Ghent, Belgium. Most of the development departments, the crash test centre, a central warehouse and several other key units are also in Gothenburg. All in all, Volvo Cars has manufacturing plants in eight locations around the world. From the beginning, safety was an important core value for Volvo. The two founders of Volvo, Assar Gabrielsson and Gustaf Larson, stated only a few years after the first Volvo left the factory gates: Cars are driven by people. The guiding principle behind everything we do at Volvo, therefore, is and must remain safety. In 1994, Volvo presented a design that structured the car s body around a safety cage. This engineering principle lives on to this day. Another example of Volvo Cars focus on safety was the introduction of the V-shaped threepoint inertia reel safety belt in 1959, a world-first, designed by a Volvo engineer. The safety belt was patented in the US, but Volvo chose to release its patent to enable all manufacturers throughout the world to use it freely. VCC is one of the few car manufacturers with its own accident research team. Since 1970, the team has studied more than 40,000 accidents involving a Volvo and the knowledge gained is used in its work on safety. VCC s strong focus on safety and the environment, together with its work in the area of quality and design, represent the core values of the company. Table 7. Selection of other Volvo Cars safety milestones 1966 Dual-circuit braking system 1970 Accident research unit founded 1972 Rear-facing child seat and child-proof doors 1984 ABS, anti-lock brakes 1987 Driver s airbag 1998 WHIPS, protection against whiplash injuries 2000 Volvo On Call 2004 BLIS, Blind Spot Information System 2007 CWAB, Collision Warning with Auto Brake 2008 City Safety 2010 Pedestrian Detection with Full Auto Brake In the area of green vehicle technology, Volvo Cars offer 20 environmentally classified vehicles, ranging from vehicles with lean diesel engines (Drive and D2), flexifuel vehicles that accommodate bioethanol (T4F) and vehicles from the V70 series that are converted to biogas (Bi-Fuel). From late 2012, a novel V60 (Plug-In hybrid) certified at 49 g CO 2 /km is to be produced. As part of the speciality vehicle development programme, a battery-only electric vehicle, C30 electric, is being leased to companies and organisations Saab Automobile (terminated in 2011) The Swedish Aeroplan Company Limited (SAAB) produced its first car in Trollhättan in In 1969, its car manufacturing operations merged with Scania. In 1990, General Motors took 51 percent ownership in Saab Automobile, which became a full subsidiary of GM from 2000 until During the economic crisis in the automotive industry and within Saab Automobile in particular, the Dutch company Spyker Cars became the car manufacturer s new owner. Until its bankruptcy in December 2011, Saab Automobile AB was one of the pillars of the regional industrial ecosystem. This OEM, based in Trollhättan 80 kilometres 34

36 west of Gothenburg employed approximately 3,800 employees only two years earlier. 49 The effect of the bankruptcy on the remaining vehicle producers and on the supplier chain of the automotive industry is still not fully known; however, the bankruptcy will clearly have a lasting effect on the local employment and economy. Many of the engineers have moved to other positions within or outside the region. The Swedish Government decided to invest SEK 450 million to mitigate the negative effects of the bankruptcy on the local employment, economy and competence. Approximately 80 percent of this investment was allocated to educational efforts and the other 20 percent to business development. Region Västra Götaland decided to allocate SEK 90 million throughout the larger Trollhättan area for business development, commuting infrastructure and a regional development programme for energy and climate. Saab Automobile was also active in R&D projects and collaborations with other partners, and the fate of these activities is still unknown. In June 2012, Saab was acquired by the National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB, owned by Chinese and Japanese interests, with the aim to start the development and manufacture of electric vehicles in Trollhättan (see the following section on SMEs in electromobility). National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB now owns the development platform for Saab and the Saab brand. 3.5 Suppliers Autoliv Sweden AB Autoliv Sweden AB is part of Autoliv Inc, the world s leading automotive safety supplier. Autoliv was founded in 1953 in Vårgårda, 70 kilometres northeast of Gothenburg. In 1997, Autoliv Sweden AB merged with American Morton ASP, the leading airbag manufacturer in North America and Asia. The company develops, markets and manufactures airbags, seatbelts, safety electronics, steering wheels, anti-whiplash systems, seat components and integrated child seats as well as active safety systems such as night vision, vision and radar systems. Autoliv Inc has almost 48,000 employees in 29 countries and approximately 4,400 of its staff work in research, development and engineering. Autoliv Inc has a global market share of approximately 36 percent for passive safety and 20 percent for active safety. Autoliv Inc is headquartered in Stockholm. Autoliv Sweden AB employs approximately 750 people in Vårgårda. The plant in Vårgårda specialises in airbags and produces anti-whiplash protection, integrated child seats and buckles. Vårgårda is the residence for Autoliv Development AB, the main research resource of Autoliv Inc, and employs just over 30 people. Autoliv Inc has 20 crash tracks around the world. The facility in Vårgårda is one of seven tracks used for full-scale tests of complete vehicles. The remaining thirteen are sled test tracks. Over the years, Autoliv has engaged in strong cooperation with Volvo (today, AB Volvo and Volvo Cars). The two companies pioneered seatbelt technology in Vicura AB Vicura develops complete transmission systems and subcomponents for the international automotive industry, including hybrid drivelines. Vicura started in 2011 as a spin-off of the

37 transmissions development department built up at Saab while under the ownership of GM. The company took over approximately 50 engineers from Saab Powertrain and is financed by a consortium led by the state-owned venture capital company Fouriertransform, as well as ALMI Företagspartner Väst AB. Vicura has approximately 80 employees and is located in Trollhättan Mecel AB Mecel is a systems and software development company experienced in concept, advanced and product engineering for the automotive industry. Mecel specialises in in-car communication technologies, user interface development and consumer device interaction for automobiles, trucks, buses and their infrastructure. The operations are dominated by engineering services for development projects, with a distinct focus on qualified systems development. Mecel was founded in Gothenburg in Starting from a research group at the Chalmers Science Park, Mecel has maintained a close relationship with academia. Currently, 120 people work at Mecel, 80 percent of whom hold a master s degree or higher. Mecel AB is a wholly owned subsidiary of Delphi Corporation, and Mecel operates as an independent company on the market that works with major OEMs and Tiers 1s around the world VBG Truck Equipment AB VBG GROUP is an engineering group that holds 100 percent ownership in certain companies in Europe, the US, India and China. The company (under the name Vänersborgskopplingen) started in Vänersborg in The headquarters for VBG GROUP, as well as its sales and production for the VBG Truck Equipment division, remains located in Vänersborg in Västra Götaland. Out of the 432 employees employed by VBG GROUP, 164 are located in Vänersborg. 50 VBG Truck Equipment is an international leading supplier of coupling equipment for truck and heavy trailers. The division accounts for more than 50 percent of the global market for coupling equipment through the Ringfeder and VBG brands. Customers include all European truck manufacturers. Traffic safety is a core value for VBG GROUP, and the company arranges training, seminars and campaigns on the topic. VBG Truck Equipment acts as consultative body to European agencies on the subject of coupling equipment and participates in pilot projects to develop international standards. 3.6 Consultants Consat Sustainable Energy Systems AB Consat Sustainable Energy Systems was established in September 2009 to advance and develop Consat AB s skills in efficient and environmentally friendly energy conversion. The company offers services within hybrid technology, energy storage and alternative fuel for all types of vehicle and long-term sustainable energy systems for industry through energy streamlining and life cycle assessment (LCA). Current activities include a pre-study on 50 Annual Report

38 charging while driving, initiation of test fleets of electrical vehicles and designing the charging infrastructure. Consat Sustainable Energy Systems AB has approximately 25 employees and its main office is located in Lindholmen in Gothenburg Epsilon Epsilon is a consultancy agency in technology and systems development and has 1650 employees. It is one of the largest consulting firms in research and development in Sweden, with regional offices in 23 locations. The main office is located in Malmö, and Gothenburg is one of its four development centres. Approximately 280 people work at the company s office in Lindholmen Science Park. Epsilon s main branches are Automotive, Life Science, Communication Technology and Manufacturing. Within automotive, Epsilon specialises in electronics, software and system development, simulation-based product development and project management, including engineering, analysis and simulation. Active safety is an area of expertise that currently engages approximately 50 employees. Recently, the company established the Epsilon Safety Centre, whose goal is to provide the Swedish vehicle industry with solutions in both active and passive safety HiQ HiQ is an IT and management consultancy firm specialising in communication, software development and business-critical IT. HiQ offers services within the areas of telecom, mobility, simulation technology, business-critical systems, media, gaming and platforms, securities trading and IT for vehicles. Within the automotive area, HiQ offers project management and software development and testing. A specific focus is the area of active safety. HiQ has 1,300 employees in 11 offices, and approximately 300 people work at HiQ Göteborg who specialise in product development (R&D) and business support systems (IS/IT). Customers include SJ, Volvo Cars, AB Volvo and Bombardier Semcon Semcon is a global technology company active in the areas of engineering services and product information. Out of the company s 3000 employees, 650 work at headquarters in Lindholmen in Gothenburg. Semcon is active in a number of sectors, such as pharmaceutical and medtech, power and energy, telecoms, offshore, automotive, aviation, processing and packaging and other development-intensive engineering industries. Within automotive, Semcon offers services for design, electronics, construction, testing, simulations and production of prototypes Mutual Benefits AB Mutual Benefits AB is a Gothenburg-based company that offers technology management services within the fields of energy, automotive and medtech. Services include project coordination, design, test and verification within electronics, power electronics, mechatronics, mechanics and IT. Mutual Benefits initiated a joint venture/cooperation with the French company MDI (Motor Development International), with the purpose of introducing its compressed air-powered vehicles into the Scandinavian market. The vehicles have a local carbon dioxide emission of 0 37

39 g/km and are powered by a thermodynamical process developed from the Stirling engine principle. The vehicles are currently being tested at KLM Schippol airport QRTECH Ortech specialises in electronic and software development in a number of high-tech areas. Its four main business areas are product development, consulting services, advanced engineering and product supply and support. Customers are primarily found within the automotive, defence and medicine industries. Among Ortech s focus areas are hybrid technology, system safety, test and verification. In 2011, Qrtech, together with Kongsberg Automotive, created a joint venture company to develop electric drivelines for vehicles. Ortech has been based in Gothenburg since its founding in 1997, and has offices in Jönköping (since 2010) and Stockholm (since 2012). The company employs approximately 70 individuals SME Figure 5. Clustering of electromobility SME along E SME in Electromobility National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (former Saab Automobile) National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB (Nevs) is a new firm created for the purpose of acquiring Saab. Nevs is owned by a Chinese energy company, National Modern Energy Holdings Ltd, and the Japanese environmental technology investment firm, Sun Investment LLC. Through National Electric Vehicle Sweden, the two firms acquired a major part of former Saab Automobile in Trollhättan, including Saab Powertrain. The chairman of the new Saab is a Karl-Erling Trogen, who was CEO of Volvo Trucks (AB Volvo) from 1991 to The vision of the newly formed company is to become a leading manufacturer of (battery-only) electric cars. The strategy is to combine three resources: Swedish design and manufacturing skills, advanced Japanese electric vehicle technology and Chinese marketing initiatives in sustainable transportation solutions. The technology platform is based on the intellectual property rights of the Saab 9-3 vehicle, the so-called Phenix platform and the assembly plant in Trollhättan. The aim of Nevs is to develop and manufacture electric vehicles primarily for the Chinese market Automotive Sweden Newsletter April Home page of National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB. 38

40 ETC Battery and FuelCells Sweden AB ETC is an independent knowledge centre active in the field of electrochemical power sources, batteries and fuel cells. The company engages in the development of batteries and fuel cells through prototypes and pilot production. ETC also offers lectures, seminars and training, and has its own testing facility for batteries and battery systems developed for electric vehicles and plug-in hybrids. Although the company s prime focus is on lithium batteries, other new technologies and systems for storing electrochemical energy are being developed and tested. The history of ETC dates back to 1999, when Tudor decided to cease all battery production in Nol, north of Gothenburg. To retain the battery expertise, a non-profit organisation, Energitekniskt Centrum was created in 2001 between Chalmers University of Technology, the Royal Institute of Technology (KTH), Lund University, Business Region Göteborg, Ale Municipality, Göteborg Energi and Eka Chemicals. In 2002, ETC Battery and FuelCells Sweden AB was formed as an operational subsidiary of the non-profit association. ETC currently has seven employees, and it has originated a number of spinout companies and activities. One result is the network and interest organisation Vätgas Sverige (Hydrogen Sweden), and another is Alelion Batteries. Alelion Batteries AB Alelion Batteries AB was founded in 2006 as a spinout from ETC Batteries and FuelCells, with funding from IKEA GreeTech and Fouriertransform. The company, based in Mölndal close to Gothenburg, has approximately 20 employees. Its main business is to define, develop and deliver tailor-made batteries and power electronics. Alelion currently focuses on lithium iron phosphate cells and batteries. Effpower AB Effpower was founded in 1999 to commercialise a breakthrough in bipolar battery technology and has its background and founding from AB Volvo and Chalmers University of Technology. Effpower offers complete battery systems and energy storage solutions customised for applications such as hybrid electric vehicles (HEV), battery electric vehicles (BEV), wind power, solar cells and photovoltaic and other industrial applications. Effpower s portfolio of battery cells includes a number of lithium-ion battery cells and high-power capable lead-acid batteries. The company offers concept development, detailed design, testing services and prototypes/demonstration. Effpower is situated in Gothenburg and has approximately 25 employees. ECar Sweden AB (former EV Adapt AB) EV Adapt AB started as a partnership between Autoadapt and Alelion Batteries. A prototype of a Fiat 500 converted to electric drive was presented in 2009 and the first sale was made in In September 2011, Jotech Design acquired all of the assets of EV Adapt and changed its name to ECar Sweden. ECar has five employees and is located in Nödinge. Clean Motion Clean Motion AB was created by key individuals from the vehicle and manufacturing industry. Its purpose is to develop and manufacture a small, lightweight and composite-based 39

41 three-seater as a purpose-built electric vehicle for the segment/use between a scooter and a car. The resulting high-energy efficiency allows for an approximate 50 km range on a 2 kwh battery capacity. The near-term goal is to test and demonstrate the vehicle in small proto market situations in which the primary users are electric utilities and research projects. The projected mid-term market use for the vehicle is as a complement for private users in larger European cities, for commercial users that require short-distance transportation and for vehicle rental businesses or taxi businesses that operate in civic centres of cities SME in Transport Efficiency Vehco AB Vehco delivers professional fleet management computing solutions, primarily to fleet operators, truck centres and other service-intensive companies. The company offers increased competitiveness and reduced operating costs through more efficient information flow, reduced environmental impact and safer transport. The company started at the Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship in 2001 and subsequently merged with two European competitors. Currently, Vehco is a market leader with approximately 40 employees and is located in Gothenburg. Pilotfish Networks AB Pilotfish Networks systems optimise and manage complex wireless data communication to and from mobile entities. The solutions are based on three separate parts: wireless gateways, telematics servers and professional services. The most important market is bus operators in public transport. One of the company s large customers is Västtrafik, a public transport company in West Sweden. Pilotfish has approximately 16 employees in Gothenburg. Pilotfish has introduced a new concept for eco-driving, adapted specifically for the European public transport sector. The system is said to enable sustainable fuel savings of more than 10 percent and considers factors with a high impact on fuel consumption that are out of drivers control. Parameters such as vehicle model, type of route, passengers weight and weather conditions are excluded. The driver can control the remaining factors. Braking, speeding and unnecessary idling are continuously displayed to the driver, as is current excess fuel consumption SME in Biofuels Hardstaff AB Hardstaff AB, owned by the US-based Hardstaff group, is a new company set up to install Hardstaff Dual Fuel Technology in new Volvo trucks. The system is designed for use with both compressed natural gas (CNG) and liquefied natural gas (LNG). Hardstaff AB is situated in a new production plant near Volvo headquarters in Gothenburg and has approximately 10 employees in the region. 40

42 Alternative Fuel Vehicle Sweden AB (AFV) Alternative Fuel Vehicle Sweden AB was founded in 1999 by former Volvo employees. AFV converts cars (currently the Volvo V70) to run on biogas. The company has its industrial premises adjacent to the Volvo factory in Gothenburg that produces cars. AFV has approximately 25 employees in Sweden Other Göteborg Energi Göteborg Energi is 100 percent owned by the City of Gothenburg and is the major electric utility in the region. Annual turnover is approximately SEK 8 billion and the company has approximately 1200 employees. Göteborg Energi has a relatively long history in projects related to biogas fuels and electric vehicles, and aspires to deliver a biogas equivalent of 1 TWh in 2020, equivalent to the energy required for approximately 30 percent of current deliveries in Gothenburg or to fuel approximately 75,000 cars. The gasification plant is under preparation. Since 2007, Göteborg Energi has operated the Gasendal plant in Gothenburg. This plant receives biogas from the local wastewater treatment plant and upgrades it to natural gas quality, making it usable in vehicles. This plant has an approximate annual capacity of 60 GWh. Göteborg Energi also invests in charging infrastructure for electric vehicles to test, demonstrate and prepare for electric vehicles. Approximately 90 electric charging stations have been set up in the Gothenburg area, including two fast-charging stations. Charging stations for buses and lightweight trucks are under preparation. 3.8 Universities and institutes research and education Technical university - Chalmers University of Technology Chalmers University of Technology, founded in 1829, was transformed into an independent foundation in Chalmers has developed leading research in the areas of material science, information technology, micro and nanotechnology, environmental sciences and energy and life sciences. Annual turnover is SEK million (approximately 310 million), out of which 69 percent is related to research. Approximately 68 percent of funding for research is acquired competitively from external sources. Chalmers has been involved in EU-funded research projects since 1990 and is continuously involved in approximately 145 industrial and educational projects within different EU programmes. The Chalmers parts within FP6 (142 projects) had a contract value of 45 million. Presently (late 2011), Chalmers is the beneficiary in 162 accepted projects in FP7 and the coordinator of 15 of these contracts. In addition, Chalmers is the host for nine ERC grants. Over the years, Chalmers has participated in 550 Framework Programme projects and has been the coordinator of 64 FP projects. Approximately 14,000 people work and study at Chalmers University of Technology, of whom 2500 are employees. The university offers PhD and licentiate programmes, as well as MScEng, MArch, BEng and nautical programmes. Approximately 6400 students (FTE) are in programmes that lead to approximately 1300 master s degrees annually. An estimated 1100 students are involved in doctoral programmes, creating 250 PhDs and licentiate thesis degrees annually. Between 2002 and 2009, a total of 1236 PhDs graduated from Chalmers. A study from 2011 traced 967 of the engineering PhDs and found that 485 stayed in the region. Of 41

43 these, 238 were employed as researchers or teachers at either the technical university (Chalmers) or the general university, University of Gothenburg. 53 Although no data exist on the share of automotive engineers in this cohort, the regional automotive industry sector is generally viewed as absorbing a significant number of both master s students and PhD students who graduate from Chalmers University of Technology. The automotive activities of Chalmers are spread over the departmental structure, the different engineering centres and the different Areas of Advance. The technical university has 17 departments. 54 The main departments relevant to automotive research and development in the area of safe and green road vehicles are Transport, Energy, Materials, Production and Information and Communication Technologies. Chalmers hosts a number of engineering research centres, in the form of excellence centres or competence centres, in relevant areas for the present study. These centres are primarily the Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC), Competence Centre for Catalysis (KCK), Combustion Engine Research Centre (CERC), Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Transportation Fuels (f3) and Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre (SAFER). The centres are described in greater detail in subsequent sections of this report. Transport Area of Advance The primary organising activity with respect to the present focus is the Transport Area of Advance. Chalmers started in 2009 eight Areas of Advance in the primary research areas of the university. These are: Built Environment, Energy, Information and Communication Technology, Life Science, Materials Science, Nanoscience and Nanotechnology, Production and, finally, Transport. From a national competition, five of the eight Areas of Advance received new and targeted governmental support with the aim to localise national responsibility in the academic system in selected areas to a specific university (national specialisation). 55 Apart from the Transport Area of Advance, relevant research can be found in all areas except for Built Environment and Life Science. The research focus of Transport Area of Advance is on: traffic safety; transport efficiency and customer adapted logistics; and sustainable vehicle technologies. 53 Chalmers Vart tar Chalmers doktorer vägen? Spridning av doktorer examinerade med avseende på geografi, arbetsgivare och befattning. Chalmers University of Technology, SFS-rapport 2011: Applied Information Technology, Applied Mechanics, Applied Physics, Architecture, Chemical and Biological Engineering, Civil and Environmental Engineering, Computer Science and Engineering, Earth and Space Sciences, Energy and Environment, Fundamental Physics, Materials and Manufacturing Technology, Mathematical Sciences, Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Product and Production Development, Shipping and Marine Technology, Signals and Systems and Technology Management and Economics. 55 The government created for the period 2010 to 2014 an increased and new mechanism in the form of direct block-funding to universities in strategic research areas, with the aim to create a larger geographical concentration in the national system. In total, MSEK for 20 different research areas was allocated to 43 research environments. Lund University and Chalmers University of Technology became the major winners in this call, with Chalmers receiving more than MSEK 700 for five of its eight prioritised research areas, with Transport being one of these areas. (Source: Research Council home page). 42

44 The thematic technology area of automotive engineering and communication and energy is related to approximately 30 master programmes at Chalmers University of Technology. The educational capacity is closely integrated with the regional innovation system, and entrepreneurial and business development educational programmes are linked to specific technical and engineering courses. In relevant areas, between 300 and 400 graduates a year enter the workforce equipped with the competence required to take breakthroughs further in business, whether for new or existing companies. CATA Chalmers University of Technology has developed a master s programme specifically for the area of transportation, CATA Chalmers Automotive and Transport Academy a joint interface between Chalmers and the automotive and transport industries that serves as a platform for contacts and a forum for mutual exchanges between Chalmers and its industrial partners. The three aims of CATA are to stimulate work-integrated learning, to secure future competency needs through interaction between Chalmers, industry and society and to align higher education with work-integrated learning. Chalmers is working closely with its industrial partners to design the master s programmes relevant to the automotive and transport sectors to ensure that the education will meet their future needs. Every week, CATA arranges a seminar to give students a view of their forthcoming roles as automotive or transportation engineers. Invited to speak are people who have been working for a couple of years as an automotive engineer and can thereby give their views and experiences working as an industrialist. Within CATA, the 16 areas of Chalmers master s programmes as listed in Table 8 are related to the automotive sector. Table 8. Master s programmes of specific relevance to safe and green vehicles Master s Programme Technical Area Automotive Engineering Powertrain & Dynamics Electric Power Engineering Powertrain & Dynamics Applied Mechanics Powertrain & Dynamics Production Engineering Production & Logistics Management Quality and operations management Production & Logistics Management Supply Chain Management Production & Logistics Management Engineering Mathematics and Computational Science Design Materials Engineering Design Sound and Vibration Design Industrial Design Engineering Design Interaction Design and Technology Design Sustainable Energy Systems Sustainable Product Development Product Development Sustainable Product Development Technology, Society and the Environment Sustainable Product Development Software Engineering and Technology Vehicle Electronics Systems, Control and Mechatronics Vehicle Electronics Individual Courses Related to the Automotive Area Within these 16 master s programmes are 58 current courses ranging from 4.5 credits to 15 credits (54 of these courses are five-credit courses). Table 9 lists each of these courses categorised as either green, safe or another specific topic important to the automotive industry. 43

45 Table 9. Courses of specific relevance to safe and green vehicles Course name Green (G) Safe (S) Specific topic within Automotive (X) Credits Chalmers formula student (AE) G S 15 Chalmers Eco Marathon (AE) G S 15 Eco Marathon (AE) G S 15 Engineering of automotive systems (AE) G S 4.5 Combustion Engineering G 7.5 Electric drives G 7.5 Electric drives 1 G 7.5 Electric drives 2 G 7.5 Environmental aspects on logistics and transportation G 7.5 Freight transport systems G 7.5 Fuel Cells function and materials G 7.5 Gas turbine technology G 7.5 Hybrid vehicles and control G 7.5 Internal combustion engines G 7.5 Internal combustion engines advanced G 7.5 Management of physical distribution G 7.5 Nanotechnology for sustainable energy G 7.5 Power electronic converters G 7.5 Power electronic devices and applications G 7.5 Powertrain Mechanics G 7.5 Sustainable energy futures G 7.5 Sustainable power production and transportation G 7.5 Technical change and the environment G 7.5 Advanced active safety S 7.5 Advanced passive safety S 7.5 Advanced software architecting S 7.5 Advanced vehicles dynamics S 7.5 Applied Mechatronics S 7.5 Applied structural dynamics S 7.5 Cognitive ergonomics S

46 Fault-tolerant computer systems S 7.5 Parallel and distributed real-time systems S 7.5 Real-time control systems S 7.5 Vehicle and Traffic Safety S 7.5 Vehicle Dynamics S 7.5 Active noise control X 7.5 Advanced material mechanics X 7.5 Building acoustics and community noise X 7.5 Composite mechanics X 7.5 Compressible flow X 7.5 Computer aided Manufacturing X 7.5 Design quality and materials for advanced design X 7.5 Engineering metals X 7.5 Finite element simulation in design X 7.5 Heating, ventilation and air conditioning systems engineering X 7.5 Joining Technology X 7.5 Material handling and production flow X 7.5 Materials Mechanics X 7.5 Measurement techniques for automotive applications X 7.5 Modelling and simulation X 7.5 Platform development and modularisation management X 7.5 Road vehicle aerodynamics X 7.5 Road vehicle aerodynamics advanced X 7.5 Six sigma black belt X 7.5 Structural dynamics X 7.5 Technical acoustics 1 X 7.5 Vibration control X 7.5 Visual brand identity and product design X

47 Professional Education Chalmers Professional Education (CPE) is Chalmers University of Technology s organisation that offers tailored education to industry professionals. One of the main customer groups belongs to the automotive sector, which is particularly important given the approaching paradigm shift because of the transition from the from internal combustion engine to the electric drivetrain. Volvo Engineering Student Concept (VESC) is a collaborative programme with Volvo Car Corporation that provides summer vacation work for master s students. The company offers Chalmers students a summer job and a platform for industry-integrated master s thesis work. From its initiation with last year s students, VCC has acted as a mentor and works in close cooperation with them. The concept is very promising and may also be developed with strong OEMs in the vicinity of Chalmers The major general university in the region University of Gothenburg A Gothenburg University College was established in In 1907, the college became an independent university college with the same status as the two national universities of Uppsala and Lund. However, the University of Gothenburg (GU) was formally founded in 1954 through the amalgamation of the university college with the medical college, which was established in The university now has eight faculty members and 40 different departments covering most scientific disciplines, from health care sciences and natural sciences to performing arts, social sciences, business and law. Currently, the University of Gothenburg offers the most comprehensive range of courses and degree programmes in Sweden for its 38,000 students. The university employs 5900 individuals, 2700 of whom are teachers and doctoral students and 490 are professors. The European Union is the second most important source of external funding for the university, after the Swedish Research Council. The University of Gothenburg is engaged in some 2300 collaborative projects, has 900 exchange agreements and welcomes over 2500 international students. 56 Although research at the University of Gothenburg is significant, it focuses primarily on contextual and societal issues of transportation. The primary institutions that are active in transport-related research and education are (including a note of some of their research) as follows. The Department of Human & Economic Geography has a research group that conducts mobility research and development geography research, and hosts a centre for regional analysis that has mobility as part of its focus. The Department of Psychology engages in applied research on how values, norms and motifs are constructed and the effect of travelling behaviour and modal choices. The research also focuses on how such factors interact with environmental policy and public acceptance of policy measures. The Department of Economics has an environmental economics unit, and the Department of Business Administration conducts research in marketing with relevance to transportation. The Department of Political Science has researchers working on decision-making processes and governance issues in the area of traffic. The research also includes studies on the social constructions of travel demand and vehicles for transportation, with a special focus on the social constructions of the environmental impact of car transport. The closely associated School of Public Administrations conducts research on risk handling and decision making in large societal processes concerning road construction. Applied IT focuses on innovation in the service sector that relates to the road vehicle industry. Projects often include vehicle OEMs

48 and are based on a design-oriented, user-centred R&D methodology. The School of Global Studies conducts research in the area of global motorisation and transport policy, which include issues of risk research. The Department for Chemistry and Molecular Biology conducts natural science research on particles from combustion, such as nano particles from road traffic (tires, etc.) and vehicles. The latter is an example of how some of the researchers working at the Chalmers Campus are in fact employees of the University of Gothenburg. The two major universities have a longer history of collaboration and several institutions engineering research and natural science research are integrated. Examples include research in physics and chemistry, for which integrated areas such as nanoscience research have implication for catalysis, combustion, batteries and fuel cells. For example, the department of chemistry at the University of Gothenburg is located in the chemistry building on the Chalmers Campus at Johanneberg. The link between the two largest universities in the region is currently being strengthened by national strategic funding directly to the university in the advanced transport area, allocated as shared funding between the two universities: 15 percent (MSEK 7 per year) is to the University of Gothenburg and 85 percent (MSEK 39 per year) is to Chalmers University of Technology. The University of Gothenburg s share of strategic funding was established primarily as a result of its research in the goods transport sector of the latter. 57 The university has, as previously indicated, broad activities in transport research that, apart from the strategic funding and a limited number of larger research activities, are spread out over the different faculties and often occur in the form of individual researcher activity Other universities and university colleges in the region 58 University of Borås has six departments. It manages educations in Library and Information Studies, Business and Informatics, Fashion and Textile Studies, Behavioural and Education Sciences, Engineering and Health Sciences. The campus is located in the centre of the city of Borås, and the school hosts approximately 15,000 students and 650 employees. Six major research fields are offered, with a focus on environmental, sustainable development through new bio-based materials and, in particular, development of new methods for converting biomass to bioethanol and renewable materials. Parts of the research in informatics relate to ICT solutions for the transport sector. University of Skövde has 11,000 students (approximately 4400 full-year students) and a staff of approximately 500. The university offers approximately 50 study programmes and more than 600 courses. It has a profile of programmes in, for example, Industrial Informatics, Informatics and Information Fusion. University West (in Trollhättan) has approximately 11,000 students and 550 employees. The campus is centrally located in Trollhättan (location of Volvo Aero and Saab facilities) and offers a strong group in production technology research with links to the knowledge interest 57 Personal communication with Professor Johan Woxenius, who is responsible for the strategic research area of transport at the University of Gothenburg. 58 The description is primarily based on information available from the home page of each organisation. A fourth university college in the region, Swedish University of Agricultural Science (SLU), has research in areas pertinent to biofuels; however, the Campus Skara, which is the campus in the region, has no fuels-related research or other research in vehicle technology-related areas. 47

49 of Volvo Aero. The university offers a doctoral degree programme in several areas, including production technology (automation, metal forming and machining, thermal spraying and welding technology). The university also offers areas of study that are important to the automotive supply chain, which is centred on manufacturing in the region The Technical Research Institute of Sweden (SP) SP is a national research institute with headquarters and main facilities in Borås, 65 kilometres east of Gothenburg. The institute is accredited for calibration, testing, inspection and certification of products and management systems in several sectors, and is a notified body for approximately 25 different EU directives. SP has a turnover of more than SEK 1.1 billion and a staff of more than Its research covers both fundamental and applied work as contract work or consultancy services for approximately 9000 customers each year. The work requested may entail calculations, testing, evaluation, calibration, quality assurance and certification. The institute transfers knowledge through publications, seminars, training and various network activities. Much of this transfer relates to the dissemination of technology to small- and medium-sized companies. Activities cover approximately 30 technology areas organised into nine interworking technical departments. Examples of multidisciplinary areas include electronics and IT, engineering and transport technology and environmental and energy technology. More than half of the staff is graduate engineers or scientists, and 90 are trained research scientists. Recently, cooperation with universities and institutes of technology has deepened and now covers more than 70 institutions, of which approximately a dozen are in other countries. The institute participates continuously in approximately 30 EU projects in cooperation with partners and through international networks. SP is a member of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. Within the automotive field, SP concentrates particularly on electric vehicles, active safety, lightweight designs, communication and alternative fuels. Electric vehicles present new challenges and areas of new technical risk. High electric voltages must be safely handled when repairing vehicles and when the vehicles are in traffic accidents. Electric motor drives must not cause high levels of interference. Battery systems must store sufficient energy for long travel. Electrical safety, the risk of fire, battery technology and electromagnetic compatibility (EMC) are areas in which SP works that can support the automotive industry. Within the safety field, the institute possesses expertise in both passive and active safety systems. It develops testing methods and innovation environments for new safety systems. SP also performs a wide range of tests, evaluations and investigations of the components that go into passive safety systems. Environmental durability and service life of components can be tested in respect of EMC, temperature, humidity, dust, mechanical shock, mechanical vibration, salt mist, sunlight and corrosive environments in laboratories capable of testing full-size vehicles. E-marking can be offered as a technical service through the Swedish Transport Agency. The institute also offers functional safety evaluations and component assessments. The technology for communication between vehicles, and between them and the roadside, is another area of focus. SP has developed calculation models for traffic noise from vehicles, road surfaces and driving habits and measures, for example, the noise experienced in traffic environments and in 48

50 vehicles. Areas of expertise in automotive materials technology are in metallic materials, polymer materials (plastics and rubber), vehicle paints and other surface treatments. SP also provides facilities and expertise within the area of fire risks. Electrically powered vehicles and new fuels present new fire risks. The choice of materials and the design of interior fittings also affect the fire safety of cars and buses Viktoria Institute Viktoria institute is a non-profit IT-research institute with headquarters in Lindholmen in Gothenburg. Viktoria Institute is focusing on automotive and transport informatics and employs approximately 40 researchers. Viktoria Institute is part of Swedish ICT, also including Acreo, Imego, Interactive Institute and SICS. Swedish ICT is part of RISE Research Institutes of Sweden. Viktoria Institute s mission is to contribute to sustainable and competitive growth and the development of the automotive and transport industry in Sweden. Viktoria focuses on applied research, development and innovation in collaboration with the industry, and acts as a bridge between academy and industry. Viktoria Institute was founded in 1997 on the initiative of the industry in West Sweden, with Ericsson and Volvo as dominating partners. The Viktoria Institute is a joint-stock company owned by Swedish ICT (91 percent), the West Sweden IT Association (5 percent) and Chalmers University of Technology (4 percent). The West Sweden IT Association is open for membership to all stakeholders with interests within the IT domain and has among its members large companies such as Ericsson, Volvo and SKF, SMEs such as HiQ and Mecel, and public authorities such as the City of Gothenburg and Region Västra Götaland. The automotive competence area covers applied research with industry actors targeting IT applications and services that are based, or partly based, on in-vehicle computing and communication platforms. The five main application areas are cooperative systems, electromobility, open vehicle, sustainable transports and vehicle diagnostics. A senior researcher manages each research area. The Cooperative Systems research group focuses on both technical areas such as wireless communication, embedded systems, human-machine interfaces, data security and sensor fusion, and organisational aspects such as commercialisation and multi-stakeholder business modelling. The Electromobility research group aims to act as a catalyst and coordinator in cooperation projects with partners from the automotive, energy and telecommunication sectors. Important topics include intelligent infrastructure for efficient integration of electrical vehicles and new business models. The Open Vehicle research group specialises in digital innovation that could have a significant effect in the field of information systems. Examples of application areas include open architecture, HMI, telematics and nomadic device integration. The Sustainable Transports group covers applied research with industry actors targeting IT applications that support transportation practices. Utilising mobile devices embedded in vehicles and stationary systems placed in offices, three examples of IT application areas in the road transport industry are transport management, intelligent transports and everyday travelling. The Vehicle Diagnostics research group assists with the development of innovative diagnostic methods and optimised maintenance scheduling, as well as co-evolving holistic business models to match such capabilities. 49

51 3.8.6 VTI (the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute) VTI is a government agency under the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications. VTI s principal task is to conduct research and development related to infrastructure, traffic and transport. VTI works with all modes of transport and the fields of pavement technology, infrastructure maintenance, vehicle technology, traffic safety, traffic analysis, people in the transport system, environment, planning and decision-making processes, transport economics and transport system. VTI has approximately 200 employees, and its head office is in Linköping, with branch offices in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Borlänge. VTI has a unique simulator environment. It currently comprises three large, advanced driving simulators, a smaller training simulator and a rail simulator. The latest simulator, SIM IV, is located in Lindholmen Science Park in Gothenburg and was financed by Region Västra Götaland and VTI. The simulator has interchangeable car and truck cabins, which means that studies can be conducted using both passenger vehicles and heavy vehicles. VTI also offers a road materials laboratory and a crash test laboratory. The facilities are open resources that may be used by anyone to conduct experiments SWEREA 59 Swerea consists of the parent company and five research institutes: Swerea IVF, Swerea KIMAB, Swerea MEFOS, Swerea SICOMP and Swerea SWECAST. It is owned by five owner-associations (53 percent) that represent approximately 450 industrial companies and by RISE Holding AB (47 percent), a Swedish state holding company for ownership of industrial research institutes. Swerea employs approximately 485 people and, through its institutes, is currently involved in 83 research projects financed by the EU Framework Programme or the RFCS (Research Fund for Coal and Steel). Swerea creates and disseminates research results within materials sciences, process technology, product engineering and manufacturing engineering. A key area is automotive technology. Areas of expertise include corrosion in vehicles, crash testing and simulation, geometry assurance, lightweight designs and multimaterial solutions, lightweight products and materials, materials and components joining technology, new materials and casting processes, process development and production systems. Swerea IVF and parts of Swerea SICOMP are located in Gothenburg. Swerea IVF specialises in product and production development, manufacturing efficiency and work organisation. Swerea SICOMP specialises in polymer fibre composites. One important topic for collaboration with the automotive industry is bio-composites. 3.9 Professional and lobby organisations BIL Sweden BIL Sweden, the lobby organisation of the automotive industry, was formed in 1941 and is the organisation for manufacturers and importers of cars, trucks and buses in Sweden. BIL Sweden plays a role in issues related to automotive safety, automobile taxes, environmental protection, distribution, trade policy, traffic policy and Swedish and international regulations. Through membership in ACEA (Association des Constructeurs Européens d Automobiles) 59 Annual Report

52 and OICA (Organisation Internationale des Constructeurs d`automobiles), BIL Sweden cooperates with corresponding organisations in Europe and throughout the world. BIL Sweden s office, staffed with 12 people, is located in Stockholm FKG (Fordonskomponentgruppen) FKG is the Scandinavian automotive supplier association. It was set up almost twenty-five years ago and works with suppliers in Sweden, Norway and Finland. The organisation has approximately 340 members, including subsidiaries. Member companies range from large, global so-called Tier 1-suppliers and medium-sized engineering companies to small start-ups, often built around an innovation. Member companies also include raw material producers, sales companies, construction and design companies, software companies and pure service companies. Several global consulting agencies are also members. The Norwegian organisation Norpart and the Finnish Finnsuppliers are associated members of FKG. In turn, FKG is a member of Clepa, the European supplier organisation, and uses this network to make new contacts and strengthen its position with suppliers. FKG is registered as a nonprofit association and owns a limited company within which all business activities are undertaken. The organisation is financed through membership charges, proceeds from seminars, advertising profits and project funding primarily from the authorities VINNOVA and Tillväxtverket (former NUTEK). FKG help its members develop as suppliers to the automotive industry by: being the sector s mouthpiece towards industry, politicians, authorities and mass media; creating meeting places to increase information, strengthen relations between suppliers and create opportunities for growth; and initiating activities to strengthen of skills. The organisation is a contracting party in jointly financed vehicle research programmes (for example, FFI), in which the other parties are manufacturers and a handful of authorities represent the state. The organisation provides suppliers with support in formulating projects, seeking financing and initiating projects. FKG organises meeting places to help their members develop their businesses and create growth. One type of meeting place is shared exhibition stands at important supplier trade fairs. FKG also arranges business meetings between members, automotive manufacturers and suppliers in other countries. These meeting places fall under the collective name of Go Global. The FKG office is in Gothenburg, and is manned by a CEO, administrative staff and two senior consultants Hydrogen Sweden (Vätgas Sverige) 60 Hydrogen Sweden is a public private partnership with members and financiers from industry, NGOs and local, regional and national governments. This public private partnership was founded in January 2007 and promotes a balanced and pragmatic approach to hydrogen. Hydrogen Sweden is a non-profit organisation with approximately 50 members, and its mission is to facilitate the introduction of hydrogen as an energy carrier in Sweden. Activities include demonstration projects, information activities and efforts to strengthen the collaboration between actors from various fields with a joint interest in hydrogen. Hydrogen

53 Sweden s office is in Gothenburg. Region Västra Götaland initiated the network that led to Hydrogen Sweden in 2003 and is still one of its main financers. Hydrogen Sweden is a member of the Scandinavian Hydrogen Highway Partnership, the European cooperation HyER and the European Hydrogen Association EHA Energy Technology Center for Batteries and Fuel Cells (Energiteknikcentrum) Energy Technology Center for Batteries and Fuel Cells (Energiteknikcentrum) is a non-profit organisation and the owner of ETC Batteries and FuelCells Sweden AB. Energiteknikcentrum initiated the non-profit organisation Hydrogen Sweden and the battery company Alelion. Its membership consists of four major Swedish technical universities (in Gothenburg, Stockholm, Uppsala and Lund), one electricity producer (Vattenfall), a local distributor (Göteborg Energi) and Ale Municipality and the Business Region Gothenburg. Region Västra Götaland has been funded by both ETC and Hydrogen Sweden

54 4. CLUSTER INITIATIVES TECHNOLOGY FOCUS, COMPETENCE PROFILE AND ORGANISATIONAL ASPECTS The technological capacity of the regional cluster is distributed over several specialised cluster initiatives. The following sections describe two thematic clusters for green and safe vehicles, and one functional cluster for projects and the generation of new cluster initiatives. 4.1 Green cluster initiatives The research-driven thematic cluster initiatives that develop new technology in the area of green road vehicles are separated in five technology competence areas. A cluster initiative role is performed also by the national FFI programme (which to different degrees cover all five competence areas). The competence areas are biofuels, combustion and aftertreatment, electromobility, lightweight structures, transport efficiency and green vehicle advanced engineering. Other cluster initiatives exist and were previously mentioned in the report, but are not research-driven clusters in the same way. Primarily, these initiatives are Biogas West (see Ch. 3.2), Hydrogen Sweden (Ch. 3.9) and Energy Technology Center for Batteries and Fuel Cells (Ch. 3.9). Table 10. Green cluster initiatives f 3 Biofuels CERC & KCK ICE & aftertreatment Green cluster initiatives SHC Electromobility LIGHTer 62 Lightweight structures CLOSER Transport efficiency FFI Green vehicle technology Chalmers University of Technology hosts the first three initiatives, which are organised as engineering competence centres funded and set up as research-intensive, public private partnerships initiatives. The fourth is similar, but is located outside the region; however, the link between production and lightweight design has been a focus of the regionally present automobile industry and has been a particular focus of the projects conducted by the innovation platform Innovatum in Trollhättan (described in a subsequent section). Several lightweight cluster partners are from the region. The fifth initiative is a platform for transportation actors collaboration on primarily increasing the efficiency in the goods transportation sector. CLOSER is hosted by Lindholmen Science Park (described in subsequent section). Even though the latter is not primarily focused on vehicles, many of the measures proposed within the area of transport efficiency also have implications at the vehicle level. The sixth collaborative initiative, FFI, was described in the first chapters of the report and is a large national public private partnership initiative in advanced engineering and vehicle R&D in Sweden. Although FFI is not formally a regional cluster initiative, it performs several important functions of a cluster initiative (analysis, coordination between actors, roadmaps, among others) and has members from regional industry. All but the biofuels 62 The regional integration of this newly started initiative is somewhat weaker; however, it is relevant and interesting in the sense that it represents knowledge transfer between the aerospace industry (Volvo Aero and SAAB Aeronautics) and the heavy vehicle and automobile vehicle industry. Regional partners of LIGHTer include the road vehicle industry, Institute Swerea AB and the regional innovation platform in Trollhättan, Innovatum Technology. The primary technical university partners in the LIGHTer collaboration arena are from outside the region (KTH in Stockholm, and Linköping Institute of Technology). 53

55 centres are national efforts and are part of the national innovation system. In several cases, they play a coordination function for the national cluster in their respective area. They also play a central role in the regional setting in their respective area given their location and the strong engagement of participating actors from the region Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Transportation Fuels (f3) The Swedish Knowledge Centre for Renewable Fuels (f3) is a national centre that, through cooperation and a systems approach, is expected to contribute to the development of sustainable fossil free fuels for transportation. The centre will, through joint efforts with centre partners, synthesise current research on the production of renewable fuels and supplementing research, such as comparative systems analyses of fuels, processes, raw materials and plant design. The industrial partners are from both the energy sector and the vehicle industry: Preem, Perstorp, Göteborg Energi, Eon Sweden, SekabE-technology, Volvo Technology and Scania. The participating academic collaborators include Chalmers University of Technology (Host of Centre), Royal Institute of Technology, Lund Institute of Technology and Swedish University of Agricultural Science. Funding is from the Swedish Energy Agency and Region Västra Götaland. Annual turnover is MSEK 21 (started in 1995) and its technical focus is on biofuels and primarily ethanol and biogas Combustion Engine Research Centre (CERC) The Combustion Engine Research Centre, hosted by Chalmers, is one of three national research centres in Sweden in combustion engineering (the other are KCFP at Lund University and CICERO at Royal Institute of Technology). Since 2010, the three centres maintained a common coordination function, the Internal Combustion Engine Consortium, SICEC, which also has a common steering board. The industrial partners of the regional centre, CERC, are Saab Automobile Powertrain AB, Scania CV AB, Volvo Powertrain AB, Volvo Car Corporation, Statoil AB and Honda. With an annual turnover of MSEK 21 (started in 1995), the aim of the centre is to provide a forum for industry and academia to meet to perform high quality research in combustion engineering, and to gain fundamental knowledge on the physical processes involved in high pressure spray combustion through experiments and modelling, and defining and investigating new technologies and combustion concepts that lead to cleaner and more efficient engines. Knowledge should be transferred to industry through the close links between research and industrial partners, and the centre strives to educate engineers and scientists on securing rapid technological development of the engine industry. The centre s technical focus is combustion modelling and computer simulation, flame propagation and diagnostics, advance engines, especially direct injection engines, and pertinent engine control systems Competence Centre for Catalysis (KCK) Since 1995, the Competence Centre for Catalysis, KCK, has been an interdisciplinary research centre located at Chalmers University of Technology. KCK has partners in the vehicle industry, including AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation AB, Scania CV AB and Saab Automobile Powertrain AB. Other partners include ECAPS AB, Haldor Topsøe A/S and Lindholmen Science Park. KCK s primary funding is from the Swedish Energy Agency. Its research focuses on catalysis for emission control with a growing share of energy-related catalysis and is executed through three main programmes: reduction of nitrogen oxides in excess oxygen, oxidation of hydrocarbons and particulates and catalytic techniques for 54

56 sustainable energy systems. Three primary research groups participate: Chemical Physics, Applied Surface Chemistry and Chemical Reaction Engineering. KCK s annual turnover is MSEK 21 per year (started in 1995). Technical focus is on the following three areas. The first areas is analysis of the exhaust gases of vehicles, with an aim to develop and enhance methods for reduction of NOx in excess oxygen, essential for diesel- and lean-burn engines. At present, three main concepts exist to deal with this problem: (i) NOx storage and reduction catalysts, (ii) continuous catalytic reduction of NOx and (iii) selective catalytic reduction of NOx with urea or ammonia. The second area is catalytic reduction/oxidation of fuels. The trend towards more fuel-efficient engines results in low-temperature exhaust gases, which increase the demand on after-treatment systems. The third area is new catalytic materials and catalytic techniques for the transformation of fossil- and biomass-based feedstocks to fuels, such as alcohols, ethers and synthetic diesel and development of new, effective and stable electrodes for fuel cell applications. Techniques based on catalysis can be used for both energy supply and increased energy effectiveness, as well as in energy transfer processes. Fuel cells is one example of energy transfer applications that combines nano-technology and electro-chemical catalysis to both reduce the need for expensive precious metals and increase the lifetime of the electrodes. Photo electro-chemical solar cells Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC) The Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC) is the major research centre for electric hybrid technology in Sweden and plays the role as a national coordinator for this research area. When the automotive industry faced the beginning of the paradigm shift in 2006 from fossil fuel engines to hybrid powertrains, the Swedish Energy Agency and other actors initiated in 2007 the Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre. The centre is organised as an academic engineering research and development centre with Chalmers as the main hub. The industrial partners are AB Volvo, Volvo Car Corporation, Saab Automobile AB and Scania CV AB, which includes all OEMs except for Hägglunds (producer of military vehicles). Public funding is from the Swedish Energy Agency. Other academic partners include the Royal Institute of Technology, Lund Institute of Technology within Lund University, Uppsala University and Linköping University. Turnover during the two first phases was MSEK 97.5 ( ) and MSEK 97.5 during The Swedish Energy Agency supports the centre with financial resources whereas the industry and academy put in 25 percent as financial and 75 percent as in-kind resources. The three technical focus areas of the centre are as follows. (1) System studies and tools, which aim to develop, adapt and assess methods to support the virtual development of hybrid electrical vehicles based on mathematical models of components and subsystems; develop, adapt and assess methods and algorithms for modelling, monitoring, controlling and optimising hybrid systems; and to create a platform for model-based system studies jointly with the other research themes of SHC based on the research results from all SHC areas, a vital part of which is to support the creation of the SHC simulation platform. (2) The SHC research theme on electric machines and drives aims to develop and collect knowledge on electrical drives to support engineers in the Swedish automotive industry and to develop designs, production technology and methods based on the best material and control methods available. (3) Important areas of interest in the research theme energy storage are battery management, state-of-charge and health monitoring, thermal management, lifetime expectancy, degradation mechanisms, failure modes, system performance models, battery production based on in-house research on active materials, electrolytes, electrode and cell design and production technology. 55

57 4.1.5 CLOSER Cluster for transport efficiency CLOSER was launched in 2011 as a project within Lindholmen Science Park, and is now financed by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation, VINNOVA, and the Swedish Transport Administration. CLOSER works as a cluster agent node that, from a comparably small office, organises (enlarged) cluster initiatives in the transport area. Its goal is to become a national centre and resource for strategic collaboration among the business, academic and public sectors in the field of transport efficiency. The objective is to provide a powerful demonstration and innovation environment with expertise to coordinate large, multistakeholder projects (in other words, cluster initiatives). The partners of CLOSER are VINNOVA, the Swedish Transport Administration, Chalmers University of Technology, Schenker, Scania and AB Volvo. CLOSER will support future research and development projects in industry and academic sectors, and will promote a Swedish vision for increased transportation efficiency. Primary focus areas are the goods transport sector, high capacity transports, green corridors and smart urban transport. 63 For example, CLOSER was the primary organising agent when many different actors from the city of Gothenburg, the municipality, the region, academia, the vehicle industry and the transport and logistics industry formulated three larger actor constellation and innovation processes for sustainable transportation. This mobilisation was initiated by, but did not depend on, the large VINNOVA call, Challenge-driven Innovation, VINNOVA s new strategy for strengthening Swedish innovation capacity FFI Green vehicles programme areas On the one hand, FFI is an important funding source for CERC, KCK and SHC. On the other hand, it is also in itself an organisational activity that gathers key persons involved in technical R&D in industry, government and academia. The FFI programme and board structure for the areas of Energy & Environment and Transport Efficiency have a direct focus on green vehicle technology; in addition, both Production Technology and Vehicle R&D organise research and innovation that are indirectly relevant to the green theme. The production technology theme includes manufacturing aspects of new materials, and the vehicle R&D programme includes collaborations on the development of manufacturing techniques needed for a new generation of vehicles Commonalities in membership The same organisations largely participate in all cluster initiatives. The primary organisations of the regional green thematic cluster in road vehicle technology are centred on vehicle industry, national government programmes with a large regional impact, the regionally present institute sector and, finally, regional and functionally specialised innovation platforms CLOSER Work Plan An innovation platform is a proactive actor for innovation and not merely a passive infrastructure for projects. Platforms plan, initiate and coordinate different cluster initiatives. The Region of Västra Götaland funds primarily innovation platform activities and development projects for which regional actors collaborate in a triple helix mode. 56

58 Table 11. Green cluster actors Green cluster (primary) actors Industry Academia Government Institute Collaboration Platforms VTEC Volvo Bus Volvo Truck Scania (increased presence) Volvo Car Corp SME electromobility CTH HB (biofuels) GU (behaviour) FFI/VINNOVA VINNOVA STEM VGR Tillväxtverket BRG SP Viktoria LSP TSS CLOSER Innovatum Views of interviewed actors on green cluster focus, competence and organisation With respect to key technologies, many different areas are mentioned. Internal combustion engines made more efficient, lean diesels. Liquefied biogas, and electrification. (Public, I-9) the future is in plug-in technology, or range extenders. Battery-only electric vehicles will only be a niche market product (Academia, I-3) [long-term] key technologies are still an open question hydrogen, electricity, bio, or combinations. What is certain however is that the [IC] engines can be made much more efficient. It is important now not to close the door to any of the potential technologies. The only solution we cannot allow to grow too much are fuels that require large areas, e.g. wheat-based and sugar based ethanol or RME // The collaboration in the region is good but sometimes it is too narrow, for example the regional biogas initiatives, why is biomass be used only as fuels for vehicles. (Academia, I-2) From the point of view of production, mainly new materials and more general communication systems in, and between vehicles. (Automotive industry, I-13) The future is in hydrogen and electricity And another key technology is electrified roads // However, the cost of batteries determines the prospect for electric vehicles. [small changes in projected cost change the scenarios dramatically] (Academia, I-2) Electronics, electro-technology, light-weight design, ICT, and electrified roads. (Automotive industry, I-6/7/8) With respect to electric technology, the need for electric motors is highlighted. In ICT and electronics, the area of autonomous vehicle functions is growing and is where system integration and system solutions will be important. Both areas in Swedish engineering are considered strong. The common view in interviews on education and competence is that the search first occurs locally, which often solves the problem. As a stated preference and in principle, actors do not 57

59 regard the regional and local setting as important for competences and collaboration; however, in practice, this setting remains important to them. For early research and innovation, close proximity is not as important. In the implementation phase this is more important Competence I seek first locally, then externally. The very top competence may not be found locally, but for the need I have maybe the local competence is sufficient, and it is more accessible. (Automotive industry, I-13) Core competence in specific areas is probably localised to the largest OEMs. Competence in this area is concentrated to a few OEMs, and it is a challenge to motivate why West Sweden is the natural region for the green cluster. (Automotive industry, I-6-8) In the systemic approaches and cluster building initiatives, biogas is often mentioned. The city and the region are viewed to be in the frontline for biogas in buses through local procurement. (Public, I-9) Electromobility is also mentioned as an area requiring a systemic approach and collaboration. the largest potential is in buses. Volvo Bus has indicated that they probably will not sell traditional drive-line s a few years from now, and that electrified buses will probably be commercially possible. But Volvo need to have a home market that gives them a head-start, it will be a win-win situation for all. Also, Volvo and Scania can develop partnership. However, the current regional procurement policy [on buses] is a problem (Academia, I-3) There are many large EU projects [on hybrid technology] that looks good on paper but that are without any real substance. (Academia, I-3) The stuff we develop today we could have done already 5-10 years ago When it becomes commercially interesting things start to change // We have reached a point where the industry are prepared that something is going to happen In 2-3 years time we moved from having only a few in industry talking about it [e-mobility] to a situation where now it is anchored and industry is prepared to act. The problem is they do not know exactly on what. (Academia, I-3) Sweden is strong in vehicle production having system integration competences as the core competence. We do research on the component level but do not have component producers The main challenge is to do the system integration at the overall vehicle level. You cannot separate the drive-line technology from the other parts of the vehicle. That is why automobile manufacturers have to maintain the overall responsibility for system integration However, batteries are key competence. We will not have producers of batteries in Sweden, still, it is not sufficient to just buy competence from the supplier, you have to have the technology competence yourself the whole chain of competence is needed [to do system integration] (Academia, I-3) 58

60 4.2 Safety cluster initiatives The research-driven thematic cluster initiatives for safety consist of three organising activities that are separated by their different type of innovation focus and role for the innovation process. The number of initiatives is fewer than in the case of green road vehicle technology; however, the safety area displays a greater concentration and is more mature and embedded within the automotive cluster. Table 12. Safety cluster initiatives SAFER Interdisciplinary R&D in active and passive safety in vehicles and traffic Safety cluster initiatives AstaZero Test site for traffic and vehicle safety FFI Vehicle technology R&D in safety SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre SAFER Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre is the primary research-intensive cluster initiative in Sweden in the area of road vehicle safety, and currently has 24 partners from academia, industry and government. More than half of the actors are part of the regional safety cluster in the sense that they are located in the region. The aim of SAFER is to form a vigorous and innovative academic research environment in which industrial and public partners participate actively [and that] develop university-industry interaction in order to derive long-term benefits for the society and to promote sustainable growth. 65 SAFER focuses on a range of research-intensive topics, from pre-competitive research on active safety (pre-crash), passive safety (crash and post-crash) to traffic safety analysis. The technology content in R&D on active safety is primarily concentrated on enabling technologies, such as communications and sensor fusion that can be applied to sensing systems that help avoid crashes. In the area of passive safety, SAFER conducts human modelling, analysis of injury mechanisms and evaluation of injury criteria, and develops concepts for new protective devices. Work on traffic safety analysis is focused on developing new or improved methodologies for testing that are based on realistic data. SAFER currently addresses six safety topics: (1) incidents and accidents; (2) driver state/action/reaction; (3) prediction for accident prevention; (4) methods for evaluation of safety systems; (5) safety for novel electric vehicles and vehicle combinations and (6) human models and biomechanics. SAFER s research on these topics are divided into twelve competence areas that represent a group of approximately 240 people, with 43 percent from Chalmers University of Technology and 57 percent from other organisations. SAFER, which has a role in organising primarily researchintensive collaborations in the safety area, has approximately 40 active PhD students. SAFER is organised into the following twelve subareas of competence (presented according to the different organisational base of the respective competence area leader): Chalmers Institute of Technology / Applied mechanics Biomechanics Protective systems Structure and materials 65 VINNOVA (2009) Evaluation of SAFER vehicle and traffic safety centre at Chalmers, a centre of excellence with financing from VINNOVA. VINNOVA Report VR 2009:04, p

61 Vehicle dynamics Field data Chalmers Institute of Technology / Signals and Systems Sensors and communications Chalmers Institute of Technology / Product and Production Development Human Factors Design Viktoria Institute Traffic Systems SP - Technical Research Institute of Sweden Functional safety (link to ASTA, see below) Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute Driving Simulator Applications (the SIM IV) AB Volvo Behaviour in Accident Causation (Vacant) Infrastructure AstaZero Active Safety Test Area AstaZero Active Safety Test Area is a development-intensive cluster initiative in its early phase that is set to open in SAFER forms the research-intensive cluster initiative that links academic research with the auto industry, safety system suppliers such as Autoliv and other stakeholders in the safety and active safety area. AstaZero Active Safety Test Area represents a new development-intensive cluster initiative for practical development and advanced testing in the area of road vehicle active safety. Active safety differs from the previous strong development in Autoliv, and AstaZero is a facility, site area and organisation for active safety development. It represents an organising activity among Swedish cluster actors that are complementary to the more academic organisation, SAFER. As a cluster initiative, the public partners side of the triple-helix primarily drives AstaZero. 66 The national public funding actors are academic partners, the Technical Research Institute of Sweden and Chalmers Institute of Technology, national government organisations, the Swedish Transport Administration and the state-owned venture capital firm for the automotive cluster, Fouriertransform and, finally, the regional development actor, Region Västra Götaland. The local city near the site, Borås Stad, supports the development. The primary industry actors are AB Volvo, Volvo Cars Corporation, Scania and Autoliv. Industry partners have agreed to conduct testing that will form part of the future funding of AstaZero. AstaZero can be accessed by partners using a strategic choice of the level of involvement of other actors, from having no contact with other partners to using AstaZero as an R&D partner or platform for open collaboration with other actors in industry and academia. Thus, AstaZero can be utilised in different ways, such as merely as a set of instruments to using it as the primary node for access to the cluster and actors with competence in active safety development and testing. Different test areas include city centres, country roads, highway roads, vehicle dynamics testing areas, a development centre located on-site and ICT testing infrastructure. 66 The establishment of AstaZero is calculated to cost MSEK 452. Direct funds for the first phase of AstaZero are approximately MSEK 210 in shared funding from the following public partners: Region Västra Götaland, EU regional funds (administered by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth), the Technical Research Institute of Sweden and Chalmers University of Technology. 60

62 Figure 6. AstaZero site FFI Safety programme areas Although FFI is not a cluster in the formal sense, it engages in certain cluster functions in the system. FFI represents a constellation of private and public actors that, in practice, organise Swedish technical R&D in safety and relies on a public private partnership mode (albeit the relationship is formalised by contractual agreements and is not open for actors to enter). Organising safety-related R&D occurs in the programme and the programme board area of vehicle safety and traffic safety, and indirectly through the vehicle R&D area. The partnerships gather all primary industry OEMs, a smaller number of suppliers with research capacity and primary national government authorities for road transport and innovation. The FFI safety programme area focuses on three future technological solutions, formulated as vehicle concepts: (1) the supportive and protective vehicle, (2) the anticipating and connected vehicle and, finally, (3) the interacting vehicle. Technology development is approached through six different subprogramme areas for safety and security: enabling technologies, basic safety properties of vehicles, crash safety, security (against antagonistic intervention), driver assistance and related interfaces between driver and vehicle and, finally, intelligent crash avoidance systems and vehicles Commonalities in membership The primary actors of the regional safety thematic cluster for road vehicles and vehicles in traffic are centred on one systems supplier, the automobile OEM with long experience in safety R&D, the research arm of AB Volvo, national government programmes, the testing capability of SP institute and, finally (and primarily), the cluster agent roles played by the research intensive centre, SAFER, which together with the newly established AstaZero centre and the competence on safety within Volvo Cars, form an exceptionally strong knowledge cluster in the area of active safety. Table 13. Safety cluster actors Safety cluster actors (primary) Industry Academia Government Institute Collaboration Platforms Autoliv Volvo Car Corp. VTEC/AB Volvo SP Chalmers Gothenburg Univ (behavioural research, IT) FFI/VINNOVA VTI SIM IV Nat. Transport Administration VGR Tillväxtverket SAFER/Lindholmen Science Park TSS/Lindholmen Science Park AstaZero 61

63 Another way to describe the regional capability is by presenting the regional infrastructure on safety-related R&D; see Table 14. Table 14. Safety cluster R&D infrastructure Safety cluster R&D infrastructure SAFER Multidisciplinary R&D at Lindholmen ASTA Test Site in Hällered VTI SIM IV National Simulator, located at LSP CTH Applied Mechanics lab VCC Hällered Test Site VCC Crash Safety Centre in Hisingen Autoliv Research lab and test track in Vårgårda Views of interviewed actors on safety cluster focus, competence and organisation The common view among interviewees is that the region is exceptionally strong in vehicle safety and traffic safety research and related technology development. The reasons are described primarily with reference to the work of VCC and Autoliv, and the more recent initiatives around SAFER and ASTA. The safety area is deeply embedded with industrial priorities and capacities and, in a sense, the thematic cluster is more specific and its locus is close to the automotive industry. Therefore, few of the interviewees likely enter into detailed discussions on the safety cluster and, in effect, the study generated less data on safety than on green issues. The wider issues in safety are handled by SAFER and are also organised at ASTA. In comparison, the thematic area of green vehicles displays a much wider and more socially distributed system, its cluster organises more actors and a wider variety of types of actors are active. In other words, one can say that, in comparison, safety represents a stable and strong cluster area but that in the process of now moving towards active safety systems it is undergoing a process of reformulation in which broader actor initiatives such as SAFER and ASTA may become more important to the future development capacity and competitiveness of OEMs in this area. Specific competence areas are related to vehicles and traffic systems. Chalmers is strong in Sweden in biomechanics, KTH is strong in head/neck related research. VCC and AB Volvo and Autoliv are complete. In terms of research, Chalmers do not have all areas, but all areas can be found in Sweden // Important technologies in the future will be human factor design, sensors and communication systems, and field data. We have 40 years of experience in field data from accidents and we now start to look into also driving behaviour data. (Academia, I-16) We should not make engineers into cognitive scientists; we should have engineers that understand cognitive science and that collaborate with these scientists. (Academia, I-16) You primarily seek the competence in the local environment. (Public, I-12) With respect to systemic approaches and the development of cluster functionality, views have been put forth that these approaches are currently too distributed/fragmented and that the public actor can play a role. 62

64 The collaboration is ok but not more, we see areas where more collaboration is desirable... SAFER is a step in the right direction // In SAFER the region and Gothenburg city entered in order to steer the research in a direction that is desirable to the region. That more actors have entered is positive, it now involves a wider set of actors. (Automotive Industry, I-17) ASTA is a good example where some has been forced to make compromises It has consumed resources for research that could have been used for other purposes collaboration is good but sometimes the cost is larger than the benefit. (Automotive industry, I-17) 4.3 General cluster initiatives - collaboration platforms and organisations with a cluster role for green and safe vehicle technology The science parks and project platforms described in the following section are not just facilities or passive hosts for projects and collaboration. They are cluster initiatives open to new actors and have been responsible for producing new cluster initiatives in technologyspecific areas (some of these initiatives are called arenas and are describe in more detail) Innovatum Technology Park 67 Innovatum Technology Park is a local and regional platform for innovation that has emerged from classical industrial territory and in response to the industrial structural change during the economic downturn in manufacturing in the 1970s and 1980s. The area in which Innovatum is located has a long industrial history. In 1847, Nohab started manufacturing there (for example, steam engines and locomotives) and later developed military technology. Both Saab Automobile AB and Volvo Aero Corporation are spin-offs from the Nohab industry. During the 1990s, unemployment was high in Trollhättan and the need existed to create employment, increase education levels and attract young people to engage in technical education and to support the existing industry in becoming more knowledge-based. The objective was to protect the cultural and industrial values at the same time as new experiences and knowledge were created. The outcome, Innovatum Foundation, was formed in 1997 by the city of Trollhättan, Region Västra Götaland, Saab Automobile AB, Volvo Aero Corporation, Vattenfall, Skanska and the local union. Because unemployment was very high, Trollhättan received financial support from the European Structural Funds, which enabled the development of a film centre (Film i Väst). Another important detail regarding Innovatum s background is the change in the automotive industry, for which new competences are needed to stay competitive, such as, for example telematics. Additionally, Innovatum has become a very important stakeholder given the recurring crisis of Saab Automotive and the local automotive industry. Innovatum Technology Park now contains a science centre, a project arena and an incubator. It is also a popular meeting venue. Currently, approximately 30 people work at Innovatum AB. 68 The project arena is where research meets business and offers premises and equipment as well as project managers and advisers who coordinate and operate research and development projects within the three focus areas (of which two are 67 Regionala utvecklingsmiljöer för innovation och förnyelse (Utvärderingsrapporter 2008:03 Regionutveckling)

65 relevant for the automotive industry): production technology, energy and environmental technology and media technology. Innovatum Technology has focused primarily on practical work in project generation and management of engineering intensive development projects in areas relevant to the local and regional industry. Innovatum has had a strong theme in production technology, primarily as a result of links to Volvo Aero and a focus on lightweight technology, also primarily approached as a production technology area. Another technology focus is that several project activities have been conducted in hybrid electric drive train technology, in particular linked to the earlier local OEM, Saab Automobile, and to an emerging ecosystem of electromobility SME. Innovatum has played a role as a host and stand-in function for local engineering competence structures, in particular with respect to the engineering capacity of the former Saab Automobile. Competence structures do not vanish because a business ends; rather, they are redistributed. The current role of Innovatum (and Region Västra Götaland) is to draw on these structures to develop a new ability in the innovation system. In a sense, Innovatum plays the role of both BRG and LSP, but in another local setting. Recently, Innovatum has begun to play strategic roles, in particular for activities and SMEs in the area of electromobility. InMotion, the regional development programme, supported with government funds, FFI funds and energy agency funds, supports the development of an Innovatum-based arena for electromobility development. For example, the large manufacturers working in the area of automobiles and heavy vehicles have contacts with research through SHC but are engaged primarily in inhouse development work. Innovatum plays a role in organising electromobility development projects in the region and outside the large OEM system and their main suppliers. The area with the longest traditions at Innovatum Project Arena is probably smart methods for production. Approximately 10 developing projects are currently operating within this field. Additional projects are underway within the Production Technology Centre (PTC), a cooperation between Innovatum, University West, Saab Automobile and Volvo Aero located at the Innovatum Project Arena. The aim of the centre, which includes a well-equipped laboratory, is to develop new smart production methods to strengthen the competitiveness of regional businesses and keep industrial production in Sweden. Research Team Production Technology West belongs to the university college, University West, and its research team is located at the PTC premises. They work on the development of production processes in the manufacturing industry with a focus on a surface coating process called thermal spraying, welding, cutting processing and sheet-metal stamping. The team also performs research on computer simulation, control and automation engineering and non-destructive testing. An important overarching aim of the research is to achieve sustainability in production. The research team includes approximately 50 researchers. 69 Another key area at Innovatum Project Arena is energy and environmental technology (cleantech). Approximately 10 projects within this field are currently operating. To further strengthen this key area, a centre called Green Factory was launched in late The concept was created during a project launched in 2009 with financing from the regional programme InMotion, the national agency Tillväxtverket and the European Regional Fund. The overall objective is to support new green innovations entering the market. Activities include

66 networking and business support. Sustainable transport is one of four key focuses. The partners of Green Factory include Innovatum, Högskolan Väst, Lantbrukarnas riksförbund, Saab Automobile AB, Skanska Sverige AB and Södra Skogsägarna och Trollhättan Energi AB. Green Factory is one of the supporters of the demonstration park for electric vehicle charging that is currently being set up at the premises of Innovatum Lindholmen Science Park 70 The background to the development of Lindholmen Science Park begins during the structural crisis in the shipbuilding industry in the late 1970s, which led to a shutdown in 1979 and unemployment that was reduced by the expansion of the automotive sector. During the mid- 1980s, a development strategy was formed for the old shipyard area that was now state owned because of previous state rescue loans to the shipbuilding industry. In 1992, parts of Chalmers University were moved to Lindholmen, together with several upper secondary schools. The idea of Lindholmen as a new knowledge environment began to take shape. The City of Gothenburg acquired the area with facilities for the symbolic sum of SEK 1, including debts, and started to develop the area. A municipal company, Norra Älvstranden AB, was formed Lindholmen in At this point, the Gothenburg region did not have a science park. Chalmers was one of the stakeholders that saw the need for a science park that could be an international competitive environment. Gothenburg city supported the idea and the company Lindholmen Development AB (today Lindholmen Science Park) was formed. Norra Älvstranden AB had responsibility for the development of the physical infrastructure and the built environment, and Lindholmen Development AB had the responsibility to develop the platforms and infrastructure for innovation, entrepreneurship and growth. The local environment of Lindholmen Science Park now includes approximately 300 companies with 9700 employees, including Volvo Technology, Ericsson, IBM, Semcon and Swedish Television. The area also includes the Lindholmen Campus of IT University, a joint university between the University of Gothenburg and Chalmers University of Technology. Together with the nearby upper secondary schools, approximately 9000 students study at Lindholmen. 71 The goal of Lindholmen Science Park (LSP) is to be a centre for research and development projects with partners from industry, institutes, the public sector and universities. Lindholmen Science Park focuses on mobile Internet, intelligent vehicles, transport systems and modern media and design. Lindholmen Science Park is staffed with 15 people, including the arenas but not all of the staff working at SAFER. In addition, several consultants are involved in different projects Test Site Sweden 73 Test Site Sweden (TSS) is a national demonstration and testing arena for joint research projects in automotive safety, environment and intelligent transportation systems (ITS). Its purpose is to promote the growth of knowledge in specific areas and the development of new technology. Test Site Sweden also promotes a strong international reputation and showcases Sweden s expertise in the automotive industry, road safety and the traffic environment. Focus is on active safety, electric and hybrid vehicles and ITS. Since 2006, Lindholmen Science Park was commissioned by the Swedish Governmental Agency for Innovation VINNOVA to 70 Regionala utvecklingsmiljöer för innovation och förnyelse (Utvärderingsrapporter 2008:03 Regionutveckling). 71 New data from 72 Data from Maria Holmqvist, communication officer LSP

67 manage and develop Test Site Sweden. Lindholmen Science Park AB is responsible for administration, and a strategic steering group consists of representatives from VINNOVA, AB Volvo, Saab Automobile, Volvo Cars, Scania AB and the Swedish Transport Administration functional management. The cooperative test site has been developed gradually with the Swedish transport Administration and AB Volvo, and within European projects such as CVIS and Safespot. The test site includes a driving simulator, RSU environment, ITS simulator, ITS integration lab, ITS demo theatre, databases for vehicle movement and driver monitoring and access to the national road database, local traffic management system and local public transport traffic management. Driving simulators play an important role in many fields of research and development. The vehicle industry uses simulators as powerful tools for product development, often with a focus on HMI, active safety and vehicle dynamics. VTI, the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute, moved the fourth Swedish simulator (SIM4) to Lindholmen Science Park. It is a moving base driving simulator with interchangeable cabins. VTI SIM4, inaugurated in May 2011, is used for experiments involving both passenger vehicles and heavy vehicles. TSS was also one of the initiators of the ASTA Active Safety Test Arena, 74 aimed to become the only test facility in the world specifically developed for tests and research for active safety. Test Site Sweden focuses on projects that aim to develop test infrastructure or test methodology. TSS projects are performed in three types of environments. The virtual lab allows for early conceptual research and development in which demonstrations are held using simulation and visualisation. The full-scale lab represents resources for prototype verification and testing of individual systems or complete vehicles. The reality lab is based on the usage of existing infrastructure as much as possible, supplemented by future technologies and, to some extent, special environments for the first step in demonstrations of new concepts and systems. Approximately 90 projects 75 are currently operating (or in the pipeline) at TSS, including several European projects. Focus has gradually shifted towards projects related to electric and hybrid vehicles BRG - Business Region Göteborg 76 Business Region Göteborg is a very visible and active organisation in the Gothenburg area with a longer track record of providing project broker and management roles in local implementation and development projects. The organisation does not promote a specific technical focus but provides a role for a broad set of development activities. Projects are usually not research intensive. The organisation is active in the specific type of development projects that are near the market and that link primarily to local businesses. Business Region Göteborg does not usually take a primary funding role but often relies on project funding. The organisation focuses its efforts on the following specific areas: business development; projects within regional key business areas/clusters; marketing; international networks; service and advice to investors and newly established companies in the region. Important key business areas include biomedicine, design, finance, logistics, visualisation, ICT and the automotive sector. The Business & Environment subdivision aims to facilitate cooperation among industry, universities and the public sector as a whole by launching demonstration and 74 see also chapter Data from Peter Öhman, TSS, See also chapter

68 development projects with a focus on sustainable transportation and energy systems, as well as green chemistry. This subdivision coordinates several public private partnership projects related to green road vehicles and, in particular, plays a key role in project coordination in the area of biogas vehicles and electric hybrid buses. A de facto technical focus in vehicle technology is formed by a number of project activities in the biogas area Automotive Sweden Automotive Sweden is an independent public non-profit communication organisation financed by Region Västra Götaland, Business Region Göteborg and the regional associations of local municipalities in Sjuhärad Fyrbodal and Skaraborg. Automotive Sweden, hosted by Business Region Göteborg, operates as an office and is staffed with three people. The aim of Automotive Sweden is to disseminate knowledge about the automotive industry to the concerned municipalities and to other national and international players, and to stimulate triple-helix cooperation to market the automotive cluster of Western Sweden. Activities include conferences and dedicated seminars, production of reports and newsletter publications and networking activities Commonalities in membership The commonalities among the memberships of the two general innovation platforms of Innovatum and Lindholmen Science Park, and the members of projects performed by Business Region Gothenburg, are possibly smaller than in the case of the cluster initiatives previously mentioned in the area of green and safe clusters Views of interviewed actors on cluster focus, competence and organisation The interview data presented here do not primarily refer to the specific cluster role of only Lindholmen Science Park, Innovatum and Business Region Gothenburg. This section presents data from all interviews that refer to general cluster issues and discussions of cluster agent roles. One of the interviewees commented on the role of the national R&D system that does not encourage a broad coordination in research, and that it configures an inward-looking academic role. The system provides little incentive to academic actors to assume or help others take coordination roles in complex development challenges that are uncertain and that involve system changes. Funding of research in Sweden is channelled through 20 different channels, but often it originates from the same budgets. Why should we coordinate something that the government is not prepared to coordinate? (Academia, I-3) There is no need to be overly nervous about keeping track of all the R&D that others do. It is more important to decide what to prioritise, and do good research. Then the most interesting researchers will find you instead. (Academia, I-3) In the literature, a regional university is usually a local university strong in research areas important to the local and regional industry. Chalmers University of Technology is certainly 67

69 such an institute given the automotive cluster s R&D links to the university and the university fulfilling educational roles that are important to the local industry. About 20 percent of senior researchers at Chalmers participate in transport research. Chalmers is strong in all [transport] areas, except in infrastructure issues. (Academy, I-1) Chalmers and Volvo have a continuous dialogue about the industry s need of educated engineers To a large degree, students from Chalmers stay in the region. (Academy, I-1) Many interviewees express views about coordination, and that some form of increased coordination of the regional cluster should be developed. It is positive to have larger initiatives and projects that gather many actors. (Academia, I-1) there are meeting places but it is relatively fragmented // [and] fragmentation is the greatest problem, together with a skewed self-image // It is utterly important to safeguard that you are active in research in relevant areas and that you have neutral meeting places with a more clear leadership and role. Put everything under one roof, where Region Västra Götaland and the City of Gothenburg are active as the organising actors // [this] Collaboration and innovation will determine the fate of the region, both with respect to universities ability to attract talented students and for the industry s ability to lead the development. (Automotive industry, I-15) Several interviewees take this view one step further and ask for increased management and control functions to be developed within the cluster, for example, as expressed by the following statements: We need to strengthen cluster development in Sweden, create more robustly built clusters, with clearer roles and management. (Public, I-10), and safeguard neutral meeting places that have clearer leadership and clearer roles where the Region Västra Götaland and Gothenburg City are active as coordinators. (Automotive industry, I-15) Interviews do not point towards a consensus of what is or should be a legitimate locus of coordination roles and cluster agent roles in the selected areas. Currently, many candidates in the region all assume a wider (regional) coordination and management role. Business Region Göteborg is the glue between the actors. (Public, I-9) Viktoria Institute acts as catalyst and coordinator in electromobility, bringing different actors together to one arena. (Personal communication, ) FFI is the catalyst for research, in the region and nationally. (Public, I-12) 68

70 A suggestion from the interviewees is that Automotive Sweden should be the catalyst in this work [for a common strategy of the automotive industry]. 77 Several interviewees also developed the view of having a cluster organisation or a more developed coordination function within the cluster. One interviewee argued that collaboration is already a natural attitude among (Swedish) actors and that this attitude is enough to safeguard a collaborative environment also in the areas of green and safe road vehicles: Collaboration works without a central portal or leadership. This is collaboration without prestige, our culture makes this easy. (Public, I-5) Other interviewees differentiated between roles, and that a narrower set of roles possibly requires greater coordination but the majority of roles do not. In the case of technology R&D, industry already has a coordination role within the national FFI board structure and through the R&D function of engineering research centres at, for example, Chalmers. The thematic cluster level is described as relevant, but a meta-cluster level is not supported. The region is not so important from a business perspective. However, since we have all our R&D here in the region and have no plans in changing that, the [geographical] region plays an important role. Universities and university colleges are here, and suppliers at several levels, in addition we have test facilities such as ASTA // [However] if you think about finding a common coordinator and a management role where you coordinate the different engineering competence centres, then you need a national rather than a regional perspective The industry and academia have a number of things we prioritise, and the competence centres are main work shops for these priorities. [However] SAFER and CERC have rather little in common [and] it is not the case that you will win that much by trying to coordinate them. [So] it is not given that a common coordination is needed It is FFI and [its] different programme boards that bind together actors If you build an overall governance structures that try to bind together other parts, such as, for example, SHC and SAFER, it is not given that you will gain that much by doing so. (Automotive industry, I-18/19) The collaboration cluster is separated in different topics, in reality it consists of blocks that operate more on a project level It is highly network-based and organic. If you want a more structured way you always end up in questions about who decide and how it should be financed. A problem with a lack of major cluster organisation is that we start all over again and again, the same or similar project is started in different actor constellations. (Automotive industry, I-13) The national technology research actor in the form of FFI is put forth as fulfilling several cluster agent roles needed to have strong technical competence in the cluster. Leadership in the cluster is seen to originate from the FFI context. A person within the FFI sphere argues that FFI has already created technical and political roadmaps for the areas of energy and the environment, vehicles and traffic safety, sustainable manufacturing and transport efficiency. 77 Automotive Sweden Analys av det västsvenska Automotivklustret [Analysis of the West Swedish Automotive Cluster]. The report is in Swedish. 69

71 These roadmaps already represent a common vision and are based on all participating Swedish partners (including automotive OEMs in the region), and it is coordinated with the relevant European roadmaps. Based on this analysis and technology roadmaps, FFI seeks to create a national innovation system in Sweden (Public, I-12). However, new actors and supplier SMEs are not included and do not function in the current FFI cluster agent role. FFI made five roadmaps. SME was not involved, the inventory is not always relevant to SME because it was a mapping of primarily only advanced competences. (Automotive industry, I-6-8) The strongest support for the need for a wide cluster definition was put forth by the academic interviewees, who asked for formulations of clusters that are also legitimate in a broader societal context and that have a form of cluster organisation and governance activities that accord with such a broad definition. Because of the systemic challenges that may be required apart from more technical advances, the different public actors may need to play a central role in coordination. The cluster is the permanent actors that do not disappear, for example, Chalmers University of Technology, Region Västra Götaland, and Gothenburg City. Volvo may not be here forever. The permanent actors need to create an environment that industry can work within. The power of, for example, FFI should be located to such permanent clusters. (Academia, I-1) A system change has to be anchored in societal benefits and be driven by politicians. The benefit for industry is a bonus, but should not be the first priority. Politicians have a responsibility to be visionary and not only see the [short term] industrial benefit. But it is required a vision that you can have some general agreement upon. Then you can start to act. Electrification is an important part of that vision. (Academia, I-3) Sweden needs to strengthen its cluster development Create a stronger and denser cluster with clearer role and management. The collaboration between vehicle industry and the academy needs to be better. Institutes and applied research needs to have a clearer assignment The competence is here, but not the organisation. We lack a strong cluster in western Sweden. (Public, I-10) 4.4 Conclusions for the cluster analysis A tentative conclusion from the interviews is that with respect to the question of developing a stronger regional meta cluster function some were found to promote the notion whereas other are more sceptical. At the level of thematic cluster, agreement is stronger with respect to the need for coordination. Most interviewees expressed the view that developing coordination is both possible and desirable. However, the acknowledgment of this view does not indicate that agreement exists on who should be the legitimate cluster agent. Several, but not all, individuals from industry who were interviewed pointed at FFI. Public actors and academia tend to point to other places or organisational solutions for a cluster agent role, expressing a preference for cluster agents that include or represent a wider set of actors and issues. 70

72 Another tentative conclusion is that many different cluster initiatives continue in parallel. These have a different focus, role and function for innovation. The national system is built on a large number of development actors and funding opportunities. To date, the regional and local public actors have tended to align with this mode of working and the use of European funds tends to add to the multiplicity of initiatives. The cluster environment produces a large number of distributed cluster initiatives but of smaller size. The effect is the existence of several specialised development actors in the regional ecosystem. The downside is the lack of a central cluster function and that such a function has not developed at a more aggregated level. The following chapter discusses the topic of coordination of cluster initiatives. 71

73 5. IMPLICATIONS FOR A REGIONAL POLICY OF GREEN AND SAFE ROAD VEHICLES 5.1 Previous policy-oriented SWOT analysis Three recent SWOT studies analysed the automotive cluster and are used to inform this study. They all discussed the issues of coordination and strategic management within the system of national and regional actors. The first study is from 2004 and focuses on the national automotive cluster. In particular, the study argues that this cluster has a location in the present regional context but that it actually stretches from the west coast to the east coast. 78 Two key individuals from the Swedish automotive industry conducted the study. The report focused on general industry topics and the perceptions of the actors from the automotive industry on the market position of the Swedish vehicle industry. The following conclusions were made. Table 15. SWOT analysis of the 2004 report on the Swedish automotive industry Strengths: Strong brands. Three out of four OEMs have shown long-term profitability. Technology competence is high. Authorities and industry are proactive. Weakness: Research is spread thinly. Difficult to include suppliers in R&D. Small home market. The state is slow to react. Opportunities: Increased volume in international markets. Established in China and India. World leading position in safety that can be exported. Threats: Low-cost labour nations with large markets take over production and R&D of vehicles. Scania and AB Volvo are owned by foreign owners. The cited report reiterates several established arguments about the industry. Swedish brands are considered strong; however, the fourth OEM, which failed to prove long-term profitability (Saab Automobile), is now gone. Swedish technical competence in the automobile and heavy vehicle industry is viewed as comparably large. Academic competence is viewed as potentially large but in need of increased national concentration. Of approximately five major Swedish technical universities, only two have direct geographical proximity to vehicle OEMs, one in the studied region. The argument has been put forth that Swedish resources are too small to be distributed over the complete national university system. Swedish government industry relationships are generally viewed as good and are put forth as a sort of competitive advantage compared with, in particular, larger countries engaged in vehicle production. However, the industry feels that the on-going transformations of the industry in the form of changes in ownership, industry restructuring and market changes are not given appropriate and timely attention in government and policy, at least not in relation to the role that industry is seen to play in the Swedish economy. A second report on the (regional) automotive cluster was performed in 2012 by the public organisation Automotive Sweden. 79 The study maps the regional distribution of firms and 78 The table is adopted from Holmelius, K. and JC Persson (2004) Nationell strategi för svensk fordonsteknisk forskning. Report produced for the Programme Board of Swedish Vehicle Research Programme. 79 The report referred to is Automotive Sweden (2012) Analys av det västsvenska Automotivklustret. Automotive Sweden is a small organisation funded by Region Västra Götaland, Business Region Gothenburg, the municipal associations of Sjuhärad and Fyrbodal and the EU, and aims to inform decision makers on business developments within the automotive industry. In Sweden, BIL Sweden is the lobby organisation of the vehicle 72

74 work opportunities in the region and presents data from interviews with public and private actors who were asked to comment on the state of the industry. With respect to regional strength, the automotive cluster was deemed complete in the sense that it includes all phases of vehicle manufacturing, which is regarded as representing evidence of a wide competence among the regional actors, and the collaboration climate is regarded as good. Finally, the region is viewed as competitive, in particular in the heavy vehicles sector, safety and information and communication technology linked to vehicles and logistics. The identified weaknesses are that collaboration may still require development. In particular, the report argues that the automotive cluster lacks a regional and national development strategy, and that the need exists for more marketing of the competences and firms in the cluster. The purpose of marketing is to attract more foreign investors. A third recent study of the (national) automotive cluster statistically mapped workplace development in the different parts of the automotive industry between 2006 and Similar to the first study, this report was developed by industry and national automotive R&D policy actors. The study concluded that the Swedish automotive industry plays a major role in the Swedish economy, that the major OEMs account for the majority of the workforce and R&D activity in this sector and that other parts of the industry consist of primarily small businesses, leaving a gap in the medium-sized types of firms found to be relatively rare. However, the empirically rich report drew few conclusions from statistical analysis; instead, it posed a number of questions for further study. For example, the question of how national strategic initiatives should be designed to strengthen industry in the area of electromobility, and how the cluster itself (as a system) rather than individual firms can develop and carry competence. In particular, the study promoted the notion that regional specialisation and regional knowledge concentration can be developed using innovation platforms such as the existing platforms of Lindholmen Science Park and research centres, or by developing new ones. In conclusion, these studies supported the notion that strategic governance of the automotive cluster can and should be improved. 5.2 The distributed character of cluster initiatives Several tendencies in the Swedish system are important to bear in mind to understand how cluster capacities and functions are both distributed and represent overall clusters in the region. At least two factors drive this distribution in the system. Firstly, the Swedish system for R&D is in itself a distributed system. 81 Resources are distributed and spread throughout many organisations and/or programme activities. Technical R&D in the automotive area has industry and retailers and FKG is the lobby organisation of the manufacturing industry that supplies to the automotive industry. 80 VINNOVA Företag inom fordonsindustrin Nationella, regionala och sektoriella klusterprofiler som underlag för analys- och strategiarbete. VINNOVA Report VA 2012: Please note that the term distributed does not carry normative connotations. It is used symmetrically with respect to the analysis, or whether something is good or bad for the regional cluster. Distributed does not denote that the regional innovation system has a problem and that an inadequacy needs to be resolved. To the extent that the region has strength in the automotive sector, this strength is also a result of the same distributed system. Management functions of clusters have to be understood in relation to the institutional, socio-technical, and techno-economic systems within which the cluster is embedded. Any suggested change has to be based on an analysis of the detailed roles of cluster management in this innovation environment. 73

75 seen a decrease in recent years in this distributed characteristic through the role of FFI, in which the automotive industry plays a central governance role. Secondly, important parts of governance roles are being delegated to many different but specialised R&D-intensive cluster initiatives. At least two factors provide coordination and concentration. Firstly, public private partnership (Samverkan) is the most common mode of technical R&D in Sweden. That which is called cluster initiatives, triple-helix research or mode 2 research is the normal mode of organising R&D in the Swedish innovation policy system. Secondly, this R&D policy is rooted more generally in a corporatist public policy tradition in Swedish society. The common view is that stakeholders from industry, government and academia should be gathered in all important change processes. The effect of this mode is that cluster agent roles and cluster management roles become thematically differentiated, where biogas, hydrogen, ethanol, methanol, hybrid technology and others all have their own (or even several competing) cluster initiatives and systems of stakeholders. These systems are not isolated systems of actors, but neither do they have very much in common (as cluster or cluster initiatives). Therefore, an overall cluster management function must develop legitimacy to manage the system, say, at the level of e-mobility or at the level of green powertrain technology. Coordination requires substantial negotiation; however, that the different initiatives may not agree on who plays the central governance role for a thematic area such as green is a current risk. That no governance function develops, or that weak groups or cluster initiatives attempt to take on a governance role that they probably cannot manage, is an obvious risk. In particular, the interviews showed that, although Swedish actors believe themselves to be good at collaboration, people particularly felt that this area requires improvement. 5.3 Tentative SWOT Several such cluster initiatives together add to the knowledge base and capacity of the region. Each cluster initiative performs many of the tasks of a formal cluster organisation but primarily only in their specialised area of focus. Cluster organisation roles in the Swedish system and in the regional system are delegated to collaborative public private initiatives and innovation platforms. This report has provided a description of how this system works and provides indications for how it can be improved. During the analysis of nested levels of cluster formulation, the study paid attention to: Technology competences within and in-between triple-helix partners; R&D infrastructure capacity owned by partners or that exists as shared resources; Mobilisation capacity, as represented by innovation platforms and cluster agent roles; and Meta-cluster coordination and management functions within an environment of polycentric initiatives. Many different cluster initiatives exist that go on in parallel. The regional cluster is distributed over several specialised cluster initiatives that represent specific competence structures and that organise the relevant actors in their respective areas. These initiatives have a different focus, role and function for innovation both in the region and nationally. In a sense, these initiatives are complementary with respect to a regional coordinated action but are probably 74

76 spread out too thinly and are too loosely coordinated to fulfil the role of one cluster or two clusters that can be mobilised to move in a certain direction. Cluster agent roles and strategic cluster management tend to be polycentric and only loosely or randomly coordinated in the regional setting. However, certain commonalities exist between the different cluster initiatives. In fact, a limited number of actors tend to be partners and reappear in all or at least many of the different regional cluster initiatives. Cluster membership is often found to overlap on an institutional level, and the largest organisations participate in several or all cluster initiatives. The same group of people is involved in several different initiatives in which they meet regularly with other actors to discuss issues pertaining to the overall development of the cluster. Such regular meetings create the possibility of developing a kind of metamanagement inside an archipelago of cluster initiatives. A group of people from these major organisations could potentially have such a function. Table 16. Tentative regional SWOT analysis Strengths: Cluster: The organic (ad hoc) development of cluster initiatives stimulates bottom-up initiatives and multiplicity. The development is driven by local engagement; it is not hierarchic and allows flexibility. Technology competence and capability: Presence of vehicle OEM, institutes and technical university. Strength in traffic and vehicle safety and in active safety (including vehicle-ict), diesel engine technology for heavy vehicles, hybrid vehicle powertrain system integration in cars and buses, biogas conversion. Weakness: Cluster: Many cluster initiatives exist, some are small and little coordination exists in-between. Most actors are positive to some degree of coordination, but not all actors support a stronger coordination function or role. Technology competence and capability: The e- mobility ecosystem lacks a supply chain infrastructure and tier-1 type of actor. Key components in e-mobility are not produced in the region. Sweden and the region are not in a leading position in either e-mobility or alternative fuels. The sum of the separate competences and capabilities may be very competitive, but it is not part of a strong, coherent system. Opportunities: Cluster: The most relevant stakeholders are already active in cluster initiatives and organisational commonalities exist; therefore, stronger coordination is possible. Technology competence and capability: Public private partnership can create real competence and capability. The stakeholders in the region have a common vision of field operation testing and demonstration in the safety area. An emerging e- mobility SME ecosystem can lead to a renewal of industry. Hybrid electric buses are an excellent area for cluster collaboration with Volvo as the provider. Industry may be willing to act on electromobility. Real strengths in the region and in Sweden can be better marketed to attract key competences. Threats: Cluster: The regional cluster and innovation system is structured by short-term funding opportunities, and it may fail to stabilise its function and role. Cluster management remains weak and may fail to support sustainable industrial development. Technology competence and capability: The role of OEMs is significant for competence and capability of the cluster. Development or production moved out of the region and country will dramatically change the landscape for green and safety cluster development. 75

77 Annex A List of people interviewed Suzanne Andersson Karin André Lars Bern Torbjörn Biding Anna Dubois Maria Grahn Magnus Granström Anders Grauers Tord Hermansson Lotta Jacobsson Lillemor Lindberg Mark Linne Kurt Myhr Jan Olsson Lars-Göran Rosengren Fredrik Sidahl Jan-Eric Sundgren Steven Wallman Peter Öhman Trafikkontoret, Gothenburg City Volvo Cars Corporation Business Region Göteborg Trafikverket Chalmers Transport Area of Advance F3/Chalmers AB Volvo SHC Svenskt Hybridcentrum Volvo Cars Corporation SAFER/ Volvo Cars Corporation Innovatum CERC/Chalmers FKG Fordonskomponentgruppen Autoliv AB Volvo FKG Fordonskomponentgruppen AB Volvo FKG Fordonskomponentgruppen Test Site Sweden/Lindholmen Science Park 76

78 Annex B Interview Template GUIDELINES FOR F2F INTERVIEWS The aim of the interviews is to obtain information that is not merely generic comments on the state of art of the automotive sector, but concrete and specific considerations resulting from the role and activities of each stakeholder. Interviews are semi-structured and centred around five themes. Interviews are based on sub question-themes and on follow-up questions during the interview. The formulation of question-themes are central to the interview method used here. It should provide both interviewer and interviewee a common ground and common understanding of the topic and the purpose of discussing this topic, and it should allow the interviewer room to translate this theme into different questions according to the type of actor to be interviewed and according to the way the interview develops. Themes are organized as follows: Context, Technology and Research, Education, Systemic approach. We do not provide a strong definition of green and safe road vehicles. One aim with the interviews is to trace how actors define these categories in their respective activities (e.g. in how they rank different technology areas). However, the question-themes below still rely on a degree of common understanding of green and safe. This is seen to be fulfilled by the choice of interviewees. CONTEXT The purpose of this part is to obtain information on organisations and on how these organisations describe their role in relation to other organisations and actors (e.g. in a cluster ). This description can be made with reference to local, regional, national or even international level. We need not prescribe the levels that actors should use to describe their setting or environment. The reason is that the relevant context may vary greatly between nations and regions. Interviewees will nevertheless be encouraged to reflect on these levels. Question-themes: 1) Past activities and organisations in Green and Safe that form the basis for the present situation in the region. Can you describe the collaborations that have emerged? 2) Ongoing activities and collaborations between different organisations. Please describe the collaborations and activities on Green and Safe Mobility that your organization considers to be critical? 3) Future development plans on Green and Safe mobility (Context of expectation). What type of collaboration and organizing activities does your organization consider to be critical to develop future safe and green mobility? (e.g. technology roadmaps, strategic agenda, etc, or other)

79 TECHNOLOGY AND RESEARCH The purpose is to obtain data on the relevant R&D areas, organisations and the specific activities of each studied region. Question-themes: Key technologies. What technologies do you perceive as key future technologies? Do you think your organisation and the region is strong enough in these technologies? Acquisition of academic knowledge and engineering competence in key technology areas. If the organisation and the region is not strong enough, where and how do you seek this competence (in the region, in your county, in Europe, in other parts of the world)? The regional knowledge-based organisations. How is R&D in areas relevant to green and safe organised in your region? Describe the different roles of universities, institutes, firms and authorities. EDUCATION The purpose is to learn about the academic environment of the regional industrial cluster and to provide both an university-centred and an business-centred view of the educational capacity for green and safe. Question-themes: Generic educational skills with relevance for green and safe. Is it possible to define academic education areas of particular importance to these areas and its industrial basis? Targeted education programme formulations for safe and green. Can you describe existing programme or master programme formulations for safe and green? Relation between the existing educational system and future competence needed. Are these competence provided in region or country adequate to your needs? Where do you find the professionals that satisfy your needs? Discuss the type of professionals required and the actions that should be implemented, according to your experience, at all educational levels (high-schools, universities, post-graduate masters, PhD, ).

80 SYSTEMIC APPROACH Whereas the above section about Context focussed on description of organisations and activities in the existing innovation systems, the aim of Systemic Approach is to provide description of the complete picture, a cluster or systems view of innovation, and to engage the interviewee in a discussion of the management of innovation of these systems in a regional context. Pertinent questions concern in particular leadership roles when the system is distributed and disparate. Question-themes: 1) Clusters and innovation systems for future green and safe road vehicle technology. What type of organisations, competence and activities are needed in order to build a strong cluster in green and safe, respectively? 2) Leadership in a distributed environment. How can innovation, competence and knowledge be managed when organisations, interests and activities in a regional context are distributed and only loosely connected? Clusters potentially involve many different stakeholder types (energy and fuel supplier and providers, ICT companies, infrastructure managers,...) and the end-user. Morevoer, the development of road vehicles might require inputs from other transport systems and other sectors (aerospace, mechatronics, etc...) How do you perceive the cooperation and the management in our region or regional cluster? What is still needed in order to develop an effective research-driven automotive cluster in the area of green and safe? What is needed for regional capacity and specialisation to be part of a European managerial level of regional innovation?

81 Annex C Stakeholder list N. Player Short Description Type Type (at Regional Level) Website Public/Private/N o Profit Subsector Contact person # Region Västra Götaland Region Västra Götaland was formed in 1999 as one of Sweden s first two selfgoverning regions. The assignment is to provide efficient, high quality healthcare as well as promoting growth and sustainable development. PA Public Hanna Blomdahl, [email protected], # Västtrafik Region Västra Götaland is since January 2012 the sole owner of the public transport company Västtrafik. Västtrafik is the second largest public transport company in Sweden. O Public Leif Magnusson, [email protected], # Gothenburg City Gothenburg City is actively involved in policy work and development projects relating to safe and green vehicles, often executed through Business Region Göteborg, Lindholmen Science Park or the Traffic and Public Transport Authority. PA Public Suzanne Andersson Suzanne.Andersson@trafikko ntoret.goteborg.se # Business Region Göteborg AB (BRG) Business Region Göteborg AB (BRG) is a non profit company that works to strengthen and develop trade and industry in the Gothenburg region. DA Pub Comp Lars Bern, [email protected], # Automotive Sweden Automotive Sweden is an independent non profit organisation with the task to spread knowledge about the automotive industry to national and international players, stimulate triple helix cooperation and to market the Western Sweden automotive cluster. O No profit Malin Norén, malin.noren@businessregion. se, # Innovatum Technology Park Innovatum Technology Park contains a science centre, a project arena and an incubator, located introllhättan. The the three focus areas are production technology, energy and environmental technology and audiovisual technology. O PPP Tore Helmersson, tore.helmersson@innovatum. se,

82 # Lindholmen Science Park LSP is a centre for research and development projects with partners in industry, institutes, public sector and universities. LSP focuses on three areas: Mobile Internet, Intelligent vehicles and transport systems, Modern media and design. O PPP Niklas Wahlberg, niklas.wahlberg@lindholmen. se, # Lindholmen Science Park, Test Site Sweden (TSS) TSS is a national project (situated at LSP) and a demonstration and testing arena for joint research projects in safety, the environment and Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS). O com PPP Peter Öhman, , [email protected] # Lindholmen Science Park, Closer Closer is an arena within LSP financed by VINNOVA and The Swedish Transport Administration. It is a national resource for triple helix collaboration in the field of transport efficiency. O PPP v/vad vi gor/closer Jerker Sjögren, , [email protected] # Vätgas Sverige (Hydrogen Sweden) Hydrogen Sweden is a non profit organisation, located in Gothenburg, with the mission to facilitate the introduction of hydrogen as an energy carrier in Sweden. O No profit Björn Aronsson, , [email protected] # Göteborg Energi Göteborg Energi is Western Sweden's largest energy company and provides energy services, broadband, district heating, cooling, natural gas and the electricity supply network. O Pub Comp Tel FKG is the Scandinavian automotive FKG supplier association, with headquarters in (Fordonskomponentgruppen Gothenburg. ) Pr Non profit Fredrik Sidahl [email protected] VCC The Volvo Car Corporation is a global company, manufacturing cars and developing services for customers in about 100 countries. Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Tord Hermansson [email protected]

83 AB Volvo: Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT) Volvo Group Trucks Technology is a worldwide entity, within Volvo Group, covering the entire value chain from longterm research and planning to final delivery of complete vehicles and services to the Volvo Group truck business, as well as supporting the products in the aftermarket. Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Michael Balthasar, [email protected] AB Volvo: Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT): Advanced technology and research AB Volvo: Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT): Advanced technology and research: Electrical & Embedded Systems AB Volvo: Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT): Advanced technology and research: New Technologies Advanced Technology & Research (former Volvo Technology) is the centre for innovation, research and development in the Volvo Group. Sensors, actuators, cable harness, connectors and the electrical behaviour of the signals in combination with control units and embedded software are the most important enabler for almost all new functionality in vehicles. Emerging Technology Intelligence & Technology Assessments Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Ann Sofi Karlsson Ann [email protected] Eilert Johansson Phone: [email protected] Michael Balthasar Phone: [email protected] Lean Engineering and Development, Knowledge Based Engineering, Lean and Agile Development Processes, Design, Manufacturing, Resource efficient factories, Virtual manufacturing, life cycle AB Volvo: Volvo Group design, Value Chain Integration, Trucks Technology (GTT): Production logistics and material handling, Advanced technology and Extended enterprise and complexity research: Process & management. Manufacturing Technologies Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Magnus Granström Phone: Magnus.Granstrom@vo lvo.com AB Volvo: Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT): Advanced technology and research: Propulsion Combustion system & Fuels, Engine optimisation & exhaust aftertreatment, Reliable & efficient mechanics and lubricants, Intergrated powertrain control Engine Optimisation Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Staffan Lundgren Phone: [email protected]

84 AB Volvo: Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT): Advanced technology and research: Soft Products AB Volvo: Volvo Group Trucks Technology (GTT): Advanced technology and research: Vehicle Technologies & Transport Solutions AB Volvo: Volvo Buses Autoliv Sverige AB in the Volvo Groups total offering to help our customers business to prosper. The products supporting the customers needs comes naturally from the hard product but the combination with a soft offering opens up for better fleet optimisation which will increase the transport profitability. system incl. connections to the propulsion system (the propulsion system is not included), and the Vehicle relation to the traffic & transport system. Volvo buses are the world s second largest bus manufacturer. The product range includes complete buses and coaches as well as chassis combined with a range of services. Autoliv develops seatbelts, safety electronics, steering wheels, anti whiplash systems, seat components and integrated child seats as well as active safety systems. Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Large Enterprise (LE) Private OEM Large Enterprise (LE) LE Private OEM Daniel Zackrisson Phone: daniel.zackrisson@volv o.com Joakim Svensson Phone: joakim.u.svensson@v olvo.com Gustafsson Ulf [email protected] Private Tier 1 Supplier Yngve Håland [email protected] Phone: +46 (0) ALTERNATIVE FUEL VEHICLE SWEDEN AB Alelion Batteries AB Effpower Aktiebolag ETC Battery and FuelCells Sweden AB Alternative Fuel Vehicle (AFV) Sweden AB is a company that develops and produces vehicles powered by alternative fuels, primarily biogas. Alelions main business is to define, develop and deliver tailor made batteries and power electronics. Today Alelion focus on Lithium Iron cells. Effpower AB is a specialist company within the area of battery systems engineering. The company engages in the development of batteries and fuel cells through the production adjustment to the research results through prototypes and pilot production. SE SE SE SE Private Tier 1 Supplier Dan Blomberg, CEO [email protected] VOLVO TORSLANDAVERKEN Göteborg Private Private Tier 1 Supplier Tier 1 Supplier Lars Mila, President, CEO [email protected] phone: Rödjans väg Nödinge Per S Svantesson, d CEO [email protected] Effpower AB Kärrlyckegatan 20B SE GÖTEBORG SWEDEN Private Tier 1 Supplier Göran Johansson, CEO +46 (0) (0) ETC Battery and FuelCells Sweden AB Box Nol

85 Ecar Sweden AB (owned by Autoadapt AB) ECar intend to offer the market electric cars that, by means of an industrialised conversion process and close cooperation with automotive companies. Cooperates with Fiat. SE Private Tier 1 Supplier Roger Johansson [email protected] Storås Industrigata 9, SE Angered, Sweden Telephone: +46 (0) [email protected] Hardstaff AB The Hardstaff Group have opened Hardstaff AB, a new company set up to Owned by install the Hardstaff Dual Fuel Technology onto new Volvo vehicles..uk Vehco AB Vicura AB Pilotfish Networks AB Europanel Aktiebolag Vehco delivers mobile computing solutions to logistics companies VICURA is a consultancy who develop complete systems or subcomponents within transmission for the international automotive industry. Vicura is a spin off of the transmissions development department built up at Saab while under the ownership of GM. Pilotfish offers vehicle gateways and tailored services to bus operators in public transport. LE SE co.uk SE SE SE Private Tier 1 Supplier Fletcher, Trevor Lee, CEO Hardstaff AB Box 8906, Göteborg Private Tier 1 Supplier Headquarter Vehco AB Falkenbergsgatan Göteborg Magnus Orrebrant, CEO Private Tier 1 Supplier Vicura AB Dennis Lundgren, CEO Flygfältsvägen 9 SE Trollhättan Sweden Phone : [email protected] Private Supplier Nordenfelt, Erik Gabriel, CEO Pilotfish Networks AB Viktoriagatan 3 SE Göteborg Sweden Mecel Aktiebolag Delphi International SARL Consat Sustainable Energy Systems AB VBG Truck Equipment AB Mecel is a systems and software development company developing solutions for the automotive industry. Consat Sustainable Energy Systems was established to advance and develop the company's skills in efficient and environmentally friendly energy conversion. VBG Truck Equipment is an internationally leading supplier of coupling equipment for truck and heavy trailers. SE Private supplier Häggström, Henrik owner Mecel AB Box SE Gothenburg Sweden phone: SE Private Supplier Jeanette Johansson, CEO Ögärdesvägen 19A Partille [email protected] e ME Private Supplier

86 QRTECH Epsilon HiQ Semcon QRTECH specializes in electronic and software development: product development, consulting services, advanced engineering and product supply and support. Epsilon is a consultancy agency in technology and systems development, with employees. HiQ is an IT and management consultancy firm specialising in communication, software development and businesscritical IT. Semcon is a global technology company active in the areas of engineering services and product information. SE Private Provider ME Private Provider ME Private Provider ME Private Provider Mutual Benefits AB Chalmers University of Technology (Chalmers) Safer Vehicle and Traffic Safety Centre SHC Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre Mutual Benefits is a Gothenburg based company that offers technology management services within the fields of Energy, Automotive industry and Medtech. Chalmers has around students in programmes leading to some 1300 Master s degrees annually. SAFER provides multidisciplinary research and collaboration to eliminate fatalities and serious injuries, with the aim to make Swedish society, academy and industry a world leader in vehicle and traffic safety. The Swedish Hybrid Vehicle Centre (SHC) is a national competence centre for the development of electric and hybrid vehicles, hosted by Chalmers. SE Private Provider TA: University TA: University TA: University er/en/ c Public with no profit Public with no profit Public with no profit Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electric Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Material Engineering, Mechatronics, Energy and resources ICT Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electric Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Material Engineering, Mechatronics, ICT, Social science and Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electric Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Material E i i Peter Eriksson [email protected] Anna Nilsson Ehle [email protected] Anders Grauers [email protected]

87 CERC Combustion Engine Research Center The Competence Centre for Catalysis ishosted by Chalmers. The aim of the centre is to provide a forum where industry and academia can meet to perform high quality research on new technologies and combustion concepts leading to cleaner and more efficient engines. The Competence Centre for Catalysis, KCK, is since 1995 an interdisciplinary research centre within heterogeneous catalysis at Chalmers. KCK Competence Centre for TA: University TA: University /cerc en / Public with no profit Public with no profit Automotive Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Material Engineering, Mechatronics, Energy and resources, ICT Automotive Engineering, Material Engineering, Energy and resources, Mark Linne [email protected] Magnus Skoglundh [email protected] f 3 The Swedish knowledge Centre for renewable transportation fuels The Competence Centre for Catalysis is hosted by Chalmers. F3 is a nationwide centre, which through cooperation and a systems approach will contribute to the development of sustainable fossil free fuels for transportation. TA: University Public with no profit Energy and resources Ingrid Nyström [email protected] CHASE Strategic Research Centre on Microwave Antenna Systems The centre is located at Chalmers University of Technology, at the department of Signal & Systems (S2). TA: University Public with no cha en profit Staffan Sjödin [email protected] e Software Center Chalmers The centre is hosted by Chalmers University of Technology, at the department of Computer Science and Engineering (D&IT). The Mission is to contribute to maintaining and strengthen the leading position of Sweden in engineering industrial software intensive products. R/TA: University Public with no profit Automotive engineering, ICT, Social science and human behavior Jan Bosch, [email protected], Jörgen Hansson, [email protected], Department of Applied Mechanics at Chalmers University of Technology The Department of Applied Mechanics is one of the leading environments within Vehicle and Mechanical Engineering research at Chalmers. About 300 researchers. TA: University /EN Public with no profit Automotive Engineering, Mechatronics, Mechanical Engineering

88 The Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at Chalmers University of Technology The department for Chemical and biological engineering promotes research and education for sustainable development.the research ranges from natural science and bioscience, applied chemistry and biotechnology to chemical engineering. TA: University em/en Public with no profit Material Engineering Energy and resources Department of Energy and Environment at Chalmers University of Technology The research within the department covers a wide field within the areas energy and environment/sustainable development, from a global perspective to industrial, building, and product scale. TA: University /EN Public with no profit Material Engineering and Energy and resources Department of Signals and System at Chalmers University of Technology The Department of Signals and Systems conduct research in biomedical engineering, antennas and signal processing, control, automation and mechatronics, and communication systems. TA: University Public with no EN/ profit Electric Engineering, Electronic Engineering, Mechatronics, Energy and resources and ICT Department of Computer Science and Engieering at Chalmers University of Technology CSE research spans the whole spectrum, from theoretical underpinnings to applied systems development.the Department is joint between Chalmers and the University of Gothenburg. TA: University Public with no /EN profit ICT and Electronic Engineering VTI VTI, the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute is a government agency under the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications. R: Research Centre Public with no profit Viktoriainstitutet Viktoria institute is a non profit ITresearch institute with head quarter located at Lindholmen in Gothenburg in Sweden, focusing on automotive and transport informatics. R: Research Centre Public with no profit Kent Eric Lång [email protected]

89 Swerea The Swerea Group creates and disseminates research results within materials sciences, process technology, product engineering and manufacturing engineering. Swerea IVF and parts of Swerea SICOMP are located to Gothenburg. R: Research Centre Public SP is one of Sweden's largest research institutes with development working areas being concentrated particularly upon SP Technical Research Instit Active safety, Lightweight designs, Electric R: Research Centre vehicles, Communication, Alternative fuels. Public with profit

90 Annex D Running cooperation projects in West Sweden on the topic of safe and green road vehicles Project name Description Partners in Sweden Area Financier Duration Website Total Budget (EURO) ADAPTATION Drivers behavioural adaptation over the time in response to ADAS use. AB Volvo Safety EU ADSEAT Adaptive seat to reduce neck injuries for female and male occupants. Volvo Cars, VTI, Folksam, Chalmers Safety EU Aktiv human modell för prediktering av mänsklig rörelse Chalmers, Saab, Autoliv, VCC, AB Volvo Safety National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ ALIVE Advanced High Volume Affordable Lightweighting for Future Electric Vehicles. AB Volvo Green Light weight EU AMELIE Advanced Fluorinated Materials for High Safety, Energy and Calendar Life Lithium Ion Batteries. AB Volvo Green electromobility EU Användarinformatio n och interaktion USI APPLES ASSESS Advanced, High Performance, Polymer Lithium Batteries for Electrochemical Storage. Assessment of integrated vehicle safety systems for improved vehicle safety. VCC, Chalmers, Viktoria, Semcon, HiQ, LTU ETC, Stena Metall, Chalmers Chalmers Safety Green electromobility Safety Safety National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ EU EU ATESST II Balancing Active and Passive Safety Advancing traffic efficiency and safety through software technology phase 2. The main objective is to develop a methodology for the estimation of how much present and future active and passive safety measures, and combination of these, will reduce the risk for people involved of sustaining injuries of different severities. The goal of Believe is to create business models that could enable electric cars to break into a broad front and also to demonstrate how this might work in practice.. AB Volvo, Mecel, KTH, Chalmers, Saab, VCC, Autoliv, Semcon, Statens väg och transportforskningsinstitut Safety Green electromobility EU National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ Believe BeSaFe Benchmarking of Functional Safety BiMe Bus BiMe Trucks BIODME Blixt Bränslecellsbaserat räckviddsförstärkare för elfordon CAPIRE BeSafe kommer att identifiera utvärderingsenheter, utvärderingsmått samt en metodik för att utföra och använda utvärderingar av funktionssäkerhet. BiMe Bus is a test and demonstration project for methan diesel technology in buses used for public transportation. The project aims to develop the technology and field test and evaluate 11 buses. Through a combination of technology for liquid methane gas in diesel engines and the construction of an infrastructure for liquid methane, BiMe Trucks aims to demonstrate the potential of climate smart trucks that run on liquid methane. Objective is to demonstrate production of environmentally optimised synthetic biofuel from lignocellulosic biomass at industrial scale. Driva på en industriell teknik och kompetensutveckling inom elfordonsområdet samt stärka det svenska underleverantörsledet. Förstudie som syftar till att föreslå och utvärdera en systemdesign som kombinerar en fastoxidbränslecellsbaserad räckviddsförstärkare och ett elfordon för framtida energieffektiva fordon för stadstrafik. Coordination Action on Ppp Implementation for Road transport Electrification. Ericsson AB, Viktoria Institute. AB Volvo, Chalmers, Mecel Aktiebolag, QRtech Aktiebolag, Scania CV Aktiebolag, SAAB Automobil, SP Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut AB, VOLVO PERSONVAGNAR AKTIEBOLAG Volvo Buses, Västtrafik, Buss i Väst and Vårgårdabuss. The project is coordinated by Business Region Göteborg. FordonsGas, AGA and E.ON together with Volvo Trucks and Energigas Sverige. The project is coordinated by Business Region Göteborg. Safety Green alternative fuels Green alternative fuels Green alternative fuels Volvo Powertrain, CHEMREC AB, Preem, ETC Piteå Electro Engine in Sweden AB, Innovatum Teknikpark, Power Circle, SP Green electromobility Sveriges Tekniska Forskningsinstitut, ETC Battery and FuelCells Sweden AB och Saab Automobile AB. Green fuel cells AB Volvo AB Volvo Green National National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ National National/Regional EU kr m?page=docview&collection=en_proj&refe rence=90341&position=2&highlights=volv O&prevPage=resultList&similarity_id= National EU

91 Car Movement Pattern Data The driving patterns of cars is an important factor for how electric and hybrid electric vehicles are able to charge and maximise use of their batteries. To improve and support the development of the infrastructure and electrical systems, data of drive patterns and vehicle usage will be collected. Chalmers University of Technology, LSP/TSS and Consat. National Green CARE North aims to measure, analyse and reduce green house gas emissions, including real time measurements of vehicles in the municipal fleet, an electric vehicle strategy and stimulation of CARE North the use of alternative fuels. Gothenburg City / Traffic and Public Transport Authority EU north.eu CASPER Child advanced safety project for european roads. Chalmers Safety EU project.eu/ Cost efficient methods and processes for safety relevant Safety CESAR embedded systems. AB Volvo, ABB, KTH, EU Coordinated by Lindholmen Science Park. Gathers around 30 Green electromobility CIA Competence and Innovation node in Automotive electronics. stakeholders. National/Regional Green ITS CITY LOG Sustainability and efficiency of city logistics (SP, Vehicle). AB Volvo EU log.eu/ Green ITS Aims at developing an innovative integrated vehicle solution fitting with the integrated city transport solution approach for a secure, flexible, reliable, clean, energy efficient and safe road Statens väg och transportforskningsinstitut (VTI), AB Volvo, Schenker AB City MOVE transportation of goods across European cities. (SCH), EU Climate Smart City Distributions CO2 REduction for long distance transport Climate Smart City Distribution aims at developing and demonstrating more effective and eco friendly solutions for city distribution. The overall objective of the project is to reduce the climatic impact from distribution traffic within the city of Gothenburg by 50%. Consortium of truck manufactures and other automotive and academic partners with the aim of demonstrating a substantial reduction of CO2 emissions and improved fuel efficiency compared to a EURO V engine. CO2NTROL Integrated solutions for noise and vibration control in vehicles. Chalmers CoAct The aim in this project is to build competences, recourses, network and a physical research platform for active cooperative systems. Participation in the Grand Cooperative Driving Challenge. European set of standards to support European Community wide implementation and deployment of Co operative Intelligent Transport Systems. Green ITS Green DB Schenker, DHL, Fraktkedjan Väst, Göteborgs Lastbilscentral, Posten Logistik, Volvo Trucks, FordonsGas and Preem and the Swedish Transport Administration Trafikverket. The project is coordinated by Business Region Göteborg. Green high efficiency ICE/vehicle AB Volvo, Chalmers Chalmers, Högskolan Halmstad, Linköping University, Royal Institute of Technology, Scania, Volvo Cars,Volvo and Denso. Coordinated by Viktoriainstitutet. Green Safety ITS Safety Regional m?page=docview&collection=en_proj&refe rence=103727&position=1&highlights=volv O&prevPage=resultList&similarity_id=20795 EU EU co2ntrol.eu/ COMeSafety2 AB Volvo EU Green emissions carsinitiative.eu/projects/projects/core CORE CO2 REduction for long distance transport. Chalmers, AB Volvo EU Cooperative systems for sustainalbe mobility and energy Green ITS COSMO efficiency. AB Volvo, Lindholmen Science Park LSP EU project.eu DACOTA Road safety Data Collection, Transfer and Analysis. Chalmers Safety EU project.eu/ Understanding of degradation mechanisms to improve Green fuel cells DECODE components and design of PEFC. Chalmers EU project.eu Demonstration Green electromobility projects for energyoptimized Projektet syftar till att bygga och utvärdera en fältprovsserie om three 40 fordon som ett större demonstrationsprojekt. Provet syftar till wheel electric att testa en helt ny fordonstyp som täcker gapet mellan tvåhjuliga vehicles öppna fordon och bil. Göteborgs Gatu AB National DFEA2020 Dependable Flexible Electric Architecture 2020 Drive C2x DFEA2020 siktar på att ta fram nya metoder och koncept för konstruktion och verifiering av elektronik i fordon med både helhetsperspektiv, i form av en referens arkitektur, samt djupperspektiv inom vissa teknikområden som är grundläggande för helheten. 32 European partners. The purpose of DRIVE is to evaluate a number of applications based on radio communications between vehicles and vehicles and between vehicles and infrastructure. LSP/TSS is responsible for one test site. VCC, KNOW IT, KTH, Mecel, Semcon Caran TSS (Safer, Volvo Cars) Green Safety ITS National ning/projektdatabas/ och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordonsutveckling/ EU/Regional c2x.eu/project

92 Car pooling for electric vehicles. A pre study has been conducted during and if further financing is secured the project Drive. Charge. Share. will be realised. DUO2 Energieffektiva fordonskombination er Det industriella problem som skall lösas är att möta Sveriges mål att kraftigt minska CO2 utsläppen från landsvägstransporter, minska trängsel samt förbättra möjligheten för co modalitet. Gothenburg City / Traffic and Public Transport Authority, Göteborg Energi, Move About, Sunfleet, Vattenfall, Viktoriainstitutet, Volvo Cars. AB Volvo, Epsilon, SSAB Tunnplåt, WABCO Automotive, VBG Group Truck Equipment Green electromobility Green Green Public transport National National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Transporteffektivitet/ EBSF EBSF is conceived as a driver to increase the attractiveness and raise the image of bus systems in urban areas. HOGIA PUBLIC TRANSPORT SYSTEMS AB, AB Volvo, Scania, Chalmers, PILOTFISH NETWORKS AB, Västtrafik Green ITS EU ecomove Cooperative Mobility Systems and Services for Energy Efficiency. AB Volvo, GOGREEN TRAFIK & MILJO AB, Green ITS EU project.eu/ EE VERT Energy Efficient Vehicles for Road Transport. AB Volvo EU vert.net/ Green electromobility Innovatum, Volvo Personvagnar, SCANIA, Bombardier, Lunds Tekniska ELDRIVET (E Mob) högskola, Kongsberg Automotive, Kollmorgen, BEVI Teknik & Service. National Green electromobility Eldrivna matarbussar i Ale kommun Eldrivna matarbussar mellan samhälle och tågstation. Västtrafik, Ale kommun, Coman, ETC AB National/Regional Electrification of the Green electromobility urban goods och distribution Projektet bygger ny kunskap kring elektrifierade fordon för rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi transport system godsdistribution i städer. AB Volvo, Göteborg Energi, GU, Viktoria, Schenker, Trafikverket National Transporteffektivitet/ Innovatum Teknikpark, Länsstyrelsen Västra Götalands län, Swedavia, Green electromobility Längs E6 skapa en innovativ och dynamisk miljö kring elfordon Lerums kommun, ETC AB, Business Region Göteborg, Sun Fleet, Göteborgs Elsexan och laddinfrastruktur för el. Energi, Test Site Sweden. National ELVA Advanced Electric Vehicle Architectures. SAFER/Chalmers, AB Volvo Safety EU project.eu/ Green electromobility ELVIIS ELectric Intelligent infrastructure for efficient integration of electrical Vehicle Intelligent vehicles through cooperation between partners from the Ericsson, Volvo Cars and Göteborg Energi InfraStructure automotive, energy and telecommunication sectors. Coordinated by Viktoriainstitutet Regional ELVIRE El Vis III Enercoast ENLIGHT The project aims at solving acceptance issues stemming from electric vehicle s limited range. Test Site Sweden is responsible for the work package on proof of concept, test and validation. Projektet avser att säkerställa och fördjupa utvecklingen av en elmaskin för fordonstillämpning med förbättrad momenttäthet och kylning. Förbättrade tillverkningsmetoderna, ökad maskinprestanda, verifiera prestanda och förluster, optimera hybridfordon. Partly financed by the Interreg North Sea Region Programme with partners from Sweden, Germany, Denmark and Norway. The project aims to increase the production and use of biogas. Innovative advanced lightweight materials for the next generation of environmentally friendly electric vehicles. AB Volvo ETTE Tekniska möjliggörare för Att finna lämpliga resurseffektiva lösningar samt integrering av effektiva transporter dessa i fordon. EURECOMP EUROFOT EUROLIION EUROLIS The goal of this project is to set up a new route to recycle composites, which will decrease the cost of production waste disposal by 50%. The field testings of eurofot focus on 8 distinct functions that assist the driver in detecting hazards, preventing accidents and making driving more efficient. Testing of 1000 cars and trucks on European roads. High energy density of at least 200 Wh/kg, low costs i.e., a maximum of 150 Euro/kWh, improved safety. Advanced European lithium sulphur cells for automotive applications. TSS AB Volvo, Bevi AB, Sture Ericsson R&D Konsult, Swerea SICOMP AB Innovatum, Region Västra Götaland (Biogas West), Trollhättan Energi and the Association of Local Authorities in Dalsland. VCC, Actia Nordic, Smarteq Wireless AB, SP, AB Volvo AB Volvo Chalmers SAFER, AV Volvo, VCC Uppsala universitet, AB Volvo Chalmers Green electromobility Green electromobility Green alternative fuels Green Light weight Green ITS Green Materials Safety Green electromobility Green electromobility EU project.org National kr EU EU National EU och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Transporteffektivitet/ EU ip.eu/ EU html EU 147

93 EV Hub Elmer Utveckling av en neutral elfordonsutvecklingsarena som ska stimulera och verka för utveckling och industrialisering av eldrivna fordon i Sverige. Innovatum mfl Face Car deals with how to convert today s auto plants designed for traditional combustion engines to the green vehicles of tomorrow with a number of different powertrains and fuels. If manufacturers are to stay cost effective this will require flexible production solutions. Innovatum, Volvo Cars, AB Volvo, ETC, JMAC Scandinavia, SP, Delphi, University of Skövde and Linköping University. Green electromobility Green Regional p?sectionid=3867&articleid=9746&articleg roup_projekt= Face Car National Green fuel cells useaction=proj.document&pj_rcn= FCGEN Fuel Cell Based On board Power Generation. AB Volvo, POWERCELL SWEDEN AB, MODELON AB EU FESTA Field operational tests support Action. Volvo Cars, AB Volvo, Chalmers Safety EU Safety FIMCAR Frontal impact and compatibility assessment research. Volvo Cars, Chalmers EU Nya material och nya numeriska metoder möjliggör lättare Green Materials Fordonseffektivitet komponenter med högre prestanda. Den svenska tunga och genom Material och fordonsindustrin behöver se en industrialisering av dessa nya rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Processutveckling material. AB Volvo, Chalmers, Fastighets AB Nya Arvika, Scania, Seco Tools National Fordonsutveckling/ Safety FOTNET2 Field Operational Test Networking and Methodology Promotion. Chalmers, Volvo Cars EU net.eu/ FREILOT Pilot on ICT for energy efficiency for urban transport.. AB Volvo Green ITS EU Multi fuel Range Extender with high efficiency and ultra low Green electromobility FUEREX emissions. Volvo Cars, Chalmers EU The objective of this exploratory project is to evaluate to what Safety Functional Safety in Systems of Road Vehicles extent existing frameworks and approaches to functional safety are able to support the upcoming cooperative systems of road vehicles. Viktoria Institute and SP Technical Research Institute of Sweden. Förbättrad stabilitet och manövrebarhet för fordon med elektrisk drivlina G4V GO:SMART Green Journey Gränser för förartrygghet i korsningar (DCBIN) H2moves Scandinavia HAVE IT The objective is to investigate, create and evaluate novel safety functions, using the electric propulsion system. The scope of the project is to study performance enhancements regarding vehicle stability, manoeuvrability, braking and traction at different road conditions E AAM DRIVELINE SYSTEMS AB, LeanNova Engineering AB, Autoliv, Chalmers Green electromobility Grid for Vehicles Analysis of the impact and possibilities of a mass introduction of electric and plug in hybrid vehicles on the electricity networks in Europé. Chalmers, Vattenfall Green Business Region Göteborg, Region Västra Götaland, Chalmers University Go:Smart cluster initiative deals with the challenge of sustainable of Technology, Mistra Urban Futures, Gothenburg City Public Transport transport solutions for passengers. This includes a radical increase Office, Lindholmen Science Park, the Swedish Transport Administration, of the use of public transport, test and demonstration, innovative WSP,Volvo Buses, SAFER, Scania, Tyréns, Victoriainstitutet, Ampersand, business models and new policies. The focus is on the passenger ATVIS, Clean Motion, Gothenburg Energy, Gothenburg University, i4sense, and on electromobility. IMCG, JC Decaux, Västtrafik and Volvo Cars. Cooperative Real Time Data System for a Green Intermodal Green ITS Journey. AB Volvo Safety The fundamental aim of this project is to obtain and apply naturalistic, on road and test track data to define the comfort zone boundaries for drivers passing through intersections at times when LTAP encroachment might occur. VCC, Autoliv, Chalmers The goal with the project is to gain customer acceptance for Hydrogen Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles (FCEV). The project aims to demonstrate the market readiness of fuel cell vehicles and hydrogen refuelling infrastructure. Vätgas Sverige, SP HAVEit integrates 7 advanced vehicle applications for both passenger cars and trucks aiming at enhanced safety and comfort as well as improved fuel efficiency. Haldex Brake products AB, AB Volvo HCV Hybrid Commercial vehicle. (VTEC, VBC, VPT) DANAHER MOTION STOCKHOLM AB, AB Volvo, SKF SVERIGE AB, HMI för aktiv säkerhet Syftar till att utveckla ett varningskoncept för aktiv säkerhet som omfattar flera system samt att anpassa varningssystemet till verkliga körförhållanden genom omfattande provning i fält. Autoliv, Saab, Statens väg och transportforskningsinstitut Safety Green electromobility Safety Green electromobility Safety National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ EU National EU National EU EU EU National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ oves m?page=docview&collection=en_proj&refe rence=94658&position=8&highlights=volv O&prevPage=resultList&similarity_id= och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/

94 Human modell med aktiv nacke och detaljerat huvud för fotgängarskydd Målet med projektet är att utveckla och validera en detaljerad modell av en fotgängare som blir träffad av en bilfront samt prediktera hur nackens muskulatur påverkar huvudets respons i en olycka. Demonstration. New technology that allows the plug in hybrid bus to run on battery power longer than earlier models, and charging stations where it can recharge its batteries in just a few minutes while waiting at the end of the line. Autoliv, Chalmers, KTH Business Region Göteborg, Volvo Bus, Västtrafik, Göteborg Energi, Trafikkontoret Safety Green electromobility National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ hyperbus/abouthyperbus.4.7f30c ee f1dc html Hyperbus EU/Regional Green fuel cells HyTRAN Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies for Road Transport. AB Volvo EU ID4EV Intelligent Dynamics for fully electric vehicles. Chalmers Safety EU Integrated gas powertrain low emission, CO2 optimised and Green alternative fuels efficient CNG engines for passenger cars (PC) and light duty INGAS vehicles (LDV). Chalmers EU eu.org/ Safety InteractIVe Accident avoidance by active intervention for Intelligent Vehicles. Partners will test the performance of implemented safety systems through autonomous braking and steering in critical situations. Chalmers, LTH, AB Volvo, VCC, Autoliv EU ip.eu/ Tailoring of Tribological Interfaces for Clean and Energy Efficient Green high efficiency ICE INTERFACE 2020 Diesel and Gasoline Power Train. AB Volvo EU INTERSAFE2 Cooperative intersection safety. AB Volvo Svevia (subcontracted) Safety EU eu/public/ Job opportunities in vehicle electrification. Green electromobility JOBVEHELEC Chalmers, AB Volvo EU cars initiative.eu/public/ Kognitiv robotik för nya dimensioner för MMI i bilar Komplett lastbils luftflöde Lean & Green Navigator En förstudie kring hur kognitiv robotik kan skapar nya dimensioner för MMI i bilar Öka kunskapen om hur framtida fordonskombinationer och chassistrategier ska utformas och optimeras för att öka energieffektiviteten och minska emissioner. Syftet är att stärka förmågan till förbättring av produktionssystem. I detta projekt kommer gröna aspekter integreras plus ett fokus på arbetsplatsutformningen. Viktoria, VCC, Högskolan i Skövde ABVolvo, Chalmers Safety Green fuel cells Green ITS National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ National kr AB Volvo, Högskolan i Skövde, SWEREA IVF, Finnveden Gjutal National kr Green electromobility LISSEN Lithium Sulfur Superbattery Exploitating Nanotechnology. Chalmers EU LOGINN LOGistics INNovation uptake. Chalmers Green ITS EU Green ITS The project is motivated by freight transport's heavy reliance on fossil fuel, its contribution to CO2 emissions and by its impact on Logistics for Life the environment and quality of life. AB Volvo, Chalmers, EU Model based Analysis & Engineering of Novel Architectures for Green electromobility MAENAD Dependable Electric Vehicles. AB Volvo, KTH, MECEL AB, SYSTEMITE AB EU Green Materials Modelling And Testing for Improved Safety of key composite MATISSE StructurEs in alternatively powered vehicles. Chalmers EU Development of next generation metal based SOFC stack Green fuel cells METSOFC technology. Chalmers, Sandvik EU Momentgivare i Projektets syfte är att utveckla metoder för att kunna mäta Green high efficiency drivlina för ökad vridmoment och med hjälp av denna information reglera ICE/vehicle verkningsgrad drivlinan. ABVolvo, Chalmers, National kr MOSARIM More Safety for All by Radar Interference Mitigation. AB Volvo Safety EU Next Move Non Hit Car & Truck Next Move is a project partly funded by the Interreg Oresund Kattegat Skagerrak programme involving regions and municipalities aiming to increase the use of fossil free vehicles by strategic activities such as public procurement and competence development. Non Hit Car & Truck projekt syftar till att stödja Volvo Personvagnars 2020 säkerhet vision, som säger att från och med 2020 ska ingen dödas eller skadas allvarligt i en Volvobil, liksom Volvokoncernen vision om noll olyckor med Volvo produkter. Vätgas Sverige VCC, Epsilon Utvecklingscentrum Väst AB, Chalmers, AB Volvo, Mecel AB, HiQ AB Green alternative fuels Safety EU National next move ett unikt nordiskt samarbetefoer avgasfria fordon och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/

95 North Sea Region E mobility Nya bältesgeometrier Nästa generations provningsmetoder för aktiva säkerhetsfunktioner A project within the Interreg North Sea Region Programme with 11 European partners. Its objective is to link electric vehicle activities along the route Amsterdam Copenhagen Gothenburg in order to guide future investments to promote the availability of electric vehicles in the North Sea Region. TSS Målet med projektet är att förstå förutsättningarna för att åkande i fram och baksätet kan föredra säkerhetshöjande. The project aims to address the research needed for efficient active safety function verification and validation through consistent methods and tools. Autoliv, Chalmers, VCC AB Volvo, Autoliv, Chalmers, SP, Högskolan i Halmstad, Statens väg och transportforskningsinstitut, Green electromobility Safety Safety Green electromobility EU/Regional mobility nsr.eu/ National National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ OPTIMORE Optimised Modular Range Extender for every day customer usage. Chalmers Green electromobility Development of adequate infrastructure charging points, allowing the fast and secure charging of multiple vehicles at the same PowerUP (soft prod time, but also vehicle to infrastructure data communication and och vehicle ) payment of electricity bills. AB Volvo EU PROS Priorities for Road Safety Research in Europé. Chalmers Safety EU Cross Control AB, AB Volvo, Mälardalens Högskola, SP Sveriges Tekniska Safety psafecer Safety Certification with reusable SW components (VTEC, VCE). Forskningsinstitut AB EU Green Light weight Punktsvetsning för Projektet syftar till att långsiktigt stärka forskningsmiljöer och lättviktskonstruktion forskningsområden inom produktionsteknik för att lösa problem er (Spot Light) som aktualiseras av ökande miljökrav och krav på krockprestanda. SWEREA, Högskolan Väst, KTH QUADRA Roadmap Sweden Robust och Multidisciplinär optimering av fordons strukturer Räddningskedjan SafeEV SAFESPOT SAGE SARTRE SE2A Second Road Kvantitativ förarbeteendemodellering för utvärdering av aktiva säkerhetssystem Strategi för storskalig introduktion av elfordon för att nå 2030 målet. Färdplanen ska visa på det svenska business caset för elfordon. Fordonsbatteriskadeforskning med syfte att kartlägga krasch och andra haveriscenarier. Resultatet kommer ligga till grund för utformandet av strategier och utbildningsmaterial för räddningstjänst till haverihändelser involverande el och elhybridfordon. Safe Small Electric Vehicles through Advanced Simulation Methodologies. Cooperative systems for road safety "Smart Vehicles on Smart Roads". ABVolvo, Chalmers, VTI, VCC Vattenfall, Volvo Cars, ABB, Autoliv, AB Volvo, PostNord, Bosch, Siemens, Innovatum mfl. VCC, Altair Engineering AB, ESTECO srl, LARSNI INVEST AKTIEBOLAG, Linköpings universitet, Saab Autoliv, Presto Brandsäkerhet AB, SP, VCC, Umeå Universitet Chalmers AB Volvo Cooperation between regional research driven automotive clusters in Euope with the aim of supporting an increasing pace of innovation for safe and green road vehicles. AB Volvo, Chalmers, VGR Developing of environmental roadtrains called platoons. Systems will be developed facilitating the safe adoption of road trains on un modified public highways with interaction with other traffic. Nanoelectronics for Safe, Fuel Efficient and Environment Friendly Automotive Solutions. Projektet syftar till att utveckla en gemensam simulatormiljö inom VCC för att utvärdera aktiv säkerhetsfunktionalitet och förarinteraktion (HMI). VCC, SP, AB Volvo AB Volvo, OPTRONIC, Statens Provningsanstalt SP VCC, SEMCON AB, HiQ, KNOW IT AB, Mecel AB Safety Green electromobility Safety Safety Green Light weight Safety Green Safety ITS Green electromobility Safety National National National National National ochrapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Hallbarproduktionsteknik/ och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ kr och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ EU EU eu.org/ EU project.eu/home.html EU EU se2a.com/ National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordonsutveckling/

96 SENDSMART SET Säkra Effektiva Transporter SEVA SEVS The SendSmart projects and cluster cover four strategic topics: transport needs, transport efficiency, ways of communication means and clean, safe and efficient vehicles. Syftet är att skapa resultat som kan tillämpas i transportsektorn med mätbara effekter på bränsleeffektivitet, minskade utsläpp av CO2 samt på transporteffektivitet genom ökad säkerhet vid rangering. Swedish Electrified Vehicle Academy. A feasibility study about competence improvements regarding electrifcation. Web based educations, exhibition, seminars & workshops, specialist education programs. Business Region Göteborg, Region Västra Götaland, Chalmers University of technology, Mistra Urban Futures, Gothenburg City Public Transport Office, Gothenburg Association of Local Authorities, Port of Gothenburg, Lindholmen Science Park, Renova, Schenker, the Swedish Transport Administration, WSP consultancy, Volvo Trucks, and Volvo Technology. Coordinated by Closer. AB Volvo, ORYX simulations verklighetsmodelleri Sverige, Umeå universitet Lindholmen Science Park, VCC, Innovatum, Gothenburg Technology school (GTC), Consat, HRM. The aim of the project is to merge both societal as well as technology aspects on future solutions. Gothenburg and Shanghai Chalmers (Safer), AB Volvo, Scania, VCC, KTH, VTI, SP are reference cities. Electromobility prerequisites are analysed. University of Gothenburg, IBM. Målet med forskningen i detta projekt är att utveckla ett mutimodalt (tal, grafik, knappar) system som möjliggör säker SIMSI: Säkra interaktion med teknologier i fordonet genom att reducera den multimodala kognitiva belsastningen som orsakas av interaktionen och genom talgränssnitt i fordon att minimera head down time. Green Green Green electromobility Safety Safety National National National/Regional National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Transporteffektivitet/ (13500 phase 1) och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Mecel AB, GU, Talkamatic AB National Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ SMARTFREIGHT Smart freight transport in urban areas. Chalmers Green ITS EU Green electromobility STORAGE Composite Structural Power Storage for Hybrid Vehicles. Chalmers, SICOMP, Volvo Cars, ETC EU Green electromobility SUPERLIB Sånätt Säkerhet och tillförlighet i fordon med elhybriddrivlinor Advanced Dual Cell Battery for Electric Vehicles comprising a smart Battery Management System based on a high current limiting device. Nya samarbetsformer och teknologier som stärker svensk fordonsindustri på lång sikt och ökar konkurrenskraften inom lättviktdesign. Projektet syftar till att skapa processer och redskap som garanterar att svensktillverkade elhybridfordon uppfyller säkerhets och tillförlitlighetskrav inom områdena elektromagnetisk förenlighet (EMC) och elektromagnetiska fält (EMF) och elsäkerhet. AB Volvo VCC, 32 companies, 7 academic partners. AB Volvo, SP Green Light weight Green electromobility Green electromobility EU National National Säkra batterisystem i elfordon. Utveckling och provmetoder TELEFOT Test and demonstration site for fast charging Metoder för accelererad åldring, behov av kapacitetsbalansering av celler i batterimoduler, åldringstestning av batterier. Field Operational Tests of Aftermarket and Nomadic Devices in Vehicles. The purpose is to establish a test environment that is open for organisations that has a need of testing EV fast charging. AB Volvo, Autoliv Development AB, BAE Hägglunds AB, ETC AB, Kungliga Tekniska Högskolan, SAAB Automobile AB, SP Sveriges Tekniska forskningsinstitut AB, Uppsala Universitet, Volvo Technology AB Chalmers, Swedish Road Administration ThermoMag Nanostructured thermoelectrics based on Mg2Si. AB Volvo, TERMO GEN AB THORAX Thoracic injury assessment for improved vehicle safety. Chalmers, Autoliv Trafiksäkerhetsinnov ationer baserade på fältdata Utvecklandet av en metod att utvärdera en passiv trafiksäkerhetslösning ur ett real life safety perspektiv samt kartläggning av hur den innovationsprocessen skulle kunna fungera då man försöker omsätta forskningen och kunnandet till trafiksäkerhetsinnovationer. TyreOpt Bränsle besparing mha däcks energiförlust Syftet med projektet är att utveckla en metodik för att minimera optimering rullmotståndsförluster. Göteborg Energi (charger installation), ABB (charger supplier), Turning Point (charger supplier) and TSS. Epsilon Utvecklingscentrum Väst AB, Umeå universitet, Saab Chalmers, AB Volvo Safety Green electromobility Green high efficiency ICE Safety Safety Green high efficiency ICE/vehicle National EU EU project.eu/ National Regional EU och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordons Trafiksakerhet/ National kr

97 Tystare transporter för effektivare distribution UDRIVE VETT Step 4 Viktsreduktion genom förbättrad svetskvalitet XEVCO X ing Elkraft & Vagnselektronik Competens Syftet med projektet är att öka transporteffektiviteten genom att ta fram möjliga scenarier och definiera kravsättning för transportfordon så att de kan användas för distribution nattetid i tätbebyggda områden i Sverige. european naturalistic Drivin and Riding for Infrastructure & Vehicle safety and Environment. VETT projektet syftar till att minska CO2 utsläppen genom att mängden virke som transporteras per ekipage ökas utan högre vägslitage eller minskad säkerhet, genom ett modulsystem. Projekt syftar till att minska vikten av svetsade komponenter och strukturer. Syftar till att höja kunskapsnivå och bredda rekryteringsbas inom hybridbilsteknologi i det västsvenska kompetensklustret med sikte på andra generationens hybridsystem för lansering AB Volvo, Chalmers, JABA Group, YKI Chalmers AB Volvo, Epsilon, SSAB Tunnplåt, WABCO Automotive, VBG Group Truck Equipment Volvo Construction AB, Högskolan Väst, KTH, Chalmers, Svetskommissionen VCC, Chalmers, SP Green electromobility Safety Green ITS Green Light weight Green electromobility National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Transporteffektivitet/ EU National National och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi National 2011 Transporteffektivitet/ ochrapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Hallbarproduktionsteknik/ och rapportera/utlysningar/effekta/ffi Fordonsutveckling/ Comment on list: 138 projects in total The list of projects is not exhaustive Scope: Projects involving (one or more) the three core SAGE partners AB Volvo, Chalmers and VGR Projects found during the SAGE inventory Projects financed by FFI (official database) Projects financed by FP7 (official database) Limitations to the scope: Project scope SAGE Must adresse the topic "green and safe road vehicles" Time frame Running projects 2012 Cooperation projects involving at least three partners Regional relevance must have partners in West Sweden

98 Interested in knowing more or taking part in the project? Please don t hesitate to contact us. Hanna Blomdahl (SAGE coordinator) [email protected] Safe and Green Road Vehicles Europe