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In the municipally owned energy company Jämtkraft’s head office at Kyrkgatan in Östersund, the company’s newly appointed CEO Erik Brandsma is settling in.

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He is a Forest Engineer trained in the Netherlands and Canada. He has a solid background in energy issues from international power companies and sustainable development projects within the UN and the OECD. As General Director of The Swedish Energy Agency for the past six years, he has worked with energy systems development and electrification of transport.

“This is how innovation will drive the transformation that we need in our different sectors”, he says and clarifies:

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“In the transport and energy sectors, we have realised that this is not a one man show. We need to work together to find new innovative ideas and solutions that support and grow society. Our partnership in Östersund is an example of how we have succeeded in creating a solution together that helps. This project is a model for further development of new business ideas.”

“We have two different actors from two industries that collectively contribute to an offer that we have built from scratch. We are examining how future cities will look. There are so many aspects that play a part in this, ranging from quality of life to climate change, and how to use the city wisely. That´s what I find so unique about this project.”

Erik Brandsma sees electrification as an important – although not the only – solution for the shift in the transport sector.

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“There are biofuels and other aspects that could be addressed. But electrification with renewable green energy is a prerequisite for us to meet our climate targets in the Paris Agreement.”

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And he is convinced that the electrification of the transport sector will be fast.

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“For every new forecast we make, we estimate that it will go even faster. Frankly, it needs to be fast, because we must reach our climate goals. We also see a demand that increases much faster than we thought. Cities want clean, quiet and efficient transport. This is exactly what the partners in the electrical bus project can offer.”

Fifty kilometres south of Östersund’s city centre, Claes-Göran Bergh gazes down at the Billsta stream. Here, the hydroelectric power supplying energy to ���ϲ�����’s electric buses in Östersund coexists with high ecological values.

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In 1964 Bergh joined Jämtkraft’s predecessor Östersunds Elektriska AB – on the first day of his working life. He started by washing analogue electric meters with gasoline. Soon he advanced to building high voltage lines. After five years of environmental studies, his career took a new direction. Now, he is Environmental Manager at Jämtkraft, and is passionate about sustainable overall solutions.

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He points at the wooden tunnel that leads the water down to the turbine in one of Billsta stream’s three small-scale power plants. He explains that it matters how the electricity is produced when operating buses in local traffic.

“What´s incredible is that the Billsta stream was closed for 100 years, but the genetics in the fish in Storsjön still remained. When the power plants were rebuilt, and the stream was reopened, it was like turning on a switch! Immediately, the����began to move up the river to play. Suddenly, hundreds of large����– some weighing up to 10 kilograms – were climbing up the bypass channels.”

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Even the����are back, and osprey have been seen around the Billsta river.

Claes-Göran Bergh smiles happily and concludes: “It is like all these species took a pause for 100 years. Now we are able to operate the public transport system in Östersund with renewable electricity, while increasing biodiversity. There is a huge spectrum of benefits with this project, and they all lead to a more sustainable society.”

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With the electric bus project, Jämtkraft reaches the inhabitants in Östersund doubly, as the energy company’s customers consume electricity at home as well.

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“As we use renewable electricity in multiple systems, Jämtkraft and our customers can reduce fossil energy consumption very effectively. ���ϲ�����’s electric buses obviously contribute in a good way to a more profitable deal for us in this production of renewable electricity.”

Line 6 between Torvalla and Brittsbo is one of the busiest bus routes in Östersund, with about 100 departures a day. After the line was rescheduled and electrified, several new residential areas now have access to the city buses, enabling them to choose the bus instead of cars.

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The line is just over 14-kilometres long and runs from Torvalla in south-eastern Östersund, through the city centre and past the hospital, to the new large residential area Brittsbo in the north. During peak hours, the bus runs every 15 minutes and the line is covered by a total of seven buses. The line has more than 800,000 passengers per year and is operational 16 hours a day. Each Line 6 bus covers 330 kilometres a day. Part of the route has dedicated bus lanes.

The first three electric buses were all given individual names. “Tor-Britt” is named after the two end stations Torvalla and Brittsbo, “Jorm” after a regional mountain troll. “Potter” is of course named after the British soccer coach Graham Potter, who propelled Östersund FC to Europa League and international fame, before he was recruited to the English Championship Club Swansea.

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“What Potter did for soccer in Östersund was almost magical. Perhaps this electric bus and the other ones can make an even greater footprint”, says Petra.

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At Kyrkparken’s bus stop in the centre of Östersund, Karin gets off “Potter” to go to her home at Odenbacken. She has made this trip five days a week over the past six months, and now she finds it hard to remember riding a regular bus.

“I work in the service sector in the city centre, and my days are usually quite hectic. It is lovely to step on the electric bus to go home, so smooth and silent. Sometimes, I would like the trip home to be longer,” she adds.

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The design of the electric buses has been determined by travellers’ wishes for an appealing interior with practical features on board. The buses have extra wide doorways with low inlets, allowing quick and smooth loading and disembarkment.

Line 6 used to be a rough ride, according to the bus driver Janne Monteiro. Every shift felt like an eternity. “It was busy, crowded, and the 14-kilometre long route felt even longer with many stops on the way”.

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But it all changed with the electric buses.

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“Above all, they are so incredibly quiet! You do not feel the same fatigue when driving them. It is a different drive all together”, he says, and gives an example:

Nettbuss Stadsbussarna operate nine lines in Östersund with a total of 30 yellow ���ϲ����� buses. A key person in the electrical bus project is Håkan Olofsson, Traffic Planner and System Operator at the company.

When starting the new bus route, ���ϲ����� held theoretical training for 100 drivers, as they all needed skills in operating electrical buses. When in regular service, appointed instructors from Nettbuss Stadsbussarna joined the first trips. If additional help was needed, ���ϲ�����’s experts were available on site.

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“We are positively surprised at how smooth the introduction of these new buses has worked, with this new technology. The first three buses have been in traffic for about 40 hours a day with temperatures ranging from minus 30 degrees Celsius in the winter – and more snow than ever – to 30 degrees Celsius in the summer.”

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The Nettbuss’ city bus model is called��Citywide��LF 4×2 and is equipped with a 130-kW electric motor powered by 110 kWh lithium ion batteries. Additional vehicles will be launched in early 2019, which will have more powerful electric motors and even larger batteries.

Electric buses also have Electronic Stability Control (ESP), which you usually do not find on city buses.

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Both heat and air conditioning consume a lot of energy and keeping energy consumption down is particularly important for electrical buses. Composite flooring, additional roof insulation and LED lighting are examples of energy saving measures inside the buses.