2023-06-22 22:00:00
Two years ago, Volkswagen chose the island, which is only 96 square kilometers in size and looks like a butterfly in flight on satellite images, as a future laboratory for smart, sustainable mobility. Since then, together with the Hellenic Republic, the goal has been pursued of converting the island to electromobility within a few years. While elsewhere rattling mopeds and older off-road vehicles characterize the street scene, the relatively high proportion of quietly humming electric cars is noticeable on Astypalea.
“Astybus” ridesharing service using a smartphone app instead of a regular bus service
Not only do the local police and the employees at the tiny airport drive electric models from the VW Group, the only rickety regular service bus on the island was replaced by modern electric bullis a good year ago. “The big advantage of our ridesharing service called Astybus is that we can use it to connect many more places on the island,” reports Maik Stephan, who is responsible for the pilot project on Astypalea at Volkswagen.
Depending on the season, up to five vehicles are ready to be summoned by customers using their own smartphone app. Depending on the distance, a trip costs between two and six euros, and there are also cheaper one- or three-day passes. In view of the manageable size of the island – the longest possible distance is 16 kilometers – the costs remain manageable. Residents of the island only pay half the price compared to tourists anyway. The cars, which are operated by the company’s own drivers, are charged at the central charging hub, and the electricity for this is produced locally using two smaller solar systems on the roof of the building. “Even during the high season in July and August, when most trips are booked, the capacity of the PV system is sufficient to charge all the cars,” assures Astybus manager Nikos Diakostamatiou.
If you prefer to drive yourself, you can use the same app to book electric rental vehicles on your cell phone. The local “AstyGo” sharing service offers full electric cars, electric scooters from the sister brand Seat MÓ and e-bikes from Ducati. Not only tourists, but also the initially skeptical island population now like to use the relatively cheap mobility offer. Especially during the summer months, when holidaymakers come from the mainland with their own cars, the slim e-bikes and scooters offer an alternative to everyday traffic jams. What’s more, thanks to a generous subsidy program in which the Greek government has doubled the maximum e-mobility subsidy to up to 12,000 euros, the number of e-vehicles in private cars is also increasing rapidly. “Currently there are 84 electrically powered cars on the island, and the proportion is increasing massively,” says Maik Stephan. Since the start of the pilot project around two years ago, more than 200,000 CO2-neutral kilometers have been covered and 5,000 tons of carbon dioxide have been saved. “Our long-term goal is to reduce the vehicle fleet on the island by a third.”
Planned hybrid energy system instead of diesel generators on Astypalea
But the ambitious plans go even further: the construction of a hybrid energy system is planned for next year, which will consist of a solar park with an output of 3.5 megawatts per year and battery storage. From 2024, this should cover 100 percent of the energy requirements for e-mobility and up to 60 percent of the general energy requirements of the island. The island’s energy system is to be further expanded by 2026 and, in the final stage, will cover at least 80 percent of the electricity requirement.
“For the islanders, this offers enormous ecological, but also economic advantages,” says Thanos Zarogiannis from the Hellenic Ministry for Environmental Protection and Energy. Astypalea is one of 47 Greek islands with no power cable connection to the mainland. Since 1986, four air-cooled diesel generators have been producing the energy required for the entire island. “That’s why a tanker has to come seven times a year, so a total of 500,000 liters of diesel oil are burned every year and 4,700 tons of CO2 are blown into the air in the process,” says Zarogiannis. But not only the local economy and the environment benefit from the commitment of Volkswagen and its partners. A lot has also changed on a social level since the start in 2022. While the local population was predominantly opposed to the plans at the time, today 80 percent are in favor of them and are using the opportunities themselves,” says Mayor Nikolaos Komineas. His recipe for success: “People must always have a say in decision-making and feel that they are not being ignored .”
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