Wind Driven
Published 1. January 1970
Alec Arho Havrén – founder of Gotland Ring and CEO of Advantage Group – participates in a project together with Power Circle, Eco-municipality of Gotland, Vattenfall, Geab, among others, to create a paradigm shift in local mobility on the island of Gotland.
Windpower will become the sustainable energy provided for the propulsion of the plug-in electric vehicles on the Swedish island of Gotland.
Similar projects are being materialised in Hawaii, Israel, and soon even in the San Francisco area thanks to the innovative company called Better Place, founded by the visionary entrepreneur Shai Agassi 2007. Renault-Nissan has jumped in to contribute with plug-in technology and eventually, thanks to the Better Place new infrastructure, help create a critical mass for an efficient market penetration.
Already as early as 1991, Alec Arho Havrén tried to introduce small golf car like plug-ins for the city of Visby (a UNESCO-protected medieval Capital of Gotland). That time, Utvecklingsfonden (now Almi Företagspartner, Swedish State Risk Capital Fund) did not grant any loans for the project.
“My involvement in this new Wind Driven venture feels a bit like a come-back. Thanks to the combined energy, financial, and automotive industry crisis, it is finally viable for society to accept new thinking and understand that the paradigm shift is inevitable. It is uncomprehendable to see how slow the development of the automotive sector has been in the past and how few companies within the industry have even tried to develop the future technologies. It was an honour that Gotland Ring could host the Pan-European launch and worldwide premier test drive for Honda FCX (now called Clarity). Through our involvement in Wind Driven, we can continue our active involvement in zero- and low-emission vehicle promotion and development. It will be interesting to see the pace of development for modern batteries and which players eventually will lead the new paradigm”, Alec comments.
Advantage Media