#3 Zurich Climate City
Find the interview with Zoe Stadler, the President of Klimastadt Zürich, an organization which is fighting for Zürich to become a climate city, so carbon neutral. They bring together different organizations and projects that are active in climate protection in the city, connect them to the right people to bring forward their development, so Zürich can become climate neutral as soon as possible.
Louis Palmer interviewed Zoe in Zürich, on the 10th day of the SolarButterfly Climate Pioneer World Tour.
#2 Energy minister of the canton of Zug
Louis Palmer interviewed Florian Weber, the Minister of Building and Construction (and within: energy) in the Canton of Zug, on the 10th day of the Climate Pioneer World Tour.
He said: “We have a program where we give financial support to home owners who want to change their home to a more sustainable, energy efficient way, for example by changing their old heating systems. We also try to run our own buildings as CO2 neutral as possible. Personally, I try to take my e-bike to work as often as I can.”
#12 Heating houses from the Lake
Check out our interview (in German) with Patrik Rust, the CEO of EWL Luzern. They do ecological heating using hydropower with the water being sourced from the lake.
#9 Electric Bike Holidays
Traveling by bike used to be only doable for sport addicts, but Rent a Bike believes with their e-bikes it is very much possible for all. And it is without emitting CO2!
Louis Palmer interviewed Stephanie Kneubühler, project marketing manager of Rent a Bike, in Huttwil, on the 29th of May, the 7th day of the Climate Pioneer World Tour.
More info: https://www.rentabike.ch/home
#5 Electric Garbage Truck
Reto Zimmermann first got himself a Tesla, now he owns two fully electric garbage trucks and collects trash in a sustainable way in Switzerland.
“Tesla for more than 5 years, and it works, I’m very happy with it. Then I met a guy who built electric trucks, he told me it works well, got me really interested. It really did work, so I ended up getting two e-trucks, they are very reliable, and efficient to collect garbage. All the communities should collect garbage only with electric trucks!”
More info about the e-trucks: https://zimgroup.ch
#4 Efficient Electric Bike Propulsion
maxon is the worldwide leading provider of high-precision drive systems, with impressive technology. Louis interviewed Eugene Elmiger, the CEO in the SolarButterfly on the 25th of May.
When you look at Eugene, you know, he is passionate about what he is doing. “We are doing such great products for the world, our customers, I believe we can help to increase the quality of their life. That’s what I like. Nothing else.”
In the Climate Pioneer World Tour we are going around the world in 4 years, finding and interviewing interesting pioneers and their projects and solutions that actually help the environment, and contribute to stop climate change.
#1 United Nations
Historic moment, the SolarButterfly Climate Pioneer World Tour has started! During our first event in Geneva, Switzerland, we had the chance to interview Alejandro Laguna Lopez, the Head of Communication of the UNEP Europe Office. Louis Palmer, the founder and director of the SolarButterfly Project asked him: Do governments do enough?? Listen to the interview for the answer!
In our 4-year-long journey we are going around the world to explore solutions for climate change, we are interviewing pioneers, companies, organizations and projects, community leaders, people who work to protect the climate and stop global warming.
Partner Feature: BRUGG eConnect, supercharging e-mobility
In this series, we are introducing all of our partners. Companies that not only have great innovations to combat climate change but also believe in our project and help us in our mission to travel around the world in the search of climate pioneers and to spread the word about their solutions. Read about our Gold partner, BRUGG Group, in our fourth Partner Feature.
The BRUGG Group with 19 production sites and 17 sales divisions, is represented in all important industrial countries. BRUGG has many divisons, from pipesystems for district heating through elevator- and structural ropes, lifting gear and real estate to electrical cables for e-mobility and industrial applications.
This latter division is called BRUGG eConnect with whom we are in close contact. Charging electric vehicles is an extremely important part of e-mobility, and BRUGG eConnect develops and manufactures cables and connectors that are resistant to hydrolysis, microbes, uv and ozone. Louis Palmer, the director of SolarButterfly is proud to have BRUGG as a partner: “BRUGG is a great partner, one that takes sustainability very seriously. We are very proud to work with this well-known Swiss company.”
And the missions are definitely aligned, as Patrick Kern, the CEO of BRUGG eConnect states too:
“As a Swiss pioneer in e-mobility as provider of fast-charging cables and plugs solutions, we want to contribute to decarbonisation and sustainable technologies. That’s why his mission is also our mission. The SolarButterfly project fits into BRUGG eConnect, because we want to advance sustainable technologies like e-mobility and wind energy. With our cable solutions, we make an important contribution to the promotion of e-mobility and wind energy.”
During the Climate Pioneer World Tour, Larso will also visit BRUGG, right on the first day on the 23rd of May. Follow us on social media to see more about our event in Brugg-Windisch. “We are honored to welcome the SolarButterfly in person with all our employees here on our company ground in Brugg-Windisch.” – said Patrick Kern, the CEO of BRUGG eConnect.
Having big plans and goals for the future is essential in keeping the pioneer spark alive, and BRUGG has big ones, such as the SolarButterfly. Patrick Kern talks about them: “In the near future our high power charging solutions will also conquer electric commercial vehicles like trucks, boats, cruise ships and hopefully also airplanes. Another point that is very exciting for us is that our pioneer technology will be handed over at the climate conference in Paris in 2025.”
Watch the video of Stephan Wartmann, the CEO of BRUGG Group and Patrick Kern, the CEO of BRUGG e-Connect HERE. And follow the adventures of the SolarButterfly on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Check out our other Partner Features too: LONGi, HSLU, myclimate,
Learn more about BRUGG Group on their website: www.brugg.com
Partner Feature: myclimate, climate accountant, educator and advisor
myclimate is a partner for effective climate protection, globally and locally. This non-profit has educational programmes, advisory services and its own projects to help combat climate change. They are one of the world leaders in voluntary CO₂- compensation measures. Read about our partner in our third Partner Feature.
In our lives these days it is extremely hard to completely avoid CO₂ emissions. So what we can do is constantly reducing and immediately offsetting the emissions. Which is important from individuals to big corporations to everyone. And this requires serious calculations to even know how much we have to account for, then we need a climate protection project to compensate for our emissions. This is where myclimate’s help is essential. On the website you can easily calculate and offset a flight you take for example. But they are there to help on a bigger scale too, of course.
They are also focusing on education, which is a very important aspect of the fight against climate change. During the SolarButterfly Climate Pioneer World Tour, we are going to make a little educational exhibition at every stop, based on the know-how of myclimate. They also help us in developing the assets about climate change for the schools we are visiting.
But myclimate is doing a lot of different things all year around, we can take a look at their website to find more: “The foundation also advises on integrated climate protection with tangible added value. In the field of CO₂ and resource management, myclimate supports companies with advice, analyses, IT tools and labels. The portfolio ranges from simple carbon footprints (emissions calculations) at the corporate level through to comprehensive life cycle assessments for products. Our experienced advisors help with identifying and tapping into potential in the areas of energy and resource efficiency.”
Stephen Neff, the CEO of myclimate is as passionate about climate solutions as the SolarButterfly team.“It’s time to show the world that there are solutions around to stop global warming. We support the SolarButterfly project with our knowhow and marketing expertise to develop a showcase that travels across the world and highlights innovative new ideas that creates a positive, climate-friendly future for everyone”
Louis Palmer, the founder of SolarButterfly finds it important that the project stays climate-neutral and is grateful for the support of myclimate.
“Everybody in the world should try to avoid the emission of CO2 as much as possible and when it’s not possible, it is important that we have a chance to offset our emissions. CO2 compensation is a way to a zero-emission future that is doable for everyone. That’s why I am very happy that we can offset our own emissions with myclimate. This way we can really realize our whole mission in a climate-neutral way.”
Watch the video of Stephen Neff, the CEO of myclimate HERE. And follow the adventures of the SolarButterfly on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Check out our other Partner Features too: LONGi, HSLU,
Learn more about myclimate on their website: www.myclimate.org
HSLU: University Shaping the SolarButterfly Project
The SolarButterfly project would not exist in its current form without the help that the students and professors of Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts provided to Louis Palmer. In our next Partner Feature, you will learn how exactly HSLU has been involved in the project.
“More than 50 students have been involved or are involved so far” – told us Stephen Wittkopf, who is responsible for knowledge and innovation transfer as well as international relations at HSLU. “They do it as bachelor theses, industrial, practical or social projects. Each of them individually (after all, they need their individual grades and credits), but nevertheless united in a team through this large interdisciplinary project.”
Stephen Wittkopf has been involved since the very beginning and helped Louis develop the concept. He has been bringing him together with the right people from the university ever since. Students work on many aspects of the project, from engineering through interior design to communications. And SolarButterfly became a practical part of the education of the participating students.
“It started with Mechanical Engineering for the basic construction” – said Stephen Wittkopf. “Then came Interior Design with the interior concept. Now the Building Technology course was added, because it is increasingly about the integration of energy systems. Other aspects will follow, and with them other courses of study, even outside our department. I’m grateful that our course directors are so interested in participating.”
Mutually beneficial partnership
This is great for our project for many reasons. Firstly, Louis Palmer, the founder of SolarButterfly said that he “was very happy to cooperate with Hochschule Luzern. To give the future generation of engineers the opportunity to contribute to a better future by developing the SolarButterfly.” Secondly, thanks to HSLU, SolarButterfly can utilize the help and support of dozens of young, talented and motivated professionals. They come with great fresh ideas, knowledge and enthusiasm, which is backed by the expertise and coordination of their supervising professors. All this without adding heavy financial burdens on the project. And there are benefits to the university as well. As Stephen Wittkopf mentions:
“I see three advantages. First, we can build on our strengths. Interdisciplinarity and energy are traditionally very important topics to us. With this project we can further develop their implementation with other departments of our university. The university can also develop further in the transfer of knowledge and innovation. We are strengthening our cooperation with the industry and the public and learning to move forward together through transfer. And thirdly, we also have an advantage in the area of international relations. Because when the Solar Butterfly travels around the world in the next few years, our name will also travel with it and maybe bring us a few students from all over the world.”
Education is always key
The Lucerne University of Applied Sciences and Arts with all the students, professors and other professionals have been strategic partners since the beginning. And SolarButterfly is extremely proud to have this partnership. The involvement of HSLU, one of the leading universities of Switzerland has been a great experience. Moreover, essential for the SolarButterfly to become an important existing project from an ambitious idea of Louis Palmer.
Watch the video of Stephen Wittkopf here. And follow the adventures of the SolarButterfly on Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
Check out our other Partner Features too: LONGi
Learn more about HSLU on their website: www.hslu.ch