Teaming up to overcome obstacles on the road to Net Zero

Padova has just over 200,000 inhabitants and is located around 30 kilometres west of Venice. The city is home to one of Europe's oldest universities and has set itself the goal of becoming climate-neutral by 2030. Substantially changing municipal structures and cultures in a time horizon of less than 10 years is a major challenge almost everywhere in the world, not just in Padova. That’s why the NetZeroCities initiative was developed as part of the Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme to support cities in meeting this challenge. Together, this network aims to overcome structural, institutional and cultural obstacles in order to achieve the ambitious 2030 climate target.

Also on a local level, Padova has implemented the approach of teaming up to move forward and created a broad alliance. One of several partners of the city administration is the municipal service provider AcegasApsAmga. The company estimates that it will save 50,000 tonnes of CO₂ emissions every year thanks to various measures. Various measures in the areas of waste management and water supply contribute to this, as do electric drives for the vehicle fleet in general and the sweepers in particular.

For cities the size of Padova, the contribution of zero-emission sweepers can be quite significant. Compared to a diesel-powered machine that operates six days a week in two shifts, an electrically powered Schmidt eSwingo 200⁺ reduces CO₂ emissions by around 50 tonnes per year. Francesco Garbo, responsible for environmental services for the city of Padova, stated, "After more than a year of continuous use of the eSwingo200+, we can confirm that the performance is fully equivalent to that of the diesel version." The total operating costs are significantly lower and, thanks to an attractive range of attachments, the sweeper can also be used for washing, scrubbing, spraying, and other activities. Francesco also noted, "With the same performance, the vehicle is much quieter and produces fewer vibrations than the diesel version."

Speaking of obstacles: AcegasApsAmga was careful in choosing the right machines and partners and therefore only purchased and tested one machine as a first step. However, the eSwingo fully met the company's expectations, both in terms of performance of the machine and service from Aebi Schmidt. That’s why the fleet is now being expanded and we are honored and happy to supply AcegasApsAmga with more electrically powered sweepers. All in all, this is a good example of how you can achieve more if teaming up across all levels. Luca Firotto, CEO of Aebi Schmidt Italia, says: "Since quite a while already, many service providers and municipal authorities have stopped just wanting to buy machines. They are looking for partners who understand the individual business areas in detail and are able to offer the best possible and customised solution. This can range from indeed a single machine or up to an all-in service contract over multiple years."