Energigemenskaper med räddningstjänsten
Project partner: WIN, Ljungby Kommun och Räddningstjänsten Väst
Grant: 1 410 000 kronor
Project duration: 2025-11-01 to 2027-04-30
Contact person:
About the project
Autonomous Fire Stations and Energy Communities (AFE) aims to strengthen Sweden’s ability to maintain emergency response capacity during prolonged and extensive crises. Experiences from, among other things, the war in Ukraine show how vulnerable society becomes when energy infrastructure is disrupted, and how crucial alternative systems, backup solutions and increased preparedness are.
In major crises – such as natural disasters, sabotage or widespread power outages – the rescue services play a central coordinating role. Despite this, there is currently no requirement for Swedish fire stations to be self-sufficient in electricity. Today, many are dependent on diesel generators, which pose a significant risk during long-term disruptions when fuel supplies may be limited.
AFE builds on previous mobilization efforts and brings together rescue services, energy actors, property owners and technology providers in a Transition Lab format. The need owners in the project are the participating rescue services, which require robust, autonomous energy solutions to secure operations, communication systems and coordination capacity – with the long-term ambition of enabling island operation (off-grid functionality).
The project contributes to a combination of technological innovation, new system solutions for local production and energy storage, and new forms of cross-sector collaboration. The partners will work jointly where possible and alternate concrete development efforts across organizational boundaries. The focus is on generating multiple coordinated pilot initiatives that together drive systemic change.
Stress tests will be a central component of the project. Through simulated complex crisis scenarios – such as prolonged grid collapse combined with extreme weather events – both technical systems and inter-organizational coordination will be tested. These exercises will identify hidden vulnerabilities, clarify roles and responsibilities, and strengthen operational readiness.
Two pilot sites have been selected to serve as demonstrators and learning platforms: Räddningstjänst Väst and Räddningstjänsten i Ljungby. The ambition is that the models developed can be replicated across Sweden’s approximately 700 fire stations and, over time, inspire other public-sector facilities to strengthen their energy resilience.
By combining autonomous fire stations with local energy communities, the project will strengthen Sweden’s ability to maintain critical societal functions – ensuring that energy supply works both in everyday operations and in times of crisis.
Project manager:
WIN