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BARCELONA

Swedish company takes prestigious innovation prize

The Lidköping-based Flexenclosure swept away all competitors to win a much-desired Mobile Innovation Global Award at the Mobile World Congress underway this week in Barcelona.

The prize means the company will need to expand quickly.

“Things will probably move fast now, as there are already some of the world’s largest mobile operators waiting at our booth to discuss workinng with us,” said Flexenclosure CEO Stefan Jern.

The company, which has 20 employees in Lidköping and a similar number at an Estonian manufacturing site, received the honor for its method of powering mobile base stations with sun and wind in areas where one would otherwise use large diesel generators.

Other companies, like Ericsson, have showcased alternative methods using small base stations, but not for large structures and not with a smart control system which monitors operations automatically.

According to Jern, a diesel powered base station consumes about 20 cubic meters of diesel a year.

“We can remove 80 percent of that diesel, which means a lot for the environment and for operators who want to offer inexpensive mobile telephony in developing countries,” he said.

The market for environmentally-friendly and energy-saving base stations is enormous. The industry estimates that 70 percent of base stations to be built in the next few years, or about 120,000 per year, will lack connections to existing energy grids.

“If all of those base stations operate on diesel, they would generate carbon dioxide emissions equivalent to the amount of carbon dioxide produced in London every year,” said Jern.

Flexenclosure’s CEO isn’t exactly sure what the prize will mean for his company just yet.

“We had projected on making deliveries for 100 units this year, but the jury asked how quickly we can increase to at least 5,000, so there is clearly reason to believe that we will need to hire a few more people to increase production as quickly as possible,” he said.

But one thing is crystal clear: there will be champagne flowing in Barcelona on Tuesday night.

“As soon as we can get out,” said Jern.

“But we’ve got a lot of people who want to meet with us first.”

ENVIRONMENT

Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?

Around 10,000 people demonstrated against the expansion of the El Prat airport in Barcelona on Sunday.

Why has the expansion of Barcelona airport prompted mass protests?
People march during a demonstration against the expansion of the Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo: Pau BARRENA / AFP

Several ecological and agricultural organisations, have demanded that the expansion be stopped due to the fact nearby wetlands and farms would have to be destroyed.

The demonstration took place on Calle Tarragona in the Catalan capital between Plaça d’Espanya and Plaça dels Països Catalans.

The protests still took place, even though last week, Spain suspended the €1.7 billion airport expansion project, citing differences with the Catalan government, after president Pere Aragonès said he wanted to avoid destroying La Ricarda lagoon, a natural reserve next to the airport. 

Environmentalists decided not to call off the march, in case plans for the airport expansion still went ahead.

READ ALSO: Six things you need to know about Barcelona airport’s €1.7 billion planned expansion

Political representatives from ERC, En Comú Podem and the CUP also attended, as well as the leader of Más País, Íñigo Errejón; the Deputy Mayor for Ecology of the Barcelona City Council, Janet Sanz, and the Mayor of El Prat de Llobregat, Lluís Mijoler.

People from neighbourhoods across the city marched towards Calle Tarragona and could be seen holding placards that read Nature yes, airport no and shouting slogans such as “More courgettes and fewer planes” and “Fighting for the climate, health, and life”. 

One of the largest groups of people were those from El Prat de Llobregat, the municipality which is home to the airport, who were led by tractors. 

People march during a demonstration against the expansion of Barcelona-El Prat airport. Photo by Pau BARRENA / AFP

In addition to protesting against the expansion of the El Prat airport, people were also demonstrating against the Winter Olympic Games in the Pyrenees and extensions to airports in Mallorca and Madrid. 

A representative of Zeroport, Sara Mingorría said “We are here to defend not only La Ricarda, but the entire Delta”. 

The philosopher Marina Garcés also argued that the expansion of the airport would mean “more borders, more mass tourism, more control and more precarious jobs.” 

The leader of the commons in the Catalan parliament, Jéssica Albiach, who also attended the protest, asked the PSOE for “coherence”: “You cannot be passing a law against climate change and, at the same time, defend the interests of Aena [the airport operations company]”, she said. 

She also urged the leader of the Generalitat, Pere Aragonès, to “definitely say no. 

If the airport expansion in Barcelona goes ahead, environmentalists say that CO2 emissions would rise by a minimum of 33 percent. These levels would surpass the limits set by the Catalan government’s climate targets.

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