Private consumption accounts for a significant proportion of Malmö’s climate impact and includes emissions generated both within and outside Sweden’s borders. To achieve the municipality’s climate targets, emissions need to be reduced from around 5.7 tonnes of CO₂e per person (2022) to 3.1 tonnes by 2030 and further to around 1 tonne by 2050. Today, emissions vary greatly between different households and neighbourhoods, often in line with income levels and lifestyle. This means that measures need to be designed to take social and geographical differences into account.

Therefore Malmö City Council commissioned RISE to produce an in-depth analysis and decision-making document setting out the scale of emissions reductions required, where the potential is greatest, and how the municipality can support a fair and effective transition.

Purpose and implementation

The aim of the project was to carry out a scenario-based analysis of the potential for reducing Malmö’s consumption-based emissions, to serve as a long-term strategic basis for the city’s ongoing climate work.

The work was carried out in three stages:

• Analysis of the current situation and variations in emissions across different parts of the city
• Development of four future scenarios with different levels of ambition
• Identification of possible measures, with a focus on feasibility, equity and societal benefits

Key findings

The results clearly show that the targets can only be achieved through a combination of lifestyle changes, infrastructure investments and technological development, with these measures reinforce one another. With only a few years remaining until 2030, the pace of the transition is crucial.

Measures need to cover all major areas of consumption, not just those with the highest emissions today, and many of the proposed measures can reduce emissions whilst also strengthening social cohesion, improving public health and contributing to more attractive urban environments.

The transition requires collaboration – within the municipality and with politicians, the business sector, civil society and residents, supported by national and international policy instruments. The municipality has a key role as a driving force through urban development, investment and norm-setting, and can thereby contribute to sustainable, positive and equitable social change.

Benefits

The project provides the City of Malmö with a concrete and action-oriented basis for prioritising and coordinating measures for climate-smart consumption, in both the short and long term. The results can also be used to support dialogue with residents and external stakeholders, as well as in efforts to integrate the consumption perspective into the city’s other areas of transition.

The methodology and conclusions are also relevant to other municipalities and regions facing similar challenges.

About the project

Renewable energy is already being produced locally at many Swedish farms and industries, but regulations and technology have so far prevented local actors from trading directly with each other. AIPI builds the prototype for a virtual electricity grid that allows producers and consumers to collaborate seamlessly, using existing infrastructure and without waiting for new legislation or grid operators' IT systems.

At the core of the solution is the Process Abstraction Layer (PAL), a method originally developed for the telecom sector and used to integrate hundreds of systems at large operators. PAL translates the APIs and interfaces of different systems into a common layer, drastically reducing the complexity of system integration. In AIPI, PAL is combined with an AI-based optimization module developed by RISE to coordinate energy flows, storage, and consumption across multiple sites.

The project is demonstrated at three farms on Gotland: Widegrens gård, Ryftes gård, and Tjauls gård.

The challenge

The integration of renewable energy systems today is fragmented and costly. Without standardized solutions, the market risks being locked into proprietary systems that only work with specific combinations of vendors. Small and medium-sized industries also lack the in-house IT resources to build tailored energy management solutions.

Local energy producers currently cannot sell electricity directly to neighbors or participate in ancillary services on equal terms, which limits the profitability of local energy production and slows investment in distributed renewable energy.

The solution

AIPI uses PAL to allow each site to manage its own systems locally, while also participating in a virtual electricity grid spanning multiple locations. Each site is equipped with a local AI optimizer that plans and automates energy use, regardless of how "smart" the existing equipment is.

The system supports:

• Local energy trading between sites
• Demand flexibility and optimized storage
• Participation in external electricity and ancillary service markets
• Quantum-safe encryption for secure communication

Expected results

• A working prototype for a virtual electricity grid in Gotland's agricultural sector
• An API proposal demonstrating how industries can connect to virtual grid operators
• Documented principles for how accounting and transactions can be handled in a virtual electricity grid

Project partners

The project brings together expertise from technology, research, the energy sector, and agriculture:

RISE: project coordinator, AI/ML optimization, and knowledge dissemination to other industries
X-IT-API: PAL technology and system integration
Skellefteå Kraft / IoT Open: experience in smart grids and IoT platforms
Widegrens gård & Ryftes gård: demonstration sites with solar, wind, and battery storage
Gotlands Elektrifieringsdemonstrator AB (Tjauls gård): technical demonstration and tenant integration
Region Gotland / Energicentrum: regional anchoring and the goal of 100% renewable energy by 2040 LRF Öst: relevance for the agricultural sector at large
Science Park Gotland: reference group and external monitoring

RISE's role

RISE is the project coordinator and contributes AI and machine learning technology for predictions, genetic optimization, and simulation. The optimization module is configured for each site's specific needs and runs locally on edge nodes. RISE is also responsible for disseminating project results to other industrial sectors, as well as for evaluation and publication of project outcomes.

Funding

The project is funded by Vinnova under the call Advanced Digitalization – Industry-Driven Innovation 2025.