AirForestry’s Sustainable Forestry gets a boost through 5G Private Wireless in collaboration with Tele2 and Nokia
Uppsala – AirForestry AB ("AirForestry") is excited to announce a partnership with Tele2 and Nokia, enabling the deployment of a state-of-the-art 5G private mobile network. This advancement will support the mobile control of AirForestry's six-meter-wide electric drones, which are revolutionizing the way we approach forest harvesting and thinning by moving forest machinery into the skies.
AirForestry develops high-capacity drones for forest thinning. With their electric harvester drones it is possible to thin and harvest forests from the air without damaging the ground or surrounding trees. In order for the drones to be able to communicate with the environment in remote forest areas where there is often no traditional coverage, a stable, secure, and robust connection with high capacity is needed to handle, for example, video transmission and low latency with which control the drones.
Together with Nokia, Tele2 will deliver a 5G private wireless network to AirForestry in a pilot project. The pilot will run during 2024 and if it is successful, the ambition is to introduce the solution into commercial forestry operations. Tele2 will deploy the solution, which enables a stable and private connection in remote forest areas and ensures higher speeds and availability.
-Airforestry's technology is undoubtedly revolutionary, and their vision is to make forest harvesting more efficient and sustainable which is groundbreaking. It is extremely gratifying to be part of this journey and contribute to the realization of completely new innovations. 5G and private wireless networks remove previous limitations and create unlimited business opportunities, and we look forward to more applications that can increase companies' innovation and competitiveness, says Stefan Trampus, Executive Vice President B2B at Tele2.
The drones are controlled from a portable shed with 5G antennas that are positioned to cover the area to be thinned. The mobile solution allows it to be easily set up where needed and where there is no public coverage or any other alternative technologies.
- Our drones require efficient and reliable data transmission to be able to handle all the data they send and receive when harvesting and thinning forests. We looked at different options regarding connectivity, but in the end a mobile private 5G network was the one that suited our specific needs best, says Olle Gelin, CEO and co-founder of Airforestry.
Nokia will deliver Nokia Digital Automation Cloud (DAC) that will provide reliable performance, high bandwidth, and low latency enabling digital transformation for the forestry industry.
- Nokia is thrilled to be part of this project partnering with Tele2. Airforestry’s approach to forestry is truly disruptive. It is resource-efficient and reduces damage on the ground level to an absolute minimum. One of the challenges is precise navigation of the drones and a state-of-the-art 5G private wireless network that is the perfect technology to support this application, says Stephane Haulbert, Nokia Enterprise Partners Business Leader in Europe.
Contact and information from Tele2:
Fredrik Hallstan, Tele2 Head of External Communications Phone: +46 761 15 38 30
Contact and information from AirForestry:
Contact the company at phone +46 70-049 78 47 or press@airforestry.com.
About AirForestry
AirForestry's ground-breaking technology makes it possible to thin forests in a completely new way, from the air. The company's innovation makes it possible to run fossil-free, gentle and more productive forestry. We contribute to reducing carbon dioxide emissions from forest work while increasing the forest's ability to bind carbon. By creating better forests, we contribute to a more sustainable society - economically, environmentally, and socially. It's not just our primary goal but also our main driving force.Learn more at www.airforestry.com, watch our videos here, and follow us on LinkedIn for the latest.
About Tele2
Tele2’s purpose is to enable a society of unlimited possibilities. Ever since Tele2 was founded in 1993, we have continued to challenge prevailing norms and dusty monopolies. Today our networks enable mobile and fixed connectivity, telephony, data network services, TV, streaming and global IoT solutions for millions of customers. We drive growth through customer satisfaction and smart combined offerings. Tele2 has been listed on Nasdaq Stockholm since 1996. In 2022, Tele2 generated revenue of SEK 28 billion and reported an underlying EBITDAaL of SEK 10 billion. For latest news and definitions of measures, please see our homepage www.tele2.com
AirForestry - Harvest trees with drones # Reinventing Forestry
What we do: Forest thinning from above with electric autonomous drones for more productive, resilient, and beautiful forests.
Founders: Olle Gelin, Mauritz Andersson, Markus Romar, Caroline Walerud.
CEO: Olle Gelin
Location: Uppsala
Employees: 24
Year Founded: 2020
Net Revenue: 1.5 MSEK in total since inception
Financing: 65 MSEK in total, split between venture capital, grants, loans, and customer revenue.
Major Shareholders: The founders and Walerud Ventures.
Milestones and Innovations: We have the world's lightest harvesting tool, which hangs from the drone and trims and saws the tree. Proprietary drone optimized to lift 200 kg (thinning trees weigh 40-140 kg). Flight permit from the Swedish Transport Agency.
Competition: Most of Sweden's thinning is done with ground-based forestry machines. They weigh up to 30 tons, damage the ground, require 5 meter wide access roads to reach the trees to be thinned, provide a poor work environment, and burn 200 liters of diesel per day (3.5 billion liters of diesel globally per year).
Awards: Norrsken Impact/100 winner of Public Vote, World Economic Forum Top Innovator, Techarenan Business Award, 33-listan, etc.
Collaborators and Sponsors: Sveaskog, Tele2, Vattenfall, Vinnova, SkogForsk, etc.
Work with us! See https://careers.airforestry.com/
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