Ideas in the fight against the climate crisis
Solar car, hydrogen train, laboratory meat, sponge city – some developments are about to break through. Seven technologies for the climate-friendly future.By Camilla Kohrs and Thomas Hummel
–
–
–
But last year the money ran out. 10,000 people had already ordered the car and made down payments. But apparently, donors had asked the company to give up the Sion car because the production was too expensive, said a statement in December. “Over the past few months, we have repeatedly recognized that we are pursuing completely different goals than conventional financial investors,” said CEO Laurin Hahn. “Aggressive growth and quick profits are difficult to reconcile with a sustainable company and vehicle concept.” So Sono Motors decided to start a crowdfunding campaign. 50 million euros were needed within three weeks, “otherwise the Sion will not come,” said Hahn.
On December 30, Munich had a total of 32.5 million euros. Interested parties increased their down payments, new buyers were added, donations and loans were made. The company then had its community vote on whether to extend the period, which a large majority of investors and buyers approved. The deadline was now Monday, January 21. Apparently, two days in advance. Among other things, two of the previous major investors are said to have increased their deposits significantly.
“Instead of giving up who we are, we decided to fight for what we believe in,” the company writes on Twitter, “for a world in which every car on the road is electrically powered and shared”.
The crowdfunding campaign was the last chance for Sono Motors and its 100 employees. Nobody had made so much money in such a short time before, especially not in Europe. In the United States, a computer game was raised over $ 230 million over several years, and for a smartwatch company, people spent around $ 40 million in several campaigns. In Germany, the most successful crowdfunding projects are in the single-digit millions.
Despite the success, Sono Motors is still a risk project. The big ones usually quickly eat the little ones on the competitive automotive market. Start-ups with new ideas usually have to give up and sell their inventions. Only Tesla was recently able to establish itself as a new, private player, but the Americans also have the multi-millionaire Elon Musk as owner and investor.
In order to start production of the “Sion” in a former Saab plant in Sweden, which is planned for autumn 2021, Sono Motors needs additional capital. However, the company expects to be able to sell so-called CO₂ certificates because it only produces electric cars, while other manufacturers may have to buy such certificates because they still sell too many diesel or petrol engines. If everything works out, the first Sions could be delivered to customers in early 2022. It will be seen whether the idea with the solar cells in the body is still unique to Munich.
–
