The transition to a fossil- and emission-free transport sector is well underway — and new vehicles and construction equipment running on either electricity, hydrogen or biogas are coming to the market. Nevertheless, the threshold for some players is relatively high when it comes to investing in these new, environmentally friendly solutions on a large scale. This wanted project Testing of fossil-free machines and vehicles to do something with. The project, which was started by Østfold County Council in January 2017, will end in autumn 2024 with >350 loans during the project period.

Through the project, schools, municipalities and contractors with public commissions, could borrow machines free of charge for up to four weeks. In this way, the user (without risk) could find out for himself whether the machine was suitable for the planned tasks, before any investment. The machines were ferried to and from patrons. The project, which was part-funded with funds from Klimasats and Interreg, took all the costs. The only requirement back to the lending scheme was a user report after the end of the loan term, about how the machine functioned in the various work situations. Geographically, the lending scheme covered all municipalities in Vestfold, Telemark, Buskerud, Akershus, Østfold and Oslo. In addition, they collaborated with contractors and companies in the project area.

An important result of the project is database of available fossil- and emission-free machinery and vehicles, last updated December 2023.

Among other things, the lending scheme was used for the emission-free construction site in Olav Vs gate in Oslo, see video below: