The Husqvarna Battery Box, is a "smart," 8x3 meter, unattended container with 30 electronic lockers that store battery powered garden care products. Via an iPhone app, homeowners can reserve tools, get instructions, pay, and open the locker to pick up their pre-booked power tool. The "box" will be placed at Bromma Blocks, a shopping center 15 min west of Stockholm city in Sweden. Renting a garden care product will cost about $38 a day (USD).
“People are already sharing homes and cars. To share products that are only used occasionally, like a hedge-trimmer, makes a lot of sense for some users. Husqvarna Battery Box is proof of our commitment to explore new solutions that merge innovation and sustainability, benefitting the homeowner, the community and our distribution network,” says Pavel Hajman, president of the Husqvarna division.
This pilot project supports Husqvarna’s sustainability agenda to drive the conversion from petrol powered products to silent battery products with no direct emissions in urban areas. Additionally, the purpose is also to test the real-world applications of this technical solution, as well as collect insights on market maturity, customer behavior, and potential future revenue streams for Husqvarna’s distribution network. The test period runs from May 1 to October 31, 2017.
How it Works
After completing registration in the iPhone app (also called ”Husqvarna Battery Box”), the customer can reserve one of the 30 available battery powered products (chainsaw, hedge trimmer, trimmer or blower). The app guides the user on how to open and close the door to the particular locker where the product they want to rent is kept. The app also includes “how-to-films” to explain how the product works. The Box, powered by solar cells, will be serviced by Husqvarna staff daily, ensuring that products are in good condition and that the batteries are fully charged.
The connection between the Husqvarna Battery Box and the customer is enabled via Bluetooth. For identification purposes, the customer uses the Swedish ID app “BankID.” Payments are charged to the registered credit card at the end of the month.
From a performance perspective, the battery products in the box are equivalent to the petrol versions of comparable size, but without the noise and direct emissions. The battery series in the box is powered by a 36V Li-ion battery, and one battery fits all products in the box (chainsaw, hedge trimmer, blower, trimmer).
Project Partners
Husqvarna Battery Box is the result of a partnership that includes Telenor, Flex, Zuora and HiQ. Flex builds the connected Box and reports its status on events handled through a cloud solution with Telenor Connexion. Zuora supplies the subscription payment solution and HiQ builds the app and the system needed to bring everything together. The shopping center Bromma Blocks provides the space for the test.
