“Many things are going to happen for the first time, anywhere in the world,
on Astypalea”

Like so many people, Komineas first discovered Astypalea as a visitor and reached a point, at which he never wanted to leave. As a student of architecture and sociology, he came to the island from Athens for the first time in 1979 and promptly made friends, with whom he agreed on a rendezvous: the group meets at Maltezana Beach in the middle of the island each year on 15 August. At the Sorbonne in Paris, Komineas began a thesis on the influence of the environment on the human psyche. He returned to Astypalea to carry out some of his research. “I did not complete the thesis, as the result was clear: life on Astypalea is far more human than in the big city,” the 65-year-old explains. In 1983, he decided to move to the island, where he worked as an architect. Since 2019, he has worn the mayoral chain. We met up with Komineas, who many people know as “Nikos” or “Mayor”, depending on the situation, near his office.

Mr Komineas, how did the idea of a carbon-neutral island develop into the “Astypalea project”?

It has been a complex process for us. Our small council only has a few employees who are able to oversee a project of this complexity. For me personally, the journey started just over a year ago. Back then, I happened to be at the Ministry of Transport in Athens and told them that I would like to establish a public transport system with electric buses on the island. At the same time, the Greek foreign office, which is also responsible for business development matters, was in touch with the Volkswagen Group and Herbert Diess. Both parties were considering doing something with e-mobility in the Greek islands. Apparently I was in Athens at the right time. So it was that the local council on Astypalea came into contact with the Greek foreign office. We immediately went to work, providing them with information on the island: how many people live here, how many and what kind of cars there are here. After eight months of analysis, the state, together with the Volkswagen Group, gave the go-ahead for the project on Astypalea.

What do you think was the clincher for this project?

The fact that car manufacturers like the Volkswagen Group are striving for a comprehensive transformation. In a few years, it could be difficult for many people to own a car. By then, it may be easier to use a car when you need it – for an hour, a day or a week. The future will be to provide public transport and car sharing with innovative software, and thus to generate new business models.

Astypalea offers to the Volkswagen Group the opportunity to discover how well systems like shuttle on demand and vehicle sharing work in a self-contained system with no real alternatives. Mobility decisions are far less complicated on a small island than in a big city. The way we have to develop innovative transport systems here, in order for people to accept them, should be of great interest to the Volkswagen Group. We will get our first findings after the implementation next year.

I also believe that the Volkswagen Group understood that the transformation to sustainable management is a necessity – for humanity and, therefore, for large companies. There is clear evidence of climate change. We can no longer produce cars or electricity as we have done in the past. However, the companies must also prove to people that their motives are to achieve a better future, and not just to make money.

What do the residents of Astypalea think?

I must say, a few people on our island are sceptical. In the past, they have heard a lot of things that simply don’t add up. They now want to see whether the promises made actually become reality. For example, the question of how we want to produce energy on Astypalea in the future: everyone understands that it makes no sense to introduce electric cars, if we continue to operate diesel generators to generate electricity. However, there is a lot of opposition to wind turbines. The town council has now made a clear decision that Astypalea will not generate any more electricity than is required to meet its own needs. There will be no big wind park and no cable to another island. A solar farm is being built, which will be complemented by one wind turbine.

That is clear now and is a move in the right direction. With the existing publicity, and what is still to come, the project will become clearer every day. As soon as the vehicle sharing programme is up and running, people will understand how the future might look. Maybe they will not like this future immediately, for many reasons. Perhaps they will love it. The important thing for our residents is that they understand the benefits. And that they feel that their ideas are directly influencing the programme.

How are you incorporating affected industries in the new mobility concept?

During this transformation, we are facing similar challenges as the rest of Europe. Car rental companies fear that vehicle sharing will bring new competition from the outside. They are also sceptical of an efficient public transport system. That is understandable, as, if the system works well, fewer tourists will rent a car for their full stay. We have come to an agreement with our rental companies and the Volkswagen Group that a vehicle sharing service will be implemented and operated only in cooperation with them. Our entrepreneurs and Volkswagen general importer Kosmocar will be involved. There will not be any publicly operated vehicle sharing.

We have made it clear to the car rental companies that it would be better for them not to resist what is coming, but to address the change to electromobility now. They can now get Volkswagen cars at attractive prices – the state offering up to € 15,000 of financial support for each car, including the scrapping premium. Who knows how the programme will change in the future. What if, in a few years’ time, our car rental companies suddenly have to completely change their business model and are not prepared for the change? Then it is a realistic prospect that international companies will come to the island with a lot of money and force them out of the market. Not everyone can see this reality. However, it will come about if our entrepreneurs do not do something. We have to act now, when we have the opportunity.

As far as public transport is concerned, there is one private bus operator on Astypalea, which will be involved in the new shuttle on demand system. Up to now, it has only operated its bus network in the peak season. There has been nothing for the rest of the year. That will no longer be the case with our public system.

… and what of fuel station operators?

If the financial support results in the residents quickly replacing their cars with electric cars, sales of petrol and diesel could actually drop rapidly. However, there will not be any rapid charging stations in public car parks. That is our pledge. Their business would be to allow customers to charge their cars in 20 to 30 minutes. We have proposed that we can support them in this venture.

To be honest, I don’t expect any great revenues from the charging business.. The rest of the time, only 1.330 people live on Astypalea. Of all the charging points we are setting up, we probably only need a few outside peak season.

Tourism is the most important source of income for residents. Do you feel that electromobility will provide new opportunities in this regard?

Yes. Most visitors love Astypalea for its unspoilt feel. There is something pure and worth preserving here. That is how we differ from some other islands: locals and visitors interact closely here and the island is very safe. There is a feeling of community, which young people do not get elsewhere. However, they want a holiday destination that reflects their values: progressive and ecological. Technology can help combine these things. We want to retain the human interaction, without being a backward location. And we are delighted to have people who share these values – as guests, as semi-permanent and permanent residents of Astypalea. I want to promote this kind of tourism.

My overarching goal is to convince people to spend more of the year on Astypalea and to live here. That strengthens our community and our local economy. That is why I want to seize this opportunity. For example, our transport system will require 5G technology in the future. 5G would allow many people to work from Astypalea, who are not currently able to. They can stroll along the beach here in the morning, or put their trainers on and climb a mountain, breathe in the island’s soft, clean air, and move around in a very safe environment, and then go home to work. All in the knowledge that they live in a place that supports sustainability and is conserving its largely unspoilt environment.

For this to be possible, the project must obviously work and show people that there are alternatives to the status quo. We have to try things out and be prepared to adapt or revise them during the process. In the near future, many things will happen for the first time on Astypalea – maybe for the first time in the world. However, if all we see are problems, we will not change anything.