Green solutions from Sweden and Nordics vol 6

GREEN VOL.6 SOLUTIONS

FROM SWEDEN 2014 AND THE NORDIC COUNTRIES

Investment opportunities in Nordic cleantech ENERGY OPPORTUNITIES CAN OFFER UKRAINE INDEPENDENCE | 14

Price: 20 €

HOT 50 – SWEDEN’S HOTTEST CLEANTECH COMPANIES | 56 THE MINISTERS SIX AREAS OF MAJOR STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE | 46

HIGHLIGHT S

HIGHLIGHTS VOL.6 04

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

News and reports about nordic clean tech and sustainable innovations, for example wave power and natural water purification.

18

20

Nordic district heating solutions are quickly finding markets in countries with outdated technology systems.

Ukraine’s ongoing democratization process is a positive sign and opens up the potential for Swedish companies to help with both expertise and experience. Two Swedish entrepreneurs have bravely charged into this market.

Kaj Embrén reports from SOCAP14: “I can safely say it was one of the most stimulating and inspiring events I have been to. SOCAP is the place where the innovative entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges can present their ideas to ‘heart-centred’ investors.”

SWEDISH ENTREPRENEUR HELPS UKRAINE BECOME MORE EFFICIENT

12

UKRAINE´S ENERGY SUPPLY INDEPENDENCE

As Ukraine seeks to redefine its relationship with both Russia and the EU, the public debate in the country has been, understandably, one of national identity. But with so many political disputes, there is a pivotal geo-political factor that underpins these broader questions – energy supply. With Moscow seeking to win allegiance through gas prices and Russia’s opponents looking toward American fracking deals, one thing is clear – neither offer Ukraine independence.

SOCAP14: WHERE MONEY MEETS INNOVATION AND HEART

63

SWEDISH COMPANIES ­ESTABLISH UNIQUE INITIATIVE As the first group of businesses from one country ever to do so, 20 Swedish compwanies have adopted four key principles that will govern their joint efforts to help achieve sustainable development and a reduction in poverty.

36

GOTHENBURG: THE SMALL CITY WITH BIG IDEAS

While Beijing, Paris, London, Los Angeles and Sao Paolo may all make the headlines for their poor air quality, Gothenburg is understandably less likely to feature in the media’s narrative on pollution.

2 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

E DITORI A L COLUMN

Green solutions – will Mayors take the lead when national government fail?

40

SIX AREAS OF MAJOR ­STRATEGIC IMPORTANCE Although a new government came to power in Sweden in 2014, the country’s strong commitment to climate change issues is unabated.

In less than 40 years, Sweden has gone from having a heavily oil and coal- dependent energy system to a system that runs on almost 50 percent renewable energy.

We met with Sweden’s new Minister for Strategic Development and Nordic Cooperation, Kristina Persson, who has pinpointed six areas that are of great strategic importance for the future.

50

SWEDEN’S 50 HOTEST – CLEANTECH COMPANIES We have listed 50+ smart investments in what we consider to be some of the hottest cleantech start ups in the Nordics. The criteria for being on the list are, among others, that the company should have an innovative product or service with an international impact potential.

IPCC. DROUGHT. STORMS. CO2 levels of 400 ppm. In 2014, climate change and sustainability moved from being distinct environmental concerns to becoming systematic welfare issues. Countering these changes will require new ways of thinking about energy resources (and efficiency), water, transport and the relationship between cities and national governments.

As well as the inevitable negotiations between parties, politicians need to re-address the very way that power is organized. Many politicians are talking about sustainable development, but if action is to be meaningful it must be characterized by a holistic approach to resource efficiency. More stakeholders need to become involved in a social model that integrates economic, ecological and social perspectives.

UNITED NATIONS GLOBAL COMPACT, the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD) and Global Reporting Initiative, Carbon Disclosure Project Multistakeholder Forum, The new Mayors Compact, are all examples of how these principles can be applied to create new models of governance. The so-called “Post-2015 Development Agenda” sees climate change as an area in which governments can redefine their decision-making structures. Several have already introduced innovative climate policy frameworks, including UK, Mexico and certain states in Germany. But despite these positive examples, it is clear that most national governments have failed to agree on how to counter the growing threat of climate change.

A government in power in 2014 must initiate a widespread process of change if it is to develop a comprehensive climate strategy. This includes reviewing the role of national governments and cities alike; how they interact with one another and new stakeholders. Institutions with members from across a spectrum of interests will need to form if we are to secure ongoing commitments within cities, businesses and organizations.

Whether these changes will come about in time remains unclear, but one element of this story appears inevitable – urban growth.

As you can see in this 6th edition of Green Solutions from Sweden&Nordics many scaleable cleantech solutions existing on the market. Many of these examples will also be promoted by Mayors in Scandinavia and other continents that will be present at the Mayoral and Metropolitan Authorities Paris 2015 Task Force in the opening of the Political week in Almedalen 2015. The initiative by the Mayor of Gotland, Åke Svensson is an important step to strength the Mayors role and could inspire the Nordic countries to keep its leadership role in a time of change. Sweden&Nordics many scaleable cleantech solutions existing on the market. Many of these examples will also be promoted by Mayors in Scandinavia and other continents that will be present at the Mayoral and Metropolitan Authorities Paris 2015 Task Force in the opening of the Political week in Almedalen 2015. The initiative by the Mayor of Gotland, Åke Svensson is an important step to strength the Mayors role and could inspire the Nordic countries to keep its leadership role in a time of change.

Kaj Embrén, Journalist & blogger G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 3

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

■ Chinese Ambassador of Sweden, Chen Yuming. ■

CHINA POINTS OUT WHAT SWEDISH CLEANTECH CAN CONTRIBUTE

A

ccording to the Ambassador of the People’s Republic of China to Sweden, Chen Yuming, the biggest obstacle to China’s transformation from a “black” to a “green” economy is, overall, inadequate scientific capability. As such, China needs help from Sweden, the ambassador believes. Last fall the Chinese embassy in Sweden and the SwedenChina Trade Council network signed a joint action plan to develop a collaboration platform for the environmental technology industry. According to the plan, the partners will jointly promote cooperation with the help of the political, commercial, academic, and research worlds. According to the ambassador, the plan is intended to help the parties initiate dialogue, exchange, and cooperation in the areas of environment, energy, and infrastructure.

China wants to solve the energyrelated challenge it is facing through sustainable development.

“In recent years, the conflict

between energy supply and demand has become increasingly heightened.

The economic development model based on coal consumption has yielded negative consequences. China’s average resource and energy consumption per production unit is significantly higher than corresponding consumption levels in developed countries. Under these difficult circumstances, China must change the structure of its energy consumption as quickly as possible, and increase its percentage of clean energy in order to increase efficiency and reduce pollution,” writes the Chinese Ambassador to Sweden, Chen Yuming, in a debate article published in Swedish daily newspaper Dagens Industri.

He points out that Sweden was one of the first countries in the world to introduce the concept of sustainable development.

“In this regard, Sweden possesses rich and valuable experience. As ambassador, one of my most important tasks is to learn from Sweden’s

4 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

experience with low carbon dioxide emissions and to promote cooperation in this field.”

Chen says that China needs even better cleantech, recycling technology, and clean production techniques to save energy and reduce pollution.

“Sweden is home to a vast number of innovative and mature companies working with cleantech, the use of new energy, planning eco-communities, waste management, heat pumps and heat exchange, water management, biogas, and wind and solar power.

Swedish companies possess advanced technology and system solutions in these areas, and they have great potential for cooperation with China.

While China and Sweden have different circumstances, models and technical solutions need to be adapted to suit the needs of the Chinese market. The Chinese embassy in Sweden would very much like to adopt active and pragmatic measures to promote cooperation within the field of cleantech,” the ambassador explains.

FORTUM AND CLEANTECH INVEST IN R&D COLLABORATION

F

ortum Corporation and Cleantech Invest PLC are set to begin a strategic collaboration within business development, future investments in cleantech, and information sharing.

“Fortum’s R&D efforts aim both to strengthen our current business and to create new growth opportunities.

Cleantech Invest is known for its investments in cleantech start-ups and provides natural opportunities for promising cooperation within our core market areas,” says Heli Antila, Fortum’s Chief Technology Officer.

Cleantech Invest’s Chairman of the Board, Lassi Noponen, had this to say about the agreement: “The strategic partnership with Fortum is an important milestone and we are enormously pleased with it. Fortum has shown that it wants to be at the forefront when it comes to using clean energy technology and energy-efficient solutions.”

The aim of the agreement is both to create new business opportunities for Fortum and to increase growth and value-creation for companies in

Cleantech Invest’s portfolio. The contacts and cooperation between Fortum and Cleantech Invest companies are also expected to increase as a result of the agreement.

For example, together with the inno­vation companies in Cleantech Invest’s portfolio, Fortum will conduct proof-­of-concept tests on solutions and products either at power plants or their customers’ workplaces. The agreement also includes information sharing within the energy sector and technology evaluations.

SMART STREET LIGHTS TESTED IN NORTHERN SWEDEN

T

he development of new technology for street lights driven by wind and solar power and that can store energy in batteries is now under way. The lights will also be fitted with sensors for environmental and traffic monitoring, displays, and WiFi. Mid Sweden University, Sundsvall Municipality, Sundsvall Energi, and Servanet are collaborating on the city of Sundsvall’s new, smart, and green street lights.

Three new self-contained street lights are being erected for stress testing and development purposes at Campus Sundsvall. “In total, we are investing around SEK 700,000 in developing environmentally-friendly street lights with a high level of environmental performance and that can withstand our climate without being connected to the power grid.

They will also be fitted with new functions, including displays and sensors,” explains Mikael Gulliksson, Project Manager at Mid Sweden University.

An optimized green lamp post can do a lot of good along pedestrian paths, for example, where there is a need to inform citizens about current

■ Smart & green street lights in the city of ­Sundsvall.■

events via displays, or in the countryside, where they can provide light without requiring connection to the power mains. Equipping street lights with solar and wind power, batteries, IT components for wireless communication, and sensors for traffic and environmental monitoring adds value that ultimately finances the installations.

“We are very pleased with the solid and mutually beneficial collaboration

we have with Mid Sweden University.

Sundsvall Energi aims to contribute to the region’s development and to help Sundsvall to grow through new technical innovations and environmentally-friendly solutions. Sundsvall Energi’s aim and motivation is that our operations should be good for the environment, good for Sundsvall’s residents, and contribute to the region’s development. This project checks all those boxes,” says Anders Jonsson, CEO of Sundsvall Energi.

At Mid Sweden University’s Fibre Science and Communication Network (FSCN) and Sensible Things that Communicate (STC) research centers, advanced research has long been ongoing into new products and services within the electronics, forestry, and fiber industries. This research is now taking new strides forward and cooperative partnerships with Sundsvall Municipality, Sundsvall Energi, and Servanet are being developed. The project’s green street light is being financed by the EU through its Regional Development Fund, by Sundsvall Municipality, and

by Mid Sweden University.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 5

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

NATURAL WATER PURIFICATION RECEIVES CLEANTECH AWARD

T

he South Sweden Cleantech Award 2014 has been awarded to cleantech company Alnarp Cleanwater Technology AB for its development of a biological and ecology-friendly system for purifying waste water from individual drains, ACT Natural™.

The South Sweden Cleantech Award 2014 was presented to Alnarp Cleanwater Technology’s CEO, Yngve Svensson, on the following grounds: “With its biological and ecologyfriendly water purification system, Alnarp Cleanwater Technology has shown that waste water from individual drains can be purified to the highest levels without the use of chemicals, while at the same time helping to nourish beautiful greenery.

During the year, the company has successfully attracted external equity capital that has made it possible to continue to develop its product and market. With its plant-based purification, Alnarp Cleanwater Technology’s

system not only helps purify waste water from small-scale drains, but also makes an otherwise invisible cleantech solution visible in a positive way.”

“We are happy and proud to receive this honor and view it as further recog­nition of the environmental benefit that our biological and ecology-friendly ACT Natural™ system provides,” says Svensson.

ALNARP CLEANWATER TECHNOLOGY has developed a system for purifying waste water from individual drains, ACT Natural™. The basic idea is to imitate nature’s own way of purifying water. The system functions something like a forest stream, that is, the water is kept in constant motion and, in that way, is oxygenated and exposed to microorganisms and natural aquatic flora. The result is a robust system that requires minimal maintenance.

“Our system captures at least 90

6 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

percent of the phosphorus from individual drains. It would mean a significantly lower nutrient load for the Baltic Sea and domestic lakes and waterways suffering from eutrophication if all 700,000 individual drains in Sweden reduced their phosphorous emissions by that much,” explains Svensson.

EARLIER IN 2014 Alnarp Cleanwater Technology was also able to present positive results from a research study it conducted together with the Swedish Environmental Research Institute (IVL) concerning a reduction in pharmaceutical residues. The study showed that the ACT Natural™ system reduced residue levels for the majority of the drugs tested better or significantly better than an average taken from across four municipal treatment works.

Biological purification at the Hovs Hallar hotel and conference facility in Båstad, Sweden.

WAVE POWER PROJECT WINS EU’S BIGGEST COMPETITION FOR CLIMATE-SMART BUSINESS IDEAS

S

wedish entrant Wavetube emerged as winner of the 2014 European business idea competition Clean Launchpad. The company will now attend the world’s first business school for businesspeople in cleantech, Climate-KIC Accelerator.

The plan is to drive Wavetube’s solution for extracting electricity from sea waves towards full-scale commercialization.

CLEAN LAUNCHPAD is a business idea competition that, over a six-month period, has generated new innovative ideas within the field of climate solutions around Europe. It originally began with 400 ideas. After national qualifying rounds, the European final was decided this week in conjunction with the Climate-KIC Innovation Festival in Valencia, Spain.

Around 30 projects from 11 countries took part in the semi-finals.

Five projects advanced directly to the final. Among these were Swedish Algae Factory and Wavetube from Sweden’s Chalmers University of

■ Sara West shows a Wavetube prototype. ■

Technology. Wavetube emerged the winner and will receive 10,000 euros in prize money and a place in the Climate-KIC Accelerator program.

“We have a good basic idea for our concept, which is based on conventional technology, and which, in our case, we apply to the ocean surface.

Our business model is also realistic, which appealed to the jury. Our customers are global power companies, so there is real potential for making an international breakthrough,” says Sara West, who runs Wavetube together with Alexander Torstenfelt.

WAVETUBE’S wave power solution will now undergo comprehensive testing in a wave pool in Belfast, Northern Ireland, before being tested at sea in the next phase. The concept differs greatly from other solutions that aim to harness wave energy, West explains.

“We believe in developing a simple and robust concept that is better able to withstand the forces that arise in

the marine environment. The system is closed and consists of three connected pipes or tubes. The few mechanical components included are protected from the salt water. Power is generated by an internal water flow caused by the motion of the waves and which moves between the three tubes. In the middle tube, the water passes through turbines,” West adds.

CLIMATE-KIC—THE EU’S INNOVATION INITIATIVE FOR PREVENTING CLIMATE CHANGE Climate-KIC is a knowledge and innovation community within the EU and Europe’s largest innovation partnership between the public and private sectors and focuses on climate change. Chalmers University of Technology has been active within Climate-KIC for several years through the urban planning area and Building Technology Accelerator and, in 2014, also in Clean Launchpad and the construction of what is known as a bioeconomy platform.

MORE ABOUT WAVETUBE Wavetube offers a patented solution for extracting renewable energy from ocean waves. The power plant is a closed construction consisting of standard components and critical mechanical parts housed in a protective environment. Wavetube floats on the ocean’s surface and the electricity is generated simply via an internal flow of water. Wavetube strives to achieve an output of 200 kW per unit.

The concept’s functionality has been proven through experimental prototype tests and the next round of testing will take place in Belfast in December 2015. Wavetube’s end-customers are global power companies.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 7

Photo: Sweco.

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

■ Plantagon greenhouses are built to reduce the environmental impact of food production. ■

FIVE KEYS TO SUSTAINABLE CITIES

P

aul Fenton, PhD candidate at Linköping University’s Department of Management and Engineering, Environmental Technology and Management Division, has identified five prerequisites for achieving sustainable urban development.

PHD CANDIDATE PAUL FENTON has studied the planning processes used for energy and climate-related matters in a number of Swedish

municipalities, both large and small.

Among other aspects, Fenton has investigated how these processes are produced, how they involve stakeholders and citizens, and what results they achieve.

HE HAS IDENTIFIED FIVE FACTORS that are important to the end result.

“Achieving sustainable development requires seriousness, courage, and willpower,” says Fenton.

8 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

FIVE MUSTS FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT • The municipality’s or stakeholders ability to work in support of sustainable development • A mandate to do so • Available resources, both financial and expertise • The scope and desired results of the processes • The collective desire to achieve ­sustainable urban development.

SWEDISH CLEANTECH ­START-UPS ON TOUR ­INTERNATIONALLY

T

his year’s investor tour, Swedish Cleantech Tour, made its final stop in Boston. In total, 15 of Sweden’s most innovative cleantech companies met with more than 110 investors, industry representatives, and cleantech players in three investor-rich markets in Europe and the US. In 2014, Swedish Cleantech Tour visited London, Zürich, and Boston with the aim of presenting Swedish companies’ best solutions to global environmental problems. The tour has helped handpicked cleantech companies to make valuable investor and industry contacts in the lead-up to their coming internationalization.

“It’s great to see what a prominent position Sweden has in cleantech and what a positive reception Swedish cleantech companies receive from investors the world over. Over the course of the year we have received

around ten inquiries from new markets that want to see this concept in their regions next year. That’s a true acknowledgment of quality,” says Magnus Rehn, Business Coach at STING and one of the initiators behind Swedish Cleantech Tour.

WATTGUARD was one of the companies selected to participate. The company makes sure that electrical energy is used more efficiently and has developed a unique concept for reducing power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in settings that require a lot of lighting.

“Swedish Cleantech Tour plays an important role in our expansion strategy targeting the US. The choice to stop in Boston was ideal for us, because Massachusetts is a leader in the field of energy efficiency. Thanks to this event, we have gained a deeper insight into the regulatory require-

ments that influence and steer the American market and have already come into contact with a number of important parties,” says Finn Christensen, CCO and co-founder of Wattguard.

The Swedish Cleantech Tour concluded with a week in Boston, organized in cooperation with the Swedish American Chamber of Commerce New England and Massachusetts Clean Energy Center.

Through seminars, inspirational lectures, and external networking events, the Swedish companies were introduced to the American market.

The participating entrepreneurs also received pitch training from one of Boston’s most experienced presentation trainers in high tech before presenting their innovations to specially invited investors and industry personalities.

The Swedish Cleantech Tour was conducted for the second year running by business incubators STING and LEAD, in cooperation with Stockholm Business Region Development, ALMI, and the Swedish Energy Agency.

PARTICIPATING COMPANIES ARSIZIO–Grants licenses for dynamic and cost-effective 3D extrusion, a globally-patented production method.

CLIMEON–Currently developing a unique method for extracting electrical energy from waste heat.

WATTGUARD–Reduces power consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in heavily-lit settings.

INFRAFONE–Using infrasound technology, we offer services like soot cleaning.

MIDSUMMER–Currently developing a new method for manufacturing solar cells at a radically reduced cost.

WATTY–Develops products for creating energy savings in homes and buildings.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 9

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

ENERGY FROM INSIDE THE EARTH COMPETING FOR THE ZENNSTRÖM PRIZE

Photo: Claes-Göran Flinck

T

he Zennström Green Mentorship Award was founded by Zennström Philanthropies to find, support, and highlight the importance of Sweden’s innovative green businesses. The competition looks for “disruptive” or transformative solutions that tackle green challenges across a range of sectors. A company that works with energy generated inside the earth is one of those nominated for the prize.

Cleantech company Energeotek AB, which works with energy generated inside the earth, is one of eight cleantech companies nominated for the Zennström Green Mentorship Award.

Four winners will receive business mentoring from leading experts as well as access to the industry program headed by Cleantech Inn Sweden, and go-to-market strategy sessions with Seren­dipity Innovations. The overall winner will receive prize money valued at SEK 1 million from Swedish innovation agency VINNOVA, along with mentoring and access to business development services with mentoring.

Zennström Green Mentorship is working to combine existing business support with mentoring to help four Swedish clean technology start-ups to scale.

Cleantech Inn Sweden will link entrepreneurs with large industrial companies looking for innovative ideas to solve their challenges through its tailored industrial program.

Serendipity Innovations will advise companies on their go-to-market strategies to open up new opportunities in line with the start-up’s business development activities.

Venture Cup fast-tracks its national winner from the environment and energy category to become one of the final ten contestants for the ­­

■ Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, previous winner and founder of Swedish company Orbital System together with Niklas Zennström at the award ceremony. ■

Zennström Green Mentorship Award.

VINNOVA will provide the overall ­winner with funding to increase the likelihood of the start-up achieving a level of development that will help it scale up.

The Zennström Green Mentorship Award was founded by Zennström Philanthropies to find, support, and highlight the importance of Sweden’s innovative green businesses. The competition looks for “disruptive” or transformative solutions that tackle green challenges across a range of sectors.

THE PROGRAM WILL PROVIDE business mentoring to four start-ups and one of the four winners will receive personal mentoring from Niklas Zennström. The aim is to provide these start-ups with mentoring and tailored business development advice to insure they are more market- and investor-ready by the end of the year, helping them achieve a

10 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

level of scale that can be disruptive or even transformative in years to come.

One of the nominated companies, Energeotek, is working on a solution for a future environmentally-friendly and, in principle, endless energy source based on the geothermal energy found inside the earth. The heat is retrieved from a depth of two to six kilometers (1.2-3.7 mi.) for use in energy production— district heating or cooling for 3,500 plus homes.

Zennström Philanthropies’ aim is to support and draw attention to the work that Swedish entrepreneurs and researchers do in fields like climate research, human rights, and entrepreneurship. Its Green Mentorship Award primarily focuses on recognizing cleantech entrepreneurs.

Last year’s winner, entrepreneur Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, founder of Orbital Systems, together with Niklas Zennström after receiving the Green Mentorship Award.

PREVIOUS WINNER TESTS ENVIRONMENTALLY-FRIENDLY SHOWER

A

new, environmentally-friendly shower produced by Orbital System is currently being tested in the Swedish city of Eskilstuna. The shower saves and recycles up to 90 percent of the water it uses and 80 percent of its own energy. The shower is part of the project Testbädd för miljöteknik (Cleantech Test Bed), which gives companies the opportunity to test their green innovations within Eskilstuna Municipality’s operations.

The shower system is constructed like its own recycling plant: the water that runs down into the floor drain is purified using a high-tech filtering

technique before being redirected back to the shower head again. In this way, it saves both energy and water.

The system is designed to achieve water as clean or cleaner than what comes out of a faucet, so the shower water is cleaner than regular tap water.

Called the Orbital Shower Concept, the shower was designed by Mehrdad Mahdjoubi, founder of Swedish company Orbital System, which has been awarded the Green Mentorship Award. Mahdjoubi has received several awards for his shower innovation, attracting major interest from abroad.

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY VAT TENFALL, FORTUM VÄRME, ALFA L AVAL AB, SVEBIO,

12

THE SWEDISH DISTRICT HEATING ASSOCIATION, LULEÅ MUNICIPALIT Y

NEITHER NATURAL NOR SHALE GAS OFFERS UKRAINE THE ­INDEPENDENCE IT CRAVES As Ukraine seeks to redefine its relationship with both Russia and the EU, the public debate in the country has been, understandably, one of national identity. But with so many political disputes, there is a pivotal geo-political factor that underpins these broader questions – energy supply. With Moscow seeking to win allegiance through gas prices and Russia’s opponents looking toward American ­fracking deals, one thing is clear – neither offer Ukraine independence.

I

ssues of energy efficiency and sustainable energy production may have featured less prominently in the recent unrest, but they may present the greatest long-term opportunity for Kiev to seize control of its own fortunes.

European investment can also play a crucial role in encouraging energy (and thus political) independence, for the country.

IN UKRAINE’S THIRD LARGEST CITY Odessa, for instance, the Swedish company Alfa Laval has revolutionized the way that district heating is delivered. Odessa’s total energy consumption has

been reduced by 50 percent, with electricity use down 40 percent and water usage decreasing by an astounding 95 percent. Not only have the direct system costs also fallen by 30 percent, carbon dioxide emissions are now 3,800 tons lower per year. Such energyefficiency projects have the potential to ensure better ­resource security, according to Professor of Energy at Halmstad University, Sven Werner. “[This type of] investment in district heating meets all the requirements that the politicians have set up for the future energy supply,” he says. “Including that

it contributes to more power production.”

The political risks of a continued reliance on oil and gas stretch beyond the sphere of immediate international diplomacy. There are growing fears of a fossil-fuel bubble that, when burst, could financially cripple countries like Ukraine and thrust them further into the hands of larger states.

Globally, pension funds and other financial institutions are now beginning to move money away from fossil fuel industries towards renewable energy.

Governments too are beginning to realize the risks of remaining 13

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY VAT TENFALL, FORTUM VÄRME, ALFA L AVAL AB, SVEBIO,

3 ALFA LAVAL AB 7 Alfa Laval is a global company founded in 1883. Yearly order intake of 3,500 MEUR and 16,000 employees worldwide. We are listed on Nasdaq OMX, Stockholm. For decades, Alfa Laval has been the trend-setter in designing solutions for district heating and it has strongly contributed to the development of international district heating infrastructure. In every country where district heating -and cooling is an established concept, Alfa Laval is a major provider of technology, products and application know-how. We offer a wide selection of solutions, covering every climate zone and every size of building.

Head office: Alfa Laval AB Post Address: Box 73, 221 00 Lund, Sweden, www.alfalaval.com

3 AB FORTUM HEAT 7 Fortum Heat is a Fortum´s subsidiary coowned together with City of ­Stockholm.

AB Fortum Heat supplies Stockholm city with heat and electricity.

Visitors Address: Lidingövägen 115, 115 41 Stockholm, www.fortum.com

3

T HE SW EDISH DISTR I CT HEAT ING A SSOCIATIO N 7 Svensk Fjärrvärme (Swedish District ­Heating Association) is a trade organization for companies in Sweden which generate and distribute district heating, combined heat and power and district cooling. The association’s more than 140 member companies are located all over Sweden and are responsible for 98 per cent of the district heating in Sweden.

Svensk Fjärrvärme works for making the district heating industry an obvious, growing part of an energy future which is ecologically sound, and financially and socially sustainable.

The Swedish District Heating ­Association 101 53 Stockholm, Sweden. Visitors address: Olof Palmes gata 31 www.svenskfjarrvarme.se

14

Fortum Värme’s new biofuelled combined heat and power plant in Värtan, Stockholm.

Photo: Hans Ekestang

overly dependent on fossil fuels that may soon become unprofitable. They often reap the returns on the fossil-bearing plants, taking about 90 percent of income in the form of ownership and taxation. So diversifying with more sustainable and renewable investments can help alleviate their exposure to increasingly volatile energy markets.

THE OVERALL SAVINGS could also be huge. Greater investment in more efficient district heating and other state-level energy-efficiency schemes saves an approximate €100bn a year in Europe, according to a 2013 study by researchers at universities in Halmstad, in Sweden, and Denmark’s University of Aalborg. Even more could be done if the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) acted more forcefully.

Currently, the targets it sets on energy savings when making project specifications are not tough enough, meaning that any

local company can, and will, offer a simple and cheap solution. In countries like Ukraine, this stunts the development of new technology in district heating provision.

When banks loan money for energy efficiency they should also incentivize the development of the future technologies to match.

NORDIC COUNTRIES provide a world-leading model of using these efficiency savings to secure greater energy independence.

With 25 million people and a combined GDP of about USD$1trillion, they are both improving their own standing and inspiring similar moves in Europe and around the world.

Innovations in district heating remain some of the most pertinent examples from Nordic countries that countries like Ukraine can learn from. Accounting for half of Swedish heating, it has gone from being almost exclusively powered by fossil fuels in the 1980s, to now being about

THE SWEDISH DISTRICT HEATING ASSOCIATION, LULEÅ MUNICIPALIT Y

80 percent renewable and recycled heat. It uses waste, as well as waste energy from industries – partly by taking advantage of this excess heat and power, but mainly by transitioning to biofuels.

Biofuels, largely those is left over as waste from deforestation, accounts for 44 percent of the energy supplied, according to Ulrika Jardfelt CEO of Swedish District Heating.

“There is much that is unclear about what will happen in Ukraine, but what we do know is that many of the EU member countries need to reduce their dependence on imported energy,” she explains.

“In Sweden, we have managed – through local government spending on infrastructure — made it possible to switch to renewable fuels. And now we’re taking it a step further by using the net to deliver heat from those who have surplus heat to those who need it... In Europe, we can see that the greatest benefits are linked to district heating,” says Jardfelt, who urges the European Commission to talk more about the subject heat.

Such calls are slowly being heard by European decision-makers, with more talk about energy efficiency and renewable energy.

According to the EU’s own longterm trend analysis, a policy that continues ‘business as usual’ cannot achieve the goal of a de-carbonized EU by 2050 or keeping rising temperatures of less than 2 degrees Celsius.

FEARS OF A FOSSIL FUEL BUBBLE only increase as investment continues to flow into both the gas and oil industries. But we are also beginning to see positive climate change decisions that are increasingly connected to the

markets —pension funds and other financial institutions are starting to opt out of investments in fossil fuel industries and invest more in sustainable energy.

Nonetheless, vast challenges remain. Annually on the world markets, investment in renewables amounts approximately USD$1,000 billion. But estimates suggest that this sum needs to be closer to USD$8,000 billion a level if we are to achieve the aforementioned 2 degree Celsius target.

The risks facing those government that enjoy substantial income from fossil fuels are increasing as it becomes less and less profitable to invest in dirty energy. Governments taking upwards of 90 percent of their income through state ownership and taxation will be able to better control their huge exposure with diverse sustainable and renewable investments.

THE MODEL FOUND IN SWEDEN (which is in many ways a largescale version of what we have seen in Odessa) has redeveloped infrastructure in a manner that should serve as an example for other European cities. The 1991 carbon dioxide tax, consistent political support for renewable energy and a strong forestry sector have all led to the growth of the now thriving bioenergy sector (see graph). This energy source is now a more important resource for the country than fossil fuels, argues CEO of The Swedish Bioenergy Association, Gustav Melin.

“By far the greatest contributor to Sweden’s renewable revolution has been bioenergy,” he says.

“Biomass, such as municipal solid waste, demolition wood, black liquor, firewood, bark, sawdust, industry by-products, wood chips,

3 LU L E Å 7

Luleå is the seat of the Norrbotten County Administration and has a population of about 73,000. The city has developed into a technological centre in the North of Sweden. The most important corner stones of this development are metallurgy, education and research, as well as good communications. Luleå University has played an important role. The university consists of a School of Engineering, a School of Business, a School of Education and a School of Music.

Situated close to the University Campus is Aurorum Technology Park. Aurorum houses companies whose activities are connected with the university’s spheres of interests.

Visitors address: Stadshuset, ­Rådstugatan 11 Website: www.luleå.se Postal address: Luleå kommun, 971 85 Luleå

3 SVEBIO 7 The Swedish Bioenergy ­Association (Svebio) was founded in 1980. ­Today Svebio consists of around 300 members, most of them enterprises active in producing/providing biofuels or using biofuels on a larger scale. As a non-profit organisation, Svebio has played a central role in the bioenergy development. In the beginning Svebio provided a necessary network enabling commercial use of wood chips in district heating systems.

Visitors address: Svebio, ­Holländargatan 17, 111 60 Stockholm, Sweden www.svebio.se/english

15

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY VAT TENFALL, FORTUM VÄRME, ALFA L AVAL AB, SVEBIO,

Bioenergy – now larger than oil Coal 18,7 TWh; 4,8%

Fossil gas 9,7 TWh; 2,5%

Nuclear power 57 TWh; 14,9%

Oil 102,5 TWh; 26,4%

Swedens domestic energy use in 2013. Svebio calculation based on Swedish Energy Agency forecasts.

pellets, briquettes, ethanol, methanol, bio-diesel, bio-oil and bio-gas, accounts for most of Sweden’s renewable energy.”

IN THE EASTERN CITY of Norrköping, the municipal government has, alongside E.ON, Lantmännen Agroetanol and Swedish Biogas, invested nearly USD$1.5 billion in a plant that produces steam (which is used in the production of fuel ethanol), electricity and heat from biomass.

While in the west of the country, in Värmland, a USD$540 million plant is being planned which will 16

Heat pumps 4,8 TWh; 1,2%

Bioenergy 130,2 TWh; 33,6%

Hydro power 55,2 TWh; 14,2%

Wind power 9 TWh; 2,3%

produce bio-methanol using raw materials from nearby forests.

There are countless more instances of Swedish organizations implementing sustainability projects and, in the process, reducing the country’s dependency on outside supplies. The northern city of Luleå has managed to provide the country’s lowest heating costs for its residents, largely thanks to the use of waste energy from the local ironworks/steel mill. The project is, according to Anna Blomborg, Marketing Manager of Alfa Laval “a good example of

successful cooperation between local industries and the district heating company.”

ANOTHER INSPIRING EXAMPLE can be found in wind-power company Vattenfall’s city partnerships, such as its work in Sweden’s fourth largest city, Uppsala.

Vattenfall is participating in the Uppsala Climate Protocol, in which companies and organizations work together to secure the city’s ambitious long-term climate and energy goals, such as reducing the city’s CO2 emissions by 45 per cent by 2020.

Now, almost 95 per cent of homes and businesses in Uppsala’s urban areas are heated with district heating from Vattenfall. Vattenfall is committed to supporting the city of Uppsala in its climate ambitions.

A new combined heat and power plant – which uses biomass – will be built by 2020, says Director of European Affairs at Vattenfall, Sabine Froning. Uppsala is likely to exceed its target of a 45 per cent reduction in CO2 emissions.

“We are working systematically on energy savings, reducing CO2 emissions and supporting the use of renewable energy,” Froning explains.

The district heating sector has grown for a third consecutive year, with pioneering projects springing up around the country.

In Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, Fortum Värme has invested USD 680 million in a new bio-fuelled combined heat and power plant, which is now under construction.

The environmental benefits will be huge, and carbon emissions will decrease localy by 126,000 tons and globaly by 650,000 tons annually, says the company’s CEO, Anders Egelrud.

“We are now focusing on

THE SWEDISH DISTRICT HEATING ASSOCIATION, LULEÅ MUNICIPALIT Y

3 V A T T E N FA L L A B 7 Vattenfall is 100 per cent owned by the Swedish state and is one of Europe’s largest generators of electricity and the largest producer of heat. Vattenfall produces electricity and heat from six energy sources – wind power, nuclear power, natural gas, biomass, coal power and hydro power. In 2013, operations were conducted in the Nordic countries, Germany, the Netherlands, France and the UK. Visitors address: Evenemangsgatan 13C. SE-169 56 Solna, Sweden Postal address: SE-169 92 ­Stockholm, Sweden http://corporate.vattenfall.com

meeting the 2030 target of providing the greater Stockholm area with 100% renewable and recycled energy,” he explains.

“In a few years, nine out of every ten households in Stockholm will provided with carbon and resource neutral heating. We take pride in the fact that Fortum Värme has no small part in making Stockholm one of the cleanest capitals in the world, and in 2010, Stockholm was appointed world’s first ‘Green Capital’ by the EU.” IN THIS AREA there are promising parallels with Eastern European countries. As in Sweden, many of Eastern Europe’s district heating plants are owned largely by state or local authorities, giving governments the power to drive forward change. Indeed, 75 percent of Ukraine’s are state-owned at a national or municipal level.

This also means, however, that democracy and decision-making

effectiveness both come into play.

Corruption in Eastern Europe is well documented and poses a potential threat that will be taken into consideration when investing in new energy-efficient infrastructure. But at the same time, procurement of these new technologies can, with the help of European capital, itself help combat corruption. The shared focus should now be about encouraging innovation with technology solutions that can enhance the efficiency of Ukrainian plants.

THERE ARE ENCOURAGING SIGNS. The European Investment Bank (EIB) has now introduced its first initiative to support climate-related investments across the continent. It has introduced a GBP500mil bond investment opportunity for projects that demonstrate that heating energy efficiency and renewable energy are

key priorities, explains Director and Head of Capital Markets Department at EIB, Eila Kreivi.

“This initiative was driven by an increased interest in the emergence of social respons­ ibility portfolios among the large mainstream investors,” she explains. “Maybe this is a start of a new step to increase investment in the field of cities’ energy infrastructure and new district heating models that also bring more values than tech­nology.”

SUCH INTEREST IN ENERGY projects from European institutions may hold the key to shifting the power balance in Ukraine, as well as other countries in which dependence on fossil fuels, and other states, dominates. Whereas Russia threatens Kiev with the stick of energy prices, Europe is instead dangling the far more appealing carrot of self-sustainability.

17

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY RECOND CONCEPT

SWEDISH ENTREPRENEUR HELPS UKRAINE BECOME MORE ENERGY EFFICIENT

18 18 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

I

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY RECOND CONCEPT

t is not surprising for industry insiders that Nordic district heating solutions are quickly finding markets in countries with outdated technology systems. But entering countries with political and military conflicts witch have weak democratic and anti-corruption traditions is a challenge few would have the courage to take on. Ukraine’s ongoing democratization process is a positive sign and opens up the potential for Swedish companies to help with both expertise and experience. Two Swedish entrepreneurs bravely charging into this market are Nils-Erik and Carina Jonasson from the small Swedish town of Ånge in Västernorrland County. After several trips and meetings in both Sweden and Ukraine, they are now about to launch their optimization program at the district heating plant in the city of Lviv, located on the Poltava River in western Ukraine.

They will be providing analyzes, training and products. “We see great potential to improve energy efficiency, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and immediately cut costs,” says Nils-Erik. “Our team has the expertise and over 25 years of experience in various specialties within both water and district heating.”

RECONDCONCEPT is their company’s name, and they are focused on optimizing existing facilities.

This allows savings to add up quickly and, after a few years, enough resources have been freed up to allow major investments in new technologies.

Nils-Erik explains the importance of cooperation with the Swedish Embassy and other Swedish stakeholders, such as Business Sweden and Swedfund, when preparing for this. “We are a small company in this market,”

“ WE ARE JUST SEEING THE

­ EGINNING OF THE MARKET B DEVELOPING IN UKRAINE. OUR FIRST THREE CUSTOMERS HAVE GIVEN US A GOOD START, AND THE GOAL IS ­SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER THAN THE APPROXIMATELY SEK 10 MILLION THAT THESE FIRST THREE CONTRACTS WILL GIVE US ”

says Nils-Erik. “Cooperation with other Swedish and European stakeholders, including support services, is important for small organizations like ours. We are vulnerable in countries that have conflict zones.”

PERSISTENCE IS OFTEN a prerequisite for getting established on markets like Ukraine. RecondConcept came to Ukraine through a Swedish business contact who had contacts in the capital city of Kiev.

We were contacted here in Ånge,” says Carina Jonasson, “and we traveled to Kiev in May 2013. Since then, everything has happened quickly. “We formed the company in Ukraine in October 2013.

Naturally, the military conflict that began in the spring of 2014 has affected us. But we have been able to negotiate and conduct a pilot study in the city of Zaporizhzhia, which is about 150 kilometers (90 miles) from the fighting in eastern Ukraine. Daily life with the severe energy crisis in Ukraine forces new solutions the forefront, and this has made our expertise and experience even more valuable,” says Carina.

Based on their travels in Ukraine, RecondConcept has a long list of possible assignments and areas in need for attention.

This includes small, medium-sized and large cities, food industries, and other industries in significant need of energy efficiency

­programs.

It becomes apparent when talking to Nils-Erik and Carina just how much impact they are having as they explain how other companies already are using their technical know-how within processes and products: “RecondConcept saves Stockholm Arlanda Airport SEK 40,000 in energy costs per day and reduces carbon dioxide emissions by 13.7 tons per day. We have significantly improved Preem Petroleum’s work with energy efficiency in their refinery. And each year, the energy company Fortum saves approximately EUR 80 million in energy costs by using our technology and products.”

When I ask about the company’s sustainability profile, they explain their strong commitment to sustainable development. Their solutions remove impurities in energy-bearing systems using green chemicals, reducing greenhouse gases.

BY INCLUDING ENVIRONMENTAL improvements and these significant financial savings in both their business profile and their marketing, they should have a competitive advantage in the growing Ukrainian market, even though they will have to show both courage and leadership. The dependency on Russian gas has been a source of both corruption and technological stagnation, as they have wasted gas instead of focusing on modernization and energy efficiency.

“We are just seeing the beginning of the market developing in Ukraine. Our first three customers have given us a good start, and the goal is significantly higher than the approximately SEK 10 million that these first three contracts will give us,” concludes Nils-Erik.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 19 19

COLUMN: K A J E MBRÉ N

SOCAP14: Where Money meets ­Innovation and Heart

I

’ve just returned from the 2014 Social Capital Markets conference with fresh ideas and rejuvenated hope. I can safely say it was one of the most stimulating and inspiring events I have been to. SOCAP is the place where the innovative entrepreneurs tackling some of the world’s toughest challenges can present their ideas to ‘heart-centred’ investors. Alongside foundations, like Rockefeller and Ford, that one might expect, were representatives from Google, American Express, Vodafone and many other corporates. Their presence was testament to the rising customer demand that is driving the expansion of impact investing. In the words of SOCAP co-founder, Kevin Jones, ‘more and more successful companies are doing good and making money.’

Needless to say, I came across many fascinating people over the course of the week, and I’d like to spend the rest of this post introducing some of them to you.

First, meet James Hanusa, head of innovation at Burning Man. I don’t know about you, but I had not heard of this remarkable festival (perhaps it’s an age thing!) where 60,000 people gather to build an alternate reality founded on the principles of communal effort, inclusiveness, radical self-expression and decommoditisation – in the middle of the Nevada desert.

I WAS SURPRISED to learn that many Silicon Valley residents and venture capitalists make the annual pilgrimage. James explains, “they just take the week off, considering this to be

their vacations. What you will hear from a lot of them is that it opens up their field of possibilities. They are faced with inner personal stuff. It really encourages people to look at their own behaviour, asking themselves and each other: ‘who are we?’ You see deep conversations and transformations.”

There are many business lessons to be learnt in the desert, where collaboration and interdependency rule. These ideas are far from abstract in so hostile an environment: how long could you survive there alone?

James went on to introduce me to another concept that I wish I’d known about sooner: the hackathon. The idea is simple: challenge a range of experts to solve a problem holistically within a short space of time. First thought up

by Codrina Lauth, of the Copenhagen Business School and Danish company Grundfos, the idea has grown beyond its original base of programmers and coders, with all sorts of experts joining the fold. For instance, a civic hackathon was held the run up to the 2012 San Francisco mayoral elections. The socalled ‘summer of smart’ challenged groups of skilled people to address the needs of the city and its people, on everything from health to transportation.

THE BEAUTY OF HACKATHONS is that they can deal with almost any issue, pretty much anywhere. British Airways sponsored one on the education system that took place during a transatlantic flight. Another, called the Millennium Train Project for social entrepreneurs was hosted over a five-day train journey

oped to match. Marc J. Lane, a lawyer who specialises in these matters, explained two of them to me. Low profit limited liability companies (L3C) are private entities that bridge the gap between non-profit and for-profit investing by providing a structure that facilitates investments in socially beneficial, for-profit ventures while simpli­ fying compliance with tax rules for program related investments. Benefit Corporations or ‘B Corps’, on the other hand, are US state certifications for companies that factor social good as well as profit in their decisionmaking.

■ SOCAP co-founder, Kevin Jones: ”More and more s­ uccessful companies are doing good and making money.” ■

between San Francisco and Denver. No wonder the model is gaining traction in both the corporate and academic worlds.

One can think of SOCAP as a hackathon on steroids, which brings me onto my next introduction: Tim Soerens, who led both the Meaning and Placed-Based Innovation themes at this year’s conference. Tim is also the co-founding director of the Parish Collective, a faith-based social enterprise that convenes leaders for holistic neighbourhood renewal.

Tim’s work fits into a broader theme at the conference, that of community and infrastructure investment. Several other speakers – including Kevin Jones, Antony Bugg-Levine of the Non-Profit Finance Fund and Sir Ronald Cohen – stressed its importance. There were also a number of sessions on building community resilience, including one from the Rockefeller Foundation on its 100 Resilient Cities initiative.

It is no coincidence that the growth of impact investing has coincided with a period of global economic crisis. Each new stress or shock to the economy reinforces the necessity of investing in social enterprises and robust systems.

New corporate models have been devel-

I CAME AWAY from SOCAP14 invigorated.

But in Scandinavia we still have a long way to go to foster this level of innovative social responsibility and corporate giving and participation. It is a shift that must occur both culturally – in the mindsets of the business community – and institutionally – with legal frameworks to encourage such activity.

The creation of a Nordic SOCAP is a good place to start. Bert-Ola Bergstrand, of Social Capital Forum, a fellow Swede who has followed SOCAP since the beginning, told me that they have started to organise webinars and other activities to pave the way. You can find out more on their Facebook page.

To see the video interviews with SOCAP co-founder, Kevin Jones, as well as Codrina Lauth and James Hanusa, click greensolutionsswedennordics.tumblr.com here.

Kaj Embrén Journalist, blogger

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN W I T H I N T H E N O R D I C S | 21

FIVE QUESTIONS

5 questions to Göran Linder, Managing ­Director of Midroc New Technology AB. Midroc invests in pioneering, global technology in the fields of energy conservation, cleantech, and sustainable development.

The company’s strategy is to invest in ­innovative technologies in the early stages of their development.

1. HOW ATTRACTIVE ARE SWEDISH CLEANTECH COMPANIES FROM AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE? “In general, Swedish cleantech companies are very attractive to investors. They have a highly innovative and often have global relevance, too.”

2. WITHIN WHICH SECTORS ARE SWEDISH CLEANTECH COMPANIES MOST ATTRACTIVE? “It depends a little on who you ask, but we prioritize seed investments in technology that generates or conserves energy.”

3. HAS MIDROC INVESTED IN SWEDISH CLEANTECH COMPANIES? “Our motto is ‘Making the world a better place and making some money while doing it,’ and we have invested in around 15 companies over the past five years.”

4. WHAT EVIDENCE IS THERE TO SUGGEST THAT INVESTMENTS IN SWEDISH CLEANTECH COMPANIES WILL RETURN A PROFIT? “It depends on in which phase you make your investment.

Seed investments are often the only alternative if good ideas and technologies are going to have any chance at all of being tried. Unfortunately, access to venture capital is limited in

Sweden, as is the size of the domestic market. So the overall aim of seed investors is often, unavoidably, exits to global players from the US and/or Asia, based solely on the technology’s ‘strategic fit’.

This is known as ‘tech exits’.

Unfortunately, these most often also mean the export of future job opportunities and earning potential from Sweden to other countries. The tech exits strategy is extremely risky, but, potentially, also very lucrative.”

5. HOW DO YOU VIEW DEVELOPMENT OF THE SWEDISH CLEANTECH ­INDUSTRY IN THE FUTURE? “We need more venture capital willing to take risks, preferably in combination with public procurements, that gives young companies with potent but untried technologies that difficult-to-acquire ‘first customer’ which also provides them with credibility. A combination like that would significantly increase the opportunities for growth with Sweden as the continued base, instead of ‘forcing’ tech exits to players outside Sweden’s borders.” ■

22 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

V E N T U R E C A P I TA L

How Investors Think 24 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

Cleantech is becoming less and less attractive to private venture capitalists. This is because cleantech investments are seen as capital-intensive, long-term, and expensive to scale, and because the risks associated with tech足 nology and politics are high.

That was the conclusion drawn in a report p 足 ublished by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth.

■ The first o ­ bsta­cle revealed by the report is that the return on cleantech investments is no higher than that on investments in other sectors, while the risks are greater.

The second is that many investments in cleantech, to a greater extent than those made in most other segments, are greatly affected by shifts in policy. ■

I

n its report entitled Private Venture Capital and Cleantech–Prerequisites and Obstacles from an Investor Perspective, the Agency interviewed eight Swedish venture capitalists to find out what specific obstacles exist to investing in cleantech. The first obstacle revealed by the report is that the return on cleantech investments is no higher than that on investments in other sectors, while the risks are greater. The second is that many investments in cleantech, to a greater extent than those made in most other segments, are greatly affected by shifts in policy. What is known as the “regulatory risk” is high. The third obstacle identified is that cleantech is associated with capital-intensive investments within the energy system, which creates an

entry barrier for venture capital firms that lack a sufficiently large capital.

The fourth is that cleantech is seen as falling into a long-term investment category that is associated with high development costs and, thus, is riskier than short-term investments. Finally, capital-intensive investments are generally viewed as being expensive to scale up.

IN THE REPORT the venture capitalists interviewed also expressed that cleantech and the energy sector, in particular, are not very attractive for private venture capital. This is because cleantech investments are seen as capital-intensive, long-term, expensive to scale, and because the risks associated with technology and politics are high. According to those

interviewed, private venture capitalists with limited access to capital prefer less capital-intensive investments that provide quicker returns and have less risk.

WHEN DETERMINING how attractive a specific investment object is, the Agency’s report shows that the way venture capitalists think about cleantech investments does not differ from the way they think about investments in other sectors.

There is one factor that is unique to cleantech investments, however.

Cleantech investments are generally considered to be positive from an ethical and status standpoint.

Simply put, there is added value in being identified with environmental causes.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 25

BUSINE SS S WE DE N

■ Håkan Dahlfors, ­Strategy & Business Development at Business Sweden believes that there are more growth markets that hold major potential for Swedish companies working in energy technology and cleantech. ■

The most promising growth markets Swedish cleantech companies are still primarily exporting their products and services to traditional overseas markets. A change is needed, however.

“The economic situation in many of our nearby markets means that Swedish cleantech companies need to find new export markets,” says Håkan Dahlfors, Strategy & Business Development, Business Sweden.

T

he largest export markets for Swedish cleantech companies are largely the same as Sweden’s biggest export markets overall.

Germany, other Scandinavian countries, China, the US, Holland, and the UK remain the industry’s most important export markets.

“China is conspicuous because it comes so high up on the list of our most important trade partners,” says Dahlfors.

Business Sweden works to help Swedish businesses grow internationally and to encourage foreign actors to invest in Sweden. The organization is jointly owned by the state and by private industry. In Business Sweden’s eyes, the German market holds enormous interest. In part, this is due to Germany’s position as an important trade partner, generally, for Sweden, and in part because of major planned changes to the energy market as a result of the German government’s decision to phase out nuclear power.

China is already a major market for Swedish companies operating in the sector, but there is still great potential here, given that the challenges facing China are so large and because there is a tangible sense of urgency on the part of the Chinese.

Dahlfors believes that there are more growth markets that hold major potential for Swedish companies working in energy technology and cleantech. “But it should be noted that the sector’s development, as a whole, is dependent on government policy, where different control functions strongly impact Swedish businesses’ ability to offer competitive solutions.

Laws, rules, and financial incentives are often decisive,” Dahlfors explains.

This means tha t mature markets, such as Scandinavia, northern Europe, and North America, will continue to be very important for the majority of Swedish companies.

The economic situation in many of our nearby markets means that Swedish clean­tech companies need to find new export markets,” says Håkan Dahlfors, at Business Sweden.

“There’s a shift going on in the world economy where especially markets in Asia will grow strongly.

Urbanization and economic growth will drive investments in energy, environmental technology etc, says Dahlfors.

Within which sectors do Swedish cleantech companies have the greatest export opportunities? “Some of the sectors in which Swedish cleantech companies are particularly

strong are energy efficiency in both industry and construction, sustainable urban development, and bioenergy. But the majority of Swedish cleantech companies that export are sub-suppliers, meaning they don’t provide complete solutions to end-customers. But we’re seeing energy technology and cleantech become increasingly integrated natural elements within a number of different sectors. Energy- and resource-efficiency are becoming a stronger and stronger sales argument for solutions in sectors like industry, transport, and construction,” Dahlfors concludes.

Mature Markets Scandinavia Northern Europe North America Promising growth markets China Germany Interesting markets Turkey Poland Chile Indonesia

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 27

dish ctive than

are of is year ments anies. ng,

012.

h

PRI VATE IN V E S TME NT S

Distribution of Public investments 2012 Total M € 83,6

Distribution of Public investments 2012 Total M € 83,6

Norway

14% Compensating for this development, the Swedish

Norway

14%

public organisations have been much more active during the year, expanding investments more than Sweden threefold in amounts and almost doubling the number of deals. This also means that the share of public funding invested in Sweden is larger this year than ever before. 38% of Nordic public investments in cleantech were invested in Swedish companies.

However, the traditional leader in public funding, Denmark, still holds the lead with 48% of the publicly invested amounts into cleantech in 2012.

This is a lower percentage than in 2011 when 64% of public investments in Nordic cleantech took place in Denmark.

Denmark Denmark

38%

48%

Sweden

38%

48%

Private Investments Fall Private investment in Swedish cleantech practically ground to a halt in 2012.

Overall, investment fell by a full 79 percent. “Private venture capital has ­declined ­enormously over the past two years, in line with a global trend.

Internationally, the downturn actually began slightly earlier than 2011,” says Magnus Agerström, Managing D ­ irector of Cleantech ­Scandinavia.

F

or the sixth year running, Cleantech Scandinavia has compiled figures on investments in Nordic cleantech companies. Its 2012 report shows that the total sum invested in Swedish cleantech companies, both private and state capital included, has decreased drastically in recent years– from €171 million in 2009 to €46.2 million last year. Investments by private investors, in particular, have

decreased. Last year they totaled just under one-seventh of the total for 2009.

“First of all, it has to do with the times we’re living in. I think you can see the same kind of tendency in the majority of sectors. Secondly, I also believe that many private venture capitalists got ahead of themselves a little when they invested in cleantech companies in 2008/2009. This means that investors are sitting on invest-

28 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

ments that haven’t done so well or increased as quickly as they had expected,” Agerström adds.

An increasing number of venture capital firms are now choosing to invest at later stages and many invest only in companies that have achieved continuous sales growth, turn a profit, and need capital to expand. “It seems like many venture capital firms got burned by going in a little too early,” Agerström contends.

es. ate

) 5

red

dish tive than

re of s year ments nies. g,

12.

h

Distribution of Private investments 2012 Total M € 125,6

Distribution of Private investments 2012 Total M € 125,6

Norway

Norway Sweden The distribution of investments by country is uneven and to little extent reflects the size of the cleantech segment in the different countries.

Finland had a good year when it comes to private funding and the 2012 amount of € 51,8 million were almost in parity with 2010 (€ 66,6 million) although much lower than top year 2008 (€ 135 million). Denmark and Norway both showed minor increases in private investments compared to 2011. Sweden had a worse year when it comes to private investments. It seems like the fall in investment levels that hit the other Nordic countries already in 2011 did not hit Sweden until 2012.

12%

Finland

45%

12%

11%

11%

Denmark

Denmark

32% Finland 45%

Distribution of Public

■ MANY OF THESE 2012 The report also reveals an unbroken investments trend that has continued since 2007 Total M € 83,6 C ­ OM­ P ANIES RECEIVE Distribution of Public for an increase in the percentage of P ­ UBLIC FUNDING. THE investments 2012 cleantech companies financed by Norway SWEDISH ­ENERGY AGENCY Total M € 83,6 public organizations. In 2012, this IS VERY ACTIVE AND IS Compensating for this development, the Swedish figure reached 43 percent.

“The IMPORTANT REASON public organisations active Norway have been much moreAN Swedish cleantech sector isinvestments most during the year, expanding more thanSO MANY SWEDISH WHY definitelyin not experiencing a crisis. threefold amounts and almost doubling COM­ the PANIES HAVE BEEN In fact, just the opposite –cleantech number of deals.

This also means that the share of TO GET OFF THE public funding in Sweden is largerABLE this year companies are invested very optimistic.

Sales GROUND. ■ than ever before.

Nordic public investments Sweden are increasing and38% theyofare gaining in cleantech were invested in Swedish companies. strength. In the near future, we believe However, leader in public funding, that more the andtraditional more Swedish cleantech cleantech companies to a record level, Denmark, still holds the lead with 48% of the companies will have reached the stage totaling 96 investments last year. publicly invested amounts into cleantech in 2012. where willpercentage be truly attractive These investments are small, however, This is they a lower than in to 2011 when international venture capital funds and, in the majority of cases, have 64% of public investments in Nordic cleantech and even attractive to multinabeen made by state actors. “When the took placemore in Denmark. tional industrial technology corporaearly investments from the private Denmark tions,” Agerström suggests. venture capital firms decrease and Even if private investments are they choose to invest in later stage shrinking rapidly, there is no shortage companies instead, upcoming and Denmark of positive trends to be found. The innovative companies risk never investment trend is running contrary making it as far as private venture to the general trend of a continually capital,” Agerström explains. growing number of companies focused The report also shows that a new on solving environmental problems. wave of young, innovative Swedish One sign proving this is the increase in cleantech companies is currently on the number of investments in Swedish the rise. They focus on everything

14%

14%

38%

48%

48%

Sweden

32%

from advanced new materials to solutions for improving energy efficiency and renewable energy.

“Many of these companies receive public funding. The Swedish Energy Agency is very active and is an important reason why so many Swedish companies haveSweden been able to get off the ground. Public funding in the form of grants and soft loans has continually increased since we began compiling figures in 2007.

The amounts per company have not increased, but more companies are getting support,” Agerström reveals.

He hopes that more private venture capital will become available in the near future. “Our message through this report is not to look backwards on yet another year of low investment, but to look forward to a future of increased growth and profitability for Swedish cleantech.

2012 was not the end of Swedish cleantech. It wasn’t even the beginning, but rather the first step in the beginning of the success story that is cleantech,” he concludes.

38%

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 29

CLE A NTECH IN S WE DE N

Swedish Companies ­Establish Unique ­Initiative As the first group of businesses from one country ever to do so, 20 Swedish compwanies have adopted four key principles that will govern their joint efforts to help achieve sustainable development and a reduction in poverty.

A

s the first group of businesses from one country ever to do so, 20 Swedish companies have adopted four key principles that will govern their joint efforts to help achieve sustainable development and a reduction in poverty.

Initiated by Sida, the Swedish companies Axel Johnson, Boliden, Elekta, Ericsson, Företagarna, GoodCause, H&M, IKEA, Indiska, Investor, PostkodLotteriet, Ratos, Scania, SPP, Swedfund, Systembolaget, Tetra Laval, 3W, Unilever, and Volvo have agreed to integrate sustainability into their operations and business models. The companies will also stress the importance of creating more and better jobs, of systematically reducing environmental impact, and of fighting corruption and unethical business practices.

The companies involved represent a broad spectrum of areas from within the Swedish business world, including textiles, telecom, transport, and health. Some also conduct their own manufacturing in underdeveloped countries, while others depend on low- and middle-income countries as markets to be able to grow and invest.

“I am convinced that when the Swedish business world cooperates and assumes an active role, it can serve as a global role model for others

to imitate in the fight to reduce poverty and ensure sustainable development,” says Charlotte Petri Gornitzka, Director General of Sida.

Work to draw up new global targets for sustainable development from 2015 onwards is currently ongoing. The business world’s commitment and experience will be key in achieving the ambitious aims set for the future, which will increasingly require the formation of partnerships between parties other than traditional aid donors and recipients.

“In connection with the drafting of the UN’s new sustainable development goals, we have the opportunity to acknowledge the role the business world can play in contributing to a solution-oriented agenda. The UN’s Sustainable Development Solutions Network, led by Jeffrey Sachs, is an important part of this work,” says Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg.

Through Sida, Sweden is playing an active role in ongoing global efforts for a new, coordinated development agenda and wishes to bring together actors from many different areas of society to join the work.

“The Swedish business world is now taking the

international lead in the work of contributing to new and feasible development goals. The Swedish business community is far ahead of the field in its work in areas like cleantech, innovation, openness, and global responsibility,” adds Petri Gornitzka.

The executives for the Swedish companies involved have identified four key areas in which the Swedish model for enterprise and leadership can have an impact and make a real difference. The idea is to integrate sustainable development into operations and business models, to systematically reduce environmental impact and improve efficiency in the use of resources, and to create jobs with decent conditions and development opportunities in both their own labor forces and their supply chains as well as combat corruption and unethical business practices in the countries in which they operate. Technical solutions and innovation are emphasized as especially important for developing sustainable and value-for-money products and services that benefit the under­privileged.

■ Ericsson CEO Hans Vestberg. ■ 30 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

■ Ericson Green Site on Sumatra, Indonesia. The energy-efficient base stations is a self-contained power solution using a hybrid diesel-battery solution and solar panels. ■ G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 31

S V E BIO

In 2012, 51 percent of Sweden’s energy s­ upply came from ­renewable ­sources. This meant that the country exceeded the EU’s 2020 goal for the proportion of r­ enewable energy used eight years ahead of schedule.

“It’s a fantastic achievement that also goes to show that it’s a lot easier to change energy systems than many people think,” says Gustav Melin, ­Managing D ­ irector of the Swedish Bioenergy ­Association ­(Svebio).

Eight years ahead of schedule

I

n 2012, 51 percent of Sweden’s energy supply came from renewable sources. This meant that the country exceeded the EU’s 2020 goal for the proportion of renewable energy used eight years ahead of schedule. “It’s a fantastic achievement that also goes to show that it’s a lot easier to change energy systems than many people think,” says Gustav Melin, Managing Director of the Swedish Bioenergy Association (Svebio).

SO FAR, Sweden has succeeded very well when it comes to switching to renewable energy and has already reached the EU requirement of 49 percent renewable energy use nationally. The Swedish Parliament has set its own target of 50 percent renewable energy-use by 2020. Several factors have contributed to renewable energy’s strong development in Sweden, but good natural resources and effective political control mechanisms are two important ones.

“We are world leaders in modern bioenergy and are also among the most competent nations in cost-efficient wind power. That’s why Sweden has reached the target so quickly,” says Professor Tomas Kåberger, Chairman of Sweden’s Förnybarhetsrådet [Renewables Council]. Förnybarhetsrådet is a cooperative association made up of the industry organizations Swedish Wind Energy, Svebio, Swedish

■ Gustav Melin, VD Svebio. ■

Solar Trade Association, and Energi­ effektiviseringsföretagen (a joint platform for Swedish businesses providing energy-efficient products and services). Förnybarhetsrådet’s purpose is to develop knowledge, experience, and visions within the field of renewable energy.

The largest renewable energy source in Sweden is bioenergy, followed by hydroelectric power, which is half as large.

Wind power and heat extracted

32 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

from heat pumps each provide just under five percent of renewable energy. Solar power is the smallest of all sources, providing less than one percent of all energy produced from renewable sources in Sweden.

Tomas Kåberger believes that a global migration to renewable energy sources may take several decades to complete. “Nonetheless, it’s a thoroughly realistic goal, both technically and financially,” he concludes.

GOTHE NBURGS SCHOOL OF BUSINE SS, ECONOMIC S A ND L AW

Taking the lead in sustainable development Swedish municipal energy companies have a big lead when it comes to the sustainable development of the country’s energy system. “It is very pleasing to see that municipal energy companies, irrespective of their size, are well placed to contribute to the sustainable development of the energy system.

Their position owes much to thwe support they receive from local communities,” says researcher Gabriela Schaad from the University of Gothenburg’s School of Business, Economics and Law.

■ Sweden is at the forefront of sustainable development within the energy sector”, says Gabriela Schaad. ■

C

arbon dioxide emissions from energy production have a major impact on the global climate. “Sweden is at the forefront of sustainable development within the energy sector, especially when it comes to district heating networks and utilizing waste heat from industry. This makes it interesting to study strategies by

Swedish energy companies for environmental sustainability and how they realize them,” Schaad continues.

In her doctoral dissertation entitled Strategies for Environmental Sustainability of Municipal Energy Companies. Pathways of Sustainable Development Between Business and Society, presented at the University of Gothenburg’s School of Business, Economics and Law, Schaad studied municipal energy companies that expressly strive to provide social benefit and promote the transition to a more sustainable energy system. Three case studies of municipal energy companies of varying sizes were included in the dissertation. “Studying the companies owned by municipalities is interesting.

They have a special responsibility to promote positive social development that transcends the interests of the company itself,” says Schaad.

Thus, the study examines not only the companies’ strategies for environmental sustainability and how these are put into practice within the companies themselves, but also provides a picture of how the strategies can simultaneously contribute to the positive development of both the

energy companies and the community.

“Marrying strategy with sustainable development requires that the companies tackle a broad range of challenges.

Actually, I thought that the strategies would be more general and similar, but, in reality, they differ quite a lot from company to company. They can be based on everything from regional development to what image the company wishes to promote,” Schaad explains.

The results of the study are positive. Not just because the companies themselves are taking the issue seriously, but because they also have the surrounding communities on their side: “It is very pleasing to see that municipal energy companies, irrespective of their size, are well placed to contribute to the sustainable development of the energy system.

Their capability owes much to the support they receive from local communities.

Cooperation and collective goals make for a positive outlook. The willingness of the community is a major advantage,” Schaad be­lieves.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 33

V E NTURE C A PITA L

Decline in cleantech ­investments part of major trend The number of venture capital investments in ­Swedish ­cleantech c­ ompanies continues to fall, at the same time as the number of ­buyouts has ­tripled in recent years. This is the situation as ­revealed in s­ tatistics published by the Swedish ­Private Equity & Venture C ­ apital Association (SVCA).

34 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

Photo: Magnus Hjalmarson Neideman.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 35

S W E D I S H C L E A N T E C H I N D U S T RY

V

enture capital is an umbrella term for capital for investments and covers all capital contributions made to a company, with the exception of loans.

SVCA prefers to use the term “private equity”, rather than venture capital.

There are different types of private equity providers: buyout firms, who invest in mature companies with stable cash flows, and venture capitalists, who invest in the early stages of a company’s development.

Both public and private organizations that provide equity are members of SVCA and submit statistics to the association.

“State organizations primarily invest in the early stages, and their role is to supplement that market. We believe that state venture capital should be able to collaborate with private venture capital to a greater extent. Doing so would allow public venture capital to be utilized more effectively. Politicians should keep a reasonable distance and not make decisions about which industries or regions capital should be invested in.

Market players should be allowed to decide which investment objects are of interest,” says SVCA’s Managing Director, Isabella de Feudis.

SVCA’s 2012 statistics show that the number of venture capital investments made in Swedish cleantech companies continues to decline. The same downward trend is also clearly evident in the amounts invested. The size of venture capital investments in cleantech has fallen by almost 80 percent since 2008.Approximately the same number of investments was made in cleantech in 2012 as in 2008.

“This is due to a sector rotation; that is, capital-heavy projects within cleantech, semiconductors, and pharmaceuticals have been replaced

by IT and media, which require less capital. Over time there have been fewer investments in capital-intensive industries like cleantech, and more investments in less capital-intensive industries,” de Feudis continues.

N UM B E R O F C LE ANTEC H I NVE S TM E NT S

C LE ANTEC H I NVE S TE D A MOU NT I N S E K

The trend for buyouts looks a little different, however. The number of buyouts has tripled since 2010 and annual totals are also increasing steadily. Private equity invests in unlisted Swedish companies. The money it invests comes primarily from institutions, such as pension funds in the US and the various national Swedish pension funds (AP-fonderna).

“Private equity is responsible for 80-90 percent of capital imports to Sweden. Generally speaking, private equity has been less active over the past year as a result of the recession and low GNP growth,” de Feudis adds.

One reason for the decrease in the willingness to invest is the prevailing uncertainty about what rules will

36 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

apply in the long-term. “The investment horizons of private equity are long; companies are owned for 5-10 years. The money comes from institutions, foreign pension funds, and American university investment funds. The investment horizon is even longer when the companies must have gained in value before they are sold off.

As such, private equity requires long-term rules for areas like taxes, energy, and the environment, if investments are going to increase.

At present, there is a large degree of uncertainty concerning taxes and other areas in Sweden, which affects the willingness of institutions to invest here,” de Feudis concludes.

Luleå grows sustainably

Electricity from renewable hydropower and stable electrics have made Facebook want to build their European data centre in Luleå. Together with Boden and Piteå, we have created The Node Pole to become a global hub for data traffic.

Luleå Science Park at Luleå University of Technology has a leading role in creating innovations and attractiveness. The park houses around 100 knowledge intensive businesses.

Surplus gas from SSAB´s steel mill heats large parts of Luleå. District heating is the cheapest in Sweden.

Luleå is growing. Over the coming ten years, there are plans for 5,000 new and climate-smart homes.

www.lulea.se

Public transport has Sweden’s most satisfied customers and the number of bus journeys made is increasing steadily. This autumn, production of fuel gas for vehicles will begin at the town’s sewage treatment plant and we are to become Sweden’s best town for cycling.

We collaborate globally. A collaboration with Austin in Texas has recently been initiated to strengthen Luleå’s creative powers. We have a different type of collaboration with multimillion city Xi’an in China.

The list is much longer.

Get in touch, and we’ll tell you more.

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY GOTHENBURG ENERGY & BUSINESS REGION GÖTEBORG AB

Gothenburg harbour.

GOTHENBURG: THE SMALL CITY WITH BIG IDEAS While Beijing, Paris, London, Los Angeles and Sao Paolo may all make the headlines for their poor air quality, Gothenburg is understandably less likely to ­feature in the media’s narrative on pollution.

A

lthough newspapers are often more interested in showing world-famous landmarks shrouded in smog, the small Swedish city may actually have more to offer the global dialogue than its bigger, better-known counterparts. Because not only does Gothenburg suffer from

38

many of the same problems found elsewhere in the industrialized world, it is also responsible for some of the most innovative approaches to countering these shared environmental threats.

The movement towards creating a greener Gothenburg is well underway. One of the most visible examples is RiverCity, an urban development project at the heart

of the historic center that uses principles of sustainability to improve accessibility and amenities for residents. But investment in energy, transport and waste can be found in all corners of the city.

THE SWEDISH GOVERNMENT has vowed to create a public transport system free of fossil fuel by 2030 and Gothenburg is ahead of schedule . Technology pioneered

by Volvo sees the city’s buses run with emission levels that are 80 percent lower than their diesel counterparts. The low-carbon fleet has even attracted the interest of

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY GOTHENBURG ENERGY & BUSINESS REGION GÖTEBORG AB

Barack Obama when he visited the country in 2013, explains Volvo president and CEO Olof Persson.

“We wanted to show the president how we [have taken] bus transport into the future in a sustainable way,” he says. “This technology is already used daily in Gothenburg where we [have] created the world’s most modern and innovative bus route.”

SPEARHEADING the city’ transport revolution is the GoBiGas project, an initiative by energy supplier Gothenburg Energy that turns waste from the forestry industry into methane gas. The facility is the first of its kind in the world and already helps provide clean fuel to 15,000 cars. By 2020 the project’s leaders hope to provide the equivalent of 1TWh of biogas,

3GOTHENBURG ENERGY7 Western Sweden’s leading energy company, we provide our customers with energy services, broadband, district heating, cooling, natural gas and the electricity supply network.

Gothenburg Energy is subsidiary of Göteborgs Stadshus AB. Postal address: Göteborg Energi AB, Box 53, 401 20 Göteborg www.goteborgenergi.se/English

enough to fuel 100,000 cars.

“The focus on GoBiGas is something we do for the conversion of the transport sector which is one of the most important things needed to save our ­climate,” explains Gothenburg

Energy’s Strategy Director, ­Andreas Rydbo. “We do this both because we are willing and able, but also because we see that it must be done.”

Thankfully other major stakeholders share his sense of urgency.

The project has attracted investment totaling around EUR150 million from state, municipal and EU agencies. As well as directly contributing to the reduction of pollution in Gothenburg, such initiatives have also demonstrated the potential for the companies involved to share and export their services to larger cities, says Bernt Svensén of Business Region Gothenborg.

“Gothenburg is, together with the Stockholm and Malmö, a city that is considered worldwide to be [a model] of best practice in 39

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY GOTHENBURG ENERGY & BUSINESS REGION GÖTEBORG AB

reducing its climate impact,” he says. “Bioenergy and systems engineering solutions in heating and other energy plants win attention and market success for Swedish cities.”

Svensén argues that cooperation between public and private stakeholders has been essential for transforming the city’s approach to energy. The incentives provided by state players have been a crucial part of the success of initiatives like GoBiGas, according to Gothenburg Energy’s Andreas Rydbo.

“As a municipality-owned corporation our contribution to the development of our city is one of our most important missions.

This work has been going on for several decades,” he says.

IN THIS TIME, climate change initiatives in Gothenburg have extended into all corners of life in the city.

Rydbo also cites the transformation of the district heating systems that he claims now takes 60 percent of its heat from other sources, such as industrial processes and garbage-burning. As with the overhauled transport network, this has proven a success story from the perspectives of both climate change and energy efficiency.

By replacing dirty energy with heat that would otherwise go to waste, Gothenburg’s heating initiatives have contributed significantly to improvements in air quality. The city’s heating facilities closely control and treat emissions, and production takes place in cogeneration plants fuelled by natural gas or biomass.

Gothenburg Energy’s goal is to make 50 percent of the district’s heat renewable by 2025, far beyond the proposed EU target of 27 percent by 2030.

“I see us as a partner in urban 40

3 STUDY VISITS ORGANISED

BY GREEN GOTHENBURG 7 Sustainability organizes study visits with an environmental and sustainability theme. The study visit programs focus on areas like D Sustainable City development D Biogas technology D Liquid gas for heavy vehicles D Sustainable transport of goods in cities D Plug-In hybrid bus development D District heating and cooling D Towards sustainable waste m ­ anagement D From dockland to sustainable urban harbor area 3 CONTACT DETAILS 7 Green Gothenburg : Phone: +46 31 367 62 62 mailto:info@greengothenburg.se www.greengothenburg.se

development where our role is to contribute to sustainable energy solutions. One of the important parts of this is to combine largescale solutions such as district heating and GoBiGas with smallscale production, such as solar cells,” says Rydbo.

THE OUTLOOK was not always so optimistic, however. Like many cities today, Gothenburg too struggled with problems of air quality and greenhouse emissions from energy production, housing and traffic. In the 1980s Sweden’s environment minister singled out Gothenburg as a city with substantial environmental problems, prompting city planners and industry to more seriously address its shortcomings. Bernt Svensén argues that this wake-up call not only led to significantly reduced emissions from sectors including transport and energy, but also instigated growth of sustainable businesses and green jobs. Because in the decades that followed, Gothenburg was transformed from a city of heavy industry

city to a world-leading network of green systems.

Today, the environment is an issue that has been integrated into many aspects of life in Gothenburg, as demonstrated by the fast-charging hybrid buses, trucks using liquefied biomethane as fuel and the development of one of the world’s greenest sea ports. But social challenges remain. The city is now facing one of the largest redevelopment projects in Sweden, which will house 45,000 more residents and create 60,000 new jobs in central parts of the city by 2030. This urban development presents obvious environmental and climate challenges.

IT IS ALREADY EVIDENT from early planning that we will se more energy-efficient buildings and well-developed public transport.

But Gothenburg has created a new green financial tool — Green Bonds — that will increase investment in sustainable solutions.

Gothenburg is the first city in the world to introduce Green Bonds totaling 2,3 billion SEK already issued.

This means there are even more opportunities to reach those investors concerned about the environment, while also show­ casing the city’s environmental projects. There is already huge interest from investors, both in Sweden and internationally, which bodes for more interesting projects in the future.

Ambition is rife in Gothenburg.

Other world cities with greater environmental challenges, and larger populations affected by them, could do well to learn from the integrated, sustainable solutions that are transforming the way that energy is produced and consumed in the city. Gothenburg may be small but it continues to think big.

Staying warm­ together Stockholm’s district heating is derived from waste heat drawn from wastewater, offices and data centers; the city’s household waste; solar energy; and forestry waste products, among other things. We circulate the energy that already exists in the community and also harvest ­renewable energy from nature. In doing so, Fortum Värme creates a positive energy cycle that helps make Stockholm a more sustainable city.

Read more at fortum.se

SPREAD THE WORD PLEASE PLACE YOUR ORDER AT WWW.GREENSOLUTIONSSWEDENNORDICS.SE

RTUNITIESUKRAINE CAN OFFER UK IND EPE NDENCE | 14 RAI NE INDEPENDENCE HOT| 14 50 – SWEDEN ’S HOTTEST HOT 50 – SW CLEED AN TEC CO EN MP ’S H HO TTE STANIES | 56 CLEANTECH COMIN MPAN THE IES SIX | 56ARE ISTERS AS THE MINISTERS OF SIX MAARE JORAS STRATEGIC OF MAJOR STR IMP ORGIC TANCE | 46 ATE IMPORTANCE | 46 Price: 20 €

Price: 20 €

SWEDE N VOL.6 2014

SWEDE N VOL.6 2014

MORE INFORMATION: WWW.GREENSOLUTIONSSWEDENNORDICS.SE

2014

Investment Invest ment o opportpupnoitrtieunities No s in Noin rdic rdic cleantech ENERGY OPPOcleantech RTUNITIES ENERGY OPPO CAN OFFER IONS FROM

IONS FROM

Almost everyb ody agrees that the key to a bright environment is er future for the cooperation. If Almost everyb we can set new ody agrees we standards for how problems togeth thatsolve the key to a brighter er environment is we can really make future cooperation. IfThat is exactl a change. we can set new y what we havefor the we solve proble standards forbeen Swedi ms together sh process indust how doing for decades in we can really the ry. make That is exactly Work ing togeth a change. what we have been doing er to Swedish proces solve comm s industry.be an effective strategfor decades in on problems. It is proven y and we call itthe to Work ing togeth the ssg way. But also call it sustai er to solve you could common proble nable think ing. be an effective ms. It is proven strateg y and we to call it the ssg way. also call it sustai But you could nable think ing.

GREEN SOLUT

AN D THE NO RDI C CO UN TRIE S AN D THE NO RDI C CO UN TRIE S

GREEN SOLUT

TO ADVERTISE IN THIS MAGAZINE, CALL SUSTAINABLE TH INKING SUSTAINA BL E TH WOR KIIN NGKITO NGGE LARS LING: +46727406606, IS WORKIISNG TOGETHER THER LARS.LING@CLEANTECHREGION.COM KAJ EMBRÉN: +46703982211, KAJ@EMBREN.COM

E EVNOLV.6OL.6 GRER E N LTU TIOSNS SOFSRLO U IO O M FROM SWESDWEDN EN EN 2014 SWEETPOP.SE

SWEETPOP.SE

YOU CAN ORDER MORE C ­ OPIES OF THIS MAGAZINE. G

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY SSG

ADDED FOCUS ON PLANT’S LIFECYCLE The award-winning SSG Product Database service is being developed into a strategic information support system that covers a plant’s entire lifecycle from product development, purchasing and design to operation, maintenance and wind-up. The expected result: improved efficiency and increased sustainability.

A

ll production machinery goes through several phases in its lifecycle. There is a strong connection between the costs that you incur and the gains that you make.

From a sustainability perspective it is therefore vital that all the stages of a machine’s lifecycle are handled in an integrated manner.

High productivity requires reliable machinery that is simple to repair when it breaks down, is designed to support efficiency of use and which manufactures products at a defined quality level.

The machinery should also be flexible enough to adapt to the customers’ future needs and demand.

SSG Product Database has a big and important role to play for Swedish industry.

SIGNIFICANT SAVINGS SSG Product Database is a repository for over 800,000 registered items linked to more than 40 affiliated industries. It is a strategic resource that helps companies gain more control over spare parts and stock items.

The savings are huge. Industrial companies can make significant savings simply by borrowing spare parts from each other, 42

thereby reducing the gigantic surplus stocks and reducing capital tied-up. Furthermore, reducing stoppage time by just a few hours can quickly turn into savings in the region of SEK 500,000 to 1 million.

“The service’s uniqueness lies in its full transparency; everybody can see what everybody else has got. A virtual stock room containing everybody’s spare parts, where you can borrow spare parts from each other and reduce stoppage time. You will not find this kind of openness between industries and companies anywhere else in the world. It forges unique opportunities for customising whole new solutions that boost sustainability and efficiency.

Solutions that are difficult to copy as they are built on a unique collaboration in Swedish industry.

SSG Product Database is entering the next phase of its development,” says Jonas Berggren, CEO of SSG Standard Solutions Group.

BIG PRODUCTIVITY AWARD 2014 It is also one of the reasons why SSG Product Database won the Big Productivity Award (Stora Produktivitetspriset) in 2014. The Award, which has been presented every two years since 1990, is a Nordic supplier award designed to call

attention to maintenance initiatives which result in greater profitability for system owners.

The jury motivated its decision by stating that SSG Product Database has been developed with an innovative approach and has big potential both in Sweden and internationally.

“SSG is a jointly owned company in which Swedish industry works collectively on technology, purchasing, security and training in order to devise more secure, efficient and sustainable processes. This work method is unique in international industry. The services devised are employed by a number of professional industrial groups including design, purchasing, safety, health and the environment,” explains Matti Tuikkanen, CEO of Swedish Asset Management Society (SAMS) and organiser of the award.

NEW LIFECYCLE PROJECT The product database is entering the next phase of its development. The project, called LCDM (Life Cycle Data Management), is exploring the possibilities for supplementing existing database information to create greater efficiency at the commissioning phase. Our objective is also to make the information flow from design and operation to maintenance more efficient.

The data that needs to be supplemented first and foremost is the design and maintenance requirements.

“We coordinate the information from the design phase with

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY SSG

43

THIS ARTICLE WAS PAID FOR BY SSG

“ YOU WILL NOT FIND THIS

KIND OF ­OPENNESS ­BETWEEN ­INDUSTRIES AND COMPANIES ­ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE WORLD. IT FORGES UNIQUE­OPPORTUNITIES FOR CUSTOMISING WHOLE NEW SOLUTIONS THAT BOOST S ­ USTAINABILITY AND ­EFFICIENCY. ”

44

er Lönn . Foto: Kristoff Jonas Berggren

THE POTENTIAL FOR SWEDISH and global industry is significant.

“There are studies that show that loss of information from the building to the commission stage alone is around 2.8 percent of the project cost.

With Swedish industry investing SEK 55 billion a year and the Swedish forest industry investing SEK 10 billion a year, the potential savings are enormous,” says Jonas Berggren and rounds off: “One of Sweden’s main competitive advantages is our culture. Our ability to cooperate and build complex systems. If we go all the way with our ambitions, there are huge savings to be made for industry and possibilities for building an information infrastructure that paves the way for a more efficient industry.”

å

the maintenance phase. With com­ prehensive plant data, the automated processes for this information transfer will enhance the efficiency of operation and maintenance processes, generate purchasing gains and reduce capital tied-up,” says Jonas Berggren.

“Our vision is that you will be able to design a plant using items and machinery whose functions, per­ formance and KPIs you already know.

You are basing your design on actual facts,” says Jonas Berggren.

SWEDEN

DENMARK

ESTONIA

IRAN

FRANCE

NORWAY

GERMANY

LATVIA

CHINA

ENGLAND

FINLAND

AUSTRIA

LITHUANIA

SAUDI ARABIA

HOLLAND

BELGIUM

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 45

KRISTINA PERSSON

Six Areas of Major ­ Strategic Importance Although a new government came to power in Sweden in 2014, the country’s strong commitment to climate change issues is unabated. In less than 40 years, Sweden has gone from having a heavily oil and ­coal-dependent ­energy system to a system that runs on almost 50 percent renewable energy.

We met with Sweden’s new Minister for Strategic ­Development and Nordic Cooperation, Kristina Persson, who has ­pinpointed six areas that are of great strategic importance for the future.

T

oday, Sweden is the EU leader in renewable energy use and, in fact, uses one of the highest percentages of renewable energy of any country in the world.

Moreover, since 1990 Sweden has succeeded in reducing its carbon dioxide emissions by a full 20 percent, at the same time as its economy has grown by almost 60 percent. This has been achieved through long-term efforts and by using smart, cost-effective control measures that generate a lot of green technology and energy for the money invested.

SWEDEN’S RECIPE FOR SUCCESS has been a combination of general, cost-effective control measures and clearly-defined goals and ambitions. It has combined effective legislation and

clear information with investments in research and innovation.

Sweden has also proven that it is possible to break away from fossil-fuel dependency and that it can play an important role in the global shift to a climate-neutral society. One piece of the puzzle in Sweden’s work in the area is its environmental policy. The overall goal of the environmental policy is to pass on to the next generation a society in which the major environmental problems facing Sweden have been solved. The policy states that every sector of society must assume its share of responsibility. Public agencies, organizations, enterprises, and individuals must devote more attention to environmental issues and sustainable development. Many small decisions affect the environment, so information,

46 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

education, and evaluation are increasingly necessary.

KRISTINA PERSSON is a key figure in Sweden’s ongoing efforts to become a sustainable society based on renewable resources. She is Sweden’s Minister for Strategic Development and Nordic Cooperation.

“First and foremost, I see six areas that are of major strategic importance for the future. The first is global governance; how to find ways to assume joint responsibility across national borders. At present, democracy is limited to the nation state, but individual nations cannot solve these problems on their own.”

The second area Persson describes is the green transition, which will require major investments, new forms of both private and public investment,

■ Kristina Persson. ■

and amended regulations and taxes that support it.

“The third area is employment in the future. This is another of the government’s main priorities. The comprehensive technological changes that will occur will see an increasing number of jobs disappear. The value-creation of the future must lead to increased employment, but that won’t happen automatically. It is politicians’ job to make sure it happens by steering development towards full employment.”

The fourth area, according to Persson, is income redistribution and welfare. “Inequality has quickly increased, and this is damaging to our society in many ways. Inequality contributes to weaker economic development. It also strains and damages trust in society.”

The fifth area is integration and migration: “Integration policy needs to be more effective. It shouldn’t take months—or years—before people who come to our country have the chance to be a part of working life and the community.”

THE SIXTH AREA is competitiveness and expertise. “An innovation council will be linked to the Prime Minister’s Office which, in cooperation with the business world, will insure that Sweden will be well positioned when it comes to economic development,” Persson continues.

Will we see a stronger Nordic policy from the Swedish government that supports sustainable and green technology development?

“The Nordic region and Nordic cooperation are part of the strategic

agenda. Many of the really major problems are global and must be solved in cooperation with other countries. The EU is an important platform for achieving this, but consists of 28 countries, which makes it hard to make decisions quickly enough. Together, the Nordic region can exercise a much greater influence both in the EU and in relation to other major regions than if we act alone. What’s more, we can better manage the major green transition we are facing if we cooperate on innovation, technology procurement, and the development of new regulatory frameworks, to name a few.

We can and must lead the way and spur others on if we are going to realize the goal of a fossil-free society by 2050,” Persson con­cludes.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 47

A L M E DA L E N 2015

Climate Change ­ Taskforce Almedalen 2015 Nordic cities bring solutions and challenge national governments in front of Paris UN Climate meeting Almedalen Political week is the most important and progressive political gathering in Sweden. It takes place in the capital of Gotland, Visby.

Every year, for a week during the summer, politicians, business people, NGOs and investors from all over Scandinavia and other countries meet to discuss how best to foster the economy and enhance social objectives.

G

overnments around the world have failed to lay the foundation for a global climate agreement. There are many doubts regarding the possi­ble success of the Paris Summit in 2015.

A possible way to make progress, and take significant action where national governments have failed, is for the world’s cities, big and small, to take the lead in developing and implementing appropriate responses.

Mayors and other municipal leaders have already begun to implement strong climate mitigation and adaptation policies and programmes, both individually and through coalition organisations like the C40 and ICLEI.

MAYOR ÅKE SVENSSON invite Mayors and their international organisation networks to join together and form a ‘Mayoral and Metropolitan Authorities Paris 2015 Task Force’ Its two main goals on the working agenda, says Åke Svensson :

DURING THE UN CLIMATE SUMMIT in New York in September 2014, the then Mayor, Michael Bloomberg, said that “now is the time for nations to partner with cities as they create more ambitious climate targets over the next year, both to help the world avoid

•p repare a Joint Urban Climate Response Action Plan that will draw upon existing individual climate response policies, plans and programmes of municipal authorities around the world to create a coordinated metropolitan response

the worst impacts of climate change and to benefit millions of people.”

And this is exactly what Gotland’s Mayor Åke Svensson decided to do: to call a gathering of Mayors from all over the globe to tackle the political inactivity of national governments by drawing up a coordinated global urban response, and setting out the resources and powers that cities need to implement such a plan.

48 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

• s et out the resources and powersthat cities need to implement this action plan effectively, and do so in conjunction with national ­response efforts and plans.

IN ORDER TO ENABLE efficient and effective ways of working together across such disparate geographical and organisational groupings, a shared and easily accessible web platform will be set up and a series of activities, such as hackathons, will help develop in a participative manner a united and coordinated agenda and action plan to present to the Paris 2015 Summit. The Mayors event in the Almedalen Political Week is organised together with Club of Rome, The association of the Nordic countries, The Think Tank Global Challenges, Kairos Future, Respect Climate, Stockholm Environment Institute and WWF.

■ To the right: Mayor Åke Svensson. ■

Photo: Xxxxxx G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 49

2014 WO R L D WAT E R W E E K

Stockholm ­International Water Institute: Water demands by energy producers calls for smarter solutions

■ Mr. Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director, Stockholm International Water Institute. Photo: Thomas Henrikson ■ 50 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of Stockholm International Water I­nstitute, points out the the need for a bigger understanding of the ­interdependent links between energy and water. ”We have to fully develop synergies, strengthen much needed partnerships, and develop smarter solutions for using water more efficiently in the future”, he says.

T

he Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) is a policy institute that generates knowledge and informs decision-making towards water wise policy and sustainable development.

SIWI organises the annual World Water Week in Stockholm that the fall of 2014 welcomed over 3,000 participants from more than 140 countries. During the Week four teams, each consisting of two lead and five junior rapporteurs, covered all workshops and seminars, over 100 in all. ”With increased income levels in many countries, a growing world population, and intensified competition for our finite water resources, it has become ever more urgent to understand the links between energy and water so that we can fully develop synergies, strengthen much needed partnerships, and develop smarter solutions for using water more efficiently in the future. The results of our work will have consequences for all humanity. With this we strongly feel that 2014 World Water Week managed to take a few steps in the right direction”, says Torgny Holmgren, Executive Director of Stockholm International Water Institute.

He tells us that Water and energy are closely interdependent. How they, at the same time, rely on vastly different institutional frameworks, policy settings and governance structures. ”The energy sector is to a large extent marketbased, run by private companies acting on global and national markets. The water sector on the other hand is dominated by public, small utilities acting within regulated markets at the local, municipal level”, Mr Holmgren informs.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 51

2014 WO R L D WAT E R W E E K

While water is needed for almost all forms of energy production, such as cooling, biofuels and hydropower, energy is an important component in the extraction, treatment and transportation of water. ”Restraints in one of the resources will often affect the other. Therefore, there is an increasing recognition of the importance to understand the energy-water linkages and strengthen collaboration between the two communities. Without sustainable energy and water management we cannot satisfy basic human needs, produce food for a growing population and achieve sustainable growth”, says Torgny Holmgren.

The overarching conclusions from the 2014 World Water Week states that ”To successfully develop the water-energy synergies to their full potential, we must take action on several fronts. There is no silver bullet. We need to build an understanding of the overarching water and energy picture and make the effort of better understanding the critical linkages, in order to efficiently address the multitude of challenges we face.”

Mr Holmgren further adds that it is essential to translate local knowledge into global policy. The 2014 Stockholm Water Prize laureate Professor John Briscoe argues that policy must be formed by practice.

And the same is valid for the other direction: global policy must be formulated in a way that allows it to be applied on the local level.

There are, however, substantial differences between the energy and water sectors, not only in how they are structured, but in how they are perceived. And here the water community finds room for development: to counter the challenge of increasing water demand we must manage it in a far smarter way. There is a need to create a raised general awareness of water efficiency and sustainability.

Resource constraints, be it due to water scarcity or water quality issues,

■ Opening Plenary at 2014 World Water Week. ■

are already impacting the functioning of water and energy systems. Moreover, with the global demand for water expected to increase by 55 per cent between 2000 and 2050, and electricity demand expected to increase by 50 per cent by 2030, there is an urgent need to achieve an equitable balance between the competing demands for water and energy.

The consensus among delegates and speakers was that the energy community holds sway in current discussions with gov- ernments and other

52 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

stakeholders but that leaders from the energy sector are beginning to realise the need to balance their demands with those of the water sector. The results of a survey of CEOs by the Global Electricity Initiative, revealed during World Water Week, showed that 60 per cent of energy industry leaders now consider water availability as their number one challenge.

The global population is getting thirstier, hungrier and more demanding. An increase in urban populations and migration to cities, in particular,

nexus affects everyone from rural smallholder farmers to urban dwellers. Novel initiatives revealed during the week showed how solar power is being used to pump water for smallholder farms with revenues being raised from using the solar power to recharge mobile phones to make the system financially viable.

In terms of developing a strategy for the water-energy nexus, a flexible framework is needed as it can reduce the complexity of the nexus by providing global guidelines but allow for local tailoring and requirements, as delegates had heard many times during World Water Week that water is both a national and local issue.

National in terms of its effect and importance to energy generation and food security but local in terms of management, challenges of the ecosystem, and availability.

is putting greater competing demands on water and energy than ever before and obliging national govern- ments, business leaders and local community representatives to balance water and energy demands to assure water, energy and food security for all.

Some positive reflections are that there are already some water for energy initiatives in existence, including the World Bank’s Thirsty Energy initiative and the use by international energy company Shell of the World Resources Institute’s

Aqueduct tool. Electricité de France (EdF) is leading an ambitious international programme, Water for Energy Framework, paving the way for the development of a conceptual framework of energy impacts on water. The results will be launched at the World Water Forum in April 2015. Still more needs to be done to integrate the two sectors.

What is clear is that the future of water and energy is cross- sectoral and a multi-stakeholder approach is vital given that the water-energy

How to use less water smarter Some concrete suggestions on more effective water use were put forward during the week: • Biofuel crops could be grown in areas that rely on rain rather than irrigation. It would not only reduce pressure on water resources, but there would be less need for energy to pump water for irrigation.

• Encourage more water reuse. Today more than 80 per cent of wastewater globally is discharged untreated, polluting rivers, lakes and coastal areas.

• Move away from flushing toilets. A dry toilet would cut average household water consumption by 30 per cent.

• Extract energy from sludge. Rapidly growing cities depend on reliable energy and water supply, but must try to reduce demands, manage trade-offs and optimise resource use by re-use, recycling and generation of energy from waste, all in an integrated urban management context: • In water scarce areas, ­desalinate.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 53

S W E D I S H E N E RGY AG E N C Y

“Energy is a ­ challenge for all of society” ■ Erik Brandsma. Photo: Oskar Lürén ■

54 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

Water will most likely always be a natural part of Sweden’s energy mix, ­particularly in the form of hydropower. “One of the main challenges is ­realizing that energy is not a separate issue for engineers or the energy industry. It’s a global challenge for society,” says Erik Brandsma, Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency.

T

he Swedish Energy Agency works to promote the use of renewable energy, improved technologies, the smarter end-use of energy, and the mitigation of climate change. Its mission is a sustainable energy system.

In Sweden water is important for the energy industry, particularly as nuclear power is being phased out as a source of energy. “Existing nuclear power will reach its expected end-oflife between 2025 and 2045, and we don’t yet know how or to what extent it needs to be replaced. Part of the answer to this major challenge is linked to hydropower. We have to maintain current capacity and perhaps even expand it, while we insure that Swedish hydropower lives up to modern environmental standards, our national environmental objectives, and the requirements of the EU’s Water Framework Directive.”

BESIDES HYDROPOWER, how can the relationship between energy and water be highlighted in a country with nearly unlimited access to drinking water?

“Primarily, it’s about water quality, not just volume or quantity. Where we produce energy, water is also needed for cooling or the cultivation of raw materials for bioenergy. We have an impact on ecosystems.”

Brandsma predicts that even Sweden will see competition increase for good water. He feels that one of the most important challenges in the longer term is to realize that energy is not a separate issue for engineers or the energy industry, but instead a global challenge for society. “Quality of life is becoming increasingly

important, as is a holistic perspective with a sustainable lifestyle and the preservation of the natural values that are so unique to Sweden.”

THE DIRECTOR GENERAL believes continued investment in the cuttingedge research being conducted in Sweden within renewable energy and energy efficiency is vital for insuring the country does not miss the proverbial cleantech boat. “We also need to become more successful in driving innovations through the demonstration and commercialization phases.

We can do better in this area. We also need to work hard together with Swedish companies so that they not only become good innovators, but also entrepreneurs. Since we can’t be best at everything, we need to choose a few key areas within cleantech that we’re good at and maintain our leading positions in technology development in these,” Brandsma says.

What areas does Sweden have the potential of leading the long-term work on energy supply?

“It’s not just about energy supply.

We have very good wind power and hydropower potential, and we also have bioenergy potential that we intend to keep developing. But I think that energy-efficiency efforts in homes and industry, in particular, is something that Swedish companies can lead the field in. At least equally important is efforts within sustainable urban development, where we stimulate innovations and contribute to the spread of green technology.”

Which are Sweden’s biggest challenges in this area?

“Over and above the future phase-out of nuclear power, the transport sector is Sweden’s greatest

challenge. At the moment it’s heavily dependent on fossil fuels, even though a lot has improved in recent years.

Sweden’s geography being what it is, there is no single solution that will solve our transport challenges.

Instead, we need to find multiple solutions that, combined, adequately address our situation.”

WHICH COUNTRIES are you keeping a particularly close eye on when it comes to energy supply? Are there any countries that are following Sweden’s leading example?

“Naturally, The German Energiewende [energy transition] is something we’re following with great interest. Development in Asia is progressing rapidly and is particularly interesting because of its connection to smart grids. The expansion of renewable energy around the world is also of interest. In South America and Africa we’re seeing rapid development in off-grid solutions and non-subsidized solar energy. In the US there are interesting developments happening in IT energy that have a lot of potential. In general, I like to emphasize the importance of keeping good tabs on and analyzing global development,” Brandsma concludes.

Facts/Caption Erik Brandsma was appointed ­Director General of the Swedish Energy Agency in the spring of 2012. He originally hails from Netherlands and is a professional forest engineer. In 2013, Swedish newspaper NyTeknik named him the most powerful person in Sweden’s energy sector.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 55

H OT 50 – S W E D E N ´ S H OT T E S T C L E A N T E C H C O M PA N I E S

HOT 50 SWEDEN’S HOTTEST CLEANTECH COMPANIES 56 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

GREEN SOLUTIONS FULL LIST. We have listed 50+ smart ­investments in what we ­consider to be some of the hottest cleantech start ups in the Nordics.

The criteria for ­being on the list are, among others, that the company should have an i­nnovative product or service with an i­nternational impact potential.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 57

0 5

H OT 50 – S W E D E N ´ S H OT T E S T C L E A N T E C H C O M PA N I E S

Anolytech’s solutions are readily scalable, so they can easily be adapted to suit both large and small enterprises. __________________________APPLIED NANO SURFACE Applied Nano Surfaces has developed efficient surface treatment methods that reduce friction and wear.

Improves fuel efficiency in engines and increases product life for pumps, rock drills, chains and many other applications.

________________________________________ABSOLICON Absolicon aspires to be the world’s leading supplier of solar concentrators. By developing, manufacturing and selling solar energy systems that generate renewable energy in various forms. Absolicon has a unique technology, based on 20 years of research, for extracting energy in different forms using concentrated solar collectors, or solar concentrators. The concentrators help reduce the production costs, while simultaneously providing a high degree of energy efficiency in the form of thermal energy, solar electricity, solar cooling, solar heat and solar steam.

__________________________________________ARSIZIO Arsizio’s concept is a further development of conventional 3D-extrusion technique. By the usage of integrated rotating matrices in the pressurized zone of the extrusion tool, an indent or “footprint“ is created on the extruded profile. The technology thereby allows the creation of reliefs that were impossible to previously achieve. The thing about the technology is that any material possible to extrude with conventional extrusion technique, such as plastic, rubber, aluminum etc., can be 3D-extruded. _______________________________________BESTWOOD Bestwood specializes in real-time analysis of solid fuel such as forest residue, waste and coal. One major product line is a set of systems for moisture determination, price settlement and logistics optimization of fuel deliveries.

______________________________________________AIREC Airec’s business mission is simple and clear: To develop and manufacture Gas Heat Exchangers which give customers a significant competitive edge when using our products in their systems. They offer compact, efficient and cost-effective heat exchangers unique to Airec. _________________________________________ANYLOTEC Anolytech takes the long-term approach to its work on developing safe, eco-friendly and economical disinfection solutions for livestock farming and food production.

They develop modern technology and comprehensive systems for maximum effect from a minimum of work.

58 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

________________________________________BIOENDEV Bioendev mission is to develop and supply high-tech systems that enables the most efficient refining of biomass for use in CHP systems, conversion to fuels and production of green chemicals. Today BioEndev has a Pilot plant in operation and an Industrial Demonstrations Unit under construction starting its production during 2015. Together with Bioendevs EPC-partner, BioEndev will be selling turnkey torrefaction plants ranging from 100-200 kton production per year. They also offer retrofit of white pellets plants to torrefaction. ___________________________________________CATATOR Catator mission is to become a key supplier worldwide of high quality catalytic products for efficient energy supply. Examples are zero emission burners for heat production, fuel processor components to fuel cell systems and excellent catalysts for emission reduction. ____________________________________CHROMAFORA Chromafora holds a unique IP that enables fine chemical manufacturing that decreases waste and energy consumption. The company offers the chemical manufacturing industry the possibility to use the reagent/ catalyst phosphines. ___________________________________CHROMAGENICS ChromoGenics develops electrochromic smart glass that tints with a low electrical voltage, saving energy and increasing comfort. A unique roll-to-roll process enables a flexible business model. ______________________________________CLIMACHECK ClimaCheck has developed a unique system that enables energy savings and trouble-free operations in cooling systems by analyzing and visualizing actual performance of equipment in real time. ______________________________________CLIMATEWELL ClimateWell has invented and successfully developed a thermochemical heat pump that converts and stores thermal energy used for heating and cooling without the need for electricity. __________________________________________CLIMEON Climeon’s develop meffective system for conversion of hot water to electricity (waste heat recovery). Their product ”Ocean” will help shipping companies to save money and fuel.

______________________________CORPOWER OCEAN Compact high efficiency Wave Energy Converters (WECs) delivering five times more energy per ton of device compared to previous state-of-the-art wave power. Small robust units offering Cost of-Energy competitive with offshore wind. ___________________________________CORTUS ENERGY Cortus Energy offers cost-effective bioenergy solutions for process and power industries based on the patented gasification technology WoodRoll®, that has great fuel flexibility, so that the process can use low grade renewable fuel without compromising the performance. ________________________________________DIAMORPH Diamorph supplies advanced material solutions for particularly demanding industrial applications. The company focuses on narrow niches and its products generally increase the reliability, service life and/or performance in the customers’ applications. ______________DISRUPTIVE MATERIALS AB UPSALITE. Disruptive Materials AB. Upsalite® is a material with world record breaking features. The extreme moisture adsorption, the energy savings by regenerations and huge surface makes it the hottest material in the drying industry.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 59

0 5

H OT 50 – S W E D E N ´ S H OT T E S T C L E A N T E C H C O M PA N I E S

efficient schedules and routes. The solution provides up to 50 percent in direct cost savings. ____________________________________________EXEGER Exeger develops and produces third generation solar cells (dye-sensitized solar cells, “DSC”) using screen printing, a well-established and proven production technology. _______________________________________eZE SYSTEM eze System makes advanced control and monitoring available to applications where complexity and cost has been prohibiting. ________________________________________FERROAMP Ferroamp presents the EHUB – a modular solar cell inverter with energy storage. 4-quadrant technology enables bidirectional energy flows and grid supporting functions.

_________________________________________ECOSPARC Ecosparc develops chips for LED lighting, based on the semiconductor material zinc oxide (ZnO) in combination with nanowires. The combination of Ecospark’s proprietary LED structure and low temperature manufacturing method enables production in large scale at a fraction of the cost of conventional LEDs. Compared with today’s LED technology, Ecospark’s LEDs will be more energy efficient, have 8 - 10 times lower production costs and at the same time provide a highly improved light spectrum. _______________________________________EKOBALANS Ekobalans offers solutions for sustainable recycling of nutrients from sewage treatment plants, biogas producers, and farms with surplus manure. Extracted nutrients are refined into concentrated, high quality fertilizers. ____________________________________________ENEVO Enevo have developed a product, Enevo ONe. It is a comprehensive logistics solution that saves time, money and the environment. It uses wireless sensors to measure and forecast the fill-level of waste containers and generates smart collection plans using the most

_________________________________FLEXENCLOSURE Flexenclosure´s product can deliver a 90 percent reduction in diesel fuel consumption, CO2 emissions, and energy-related OPEX compared to traditional diesel-based systems that powers mobile telecom sites in large areas of developing countries. _____________________________________HELIOSPECTRA Heliospectra have developed intelligent LED lighting solutions for plant science and horticulture applications.

Their LED solutions make it possible to closely control the intensity of light wavelengths and to accurately match the spectrum to a specific plant. The spectral distribution of their systems (400nm to 735nm) is consistent with the action spectrum of photosynthesis and key photomorphological receptors. _____________________________________________I-TECH I-Tech is developing a marine biocide; Selektope ® to be used in marine paint prohibiting growth on ship and boat hulls. The substance is effective against barnacles and some other shell builders while having a minimal effect on the marine surrounding. ________________________________________INFRAFONE ­Infrafone’s mission is to help our customers increase the efficiency, availability and longevity of their marine and industrial boilers using infrasound technology to

60 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

prevent the accumulation and build up of soot deposits. By using infrasound technology, they offer soot cleaning solutions that create value through their unique knowledge and experience. With more than 1,000 installations worldwide, they consider themselfs market leaders and experts in the field to “create value with infrasound.” _____________________________________INNOVENTUM InnoVentum offers the most carbon-neutral wind turbine solutions on the Planet by using renewable materials for the majority of the tower construction and recycled materials for the rest. A 2kW generator with blades typically weighs around 50 kg. A ten times more powerful 20kW turbine weigh forty times more. Their systems are modularized for ease of transport and assembly. The 2kW solution also has a self-erecting towers so that neither trucks nor cranes are required, which makes both installation and power creation carbon-neutral. _________________________________________INNVENTIA Innventia is a world-leading research insti­tute that works with innovations based on forest raw materials. The majority of their operations are carried out in project form via research programmes involving many partners, such as the three-year Cluster Research Programme, or in development projects with individual customer companies. Innventia also carries out a large number of

direct commissions in the form of analyses, testing and demonstrations in their lab and pilots. _______________________________________LUNAVATION Lunavation AB is an IPR holding company started by researchers at Linköping University and Umeå University in Sweden to facilitate the commercialization of research results. They have started the commercialization of light-emitting electrochemical cells, also known as LECs or LEECs. They are a printable, inexpensive light-emitting devices for displays and lighting applications. _________________________________________MANTAX Mantex develops industrial bio-scanners that can measure moisture, energy and density with QDXA (Quantitative Dual X-Ray Absorbtion) that deliver real time analysis of organic materials used in industrial processes. ______________________________________MIDSUMMER Midsummer offers a proven technology for turnkey production of flexible, lightweight solar cells and panels to the lowest manufacturing costs for a small-scale production in the solar market. __________________________________________MINESTO Minesto develops a new concept for tidal power plants called Deep Green. Deep Green is based on a fundamentally new principle for electricity generation from tidal currents. The power plant is applicable in areas where no other known technology can operate cost effectively due to its unique ability to operate in low velocities. Minesto expands the total marine energy potential and offers a step change in cost for tidal energy. _____________________________________________NEOZE NeoZeo. Based on an invention in preparation of volume-efficient adsorbents for gas separation, NeoZeo offers a solution to tap the largest unexplored potential for producing raw biogas: the farms. __________________________________________OPTISTING Optistring develops smart solar inverters that increase the energy harvest, enhance safety and monitoring, and reduce the cost of both the inverter and the whole photovoltaic system.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 61

0 5

H OT 50 – S W E D E N ´ S H OT T E S T C L E A N T E C H C O M PA N I E S

___________________________________ORBITAL SYSTEM­ Orbital Systems are a cutting-edge technology company in southern Sweden, having developed a disruptive water recycling technology to be used in domestic appliances. Our patented technology makes the world’s most advanced and efficient shower unit, saving up to over 90 percent water and 80 percent energy, whilst increasing comfort and hygiene. Sustainable Development is our driving force and can be traced in all of our work.

_______________________________________POWERCELL ­Powercell’s mission is to offer our customers environmentally friendly power systems developed with unique fuel cell and reformer technology that is suitable for both existing and future fuel infrastructures. Their aim is to provide a unique fuel cell power system (an auxiliary power unit; APU) that allows our customers to utilize the existing fuel infrastructures without further damage to the environment. They believe that their system truly bridges the gap between the infrastructure of today and that of tomorrow, by using tomorrow’s technology within today’s reality. ____________________________________REFORM TECH ReformTech develops and sells clean and catalytic heaters for automotive and other mobile and stationary applications, such as engine and compartment heating, battery pre-heating and heating in mobile homes. ___________________________________________REHACT Rehact offers the patented Rehact Energy System that reduces the need for purchased energy by 85 percent for heating, cooling and ventila¬tion of buildings. The business idea is to develop technology that will reduce the need for external energy in buildings.

_______________________________________OREXPLORE Orexplore develops, manufactures and sells composition analysis products for non-organic materials based on an innovative technology called XDM (X-ray Density Measurement). ____________________________________ORGANOCLICK OrganoClick manufactures and supplies a range of unique, environmentally friendly renewable materials and bio-additives for use in the wood, textile, paper and packaging industry.

__________________________________RIPASSO ENERGY Based on the very good experience of the Stirling Engine from submarines and also from CSP demonstration sites in USA, Ripasso acquired the license from Kockums and entered other strategic partnerships in order to further develop the Dish-Stirling concept. Since 2011 the Ripasso CSP design has been tested in the factory in Sweden and in Antalya, Turkey. The first commercial power plant is now being built for the South African company, GHG Reductions in Upington, RSA where the solar radiation gives DNI levels which are among the highest in the world (2800 to 3000 kWh/m2 and year). _________________________________________SCYPHO AB Scypho AB has developed a groundbreaking adaptive control system that saves energy through smart control of heating, targeting residential home market. ___________________________________SOL VOLTICS R&D Nanowire researchers along with Sol Voltaics engineers demonstrated Wave Concentrated Photovoltaics (WCPV) in 2012. This concentrates the light waves by

62 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

_______________________________________TOMOLOGIC Artificial Intelligence is about to revolutionize the sheet metal Industry. This fall, Tomologic proudly introduces Optimization Intelligence as a Service. You can now significantly reduce costs and increase processing throughput while preserving high product quality.

Tomologics optimization service can reduce manu­ facturers’ material waste by up to 50 percent. Manu­ facturers achieve more efficient raw material utilization, lower power consumption as well as faster production processing. The bottom line: reduced material, pro­ duction and operation costs. ______________________________________VASASENSOR Vasasensor is a spin-off from the institute of micro and nanotechnology in Gothenburg, Acreo Swedish ICT and Chalmers University of Technology. The company started its journey at Chalmers School of Entrepreneurship, CSE, and has been working with the wireless sensor system for the paper industry since 2003. The innovation behind the product arose from needs in the paper manufacturing industry and the core technology was developed at the research institute Acreo. The product has been developed together with world leading actors in the paper industry.

guiding those waved into the nanowires for absorption, with no mechanical or optical assistance. Sol Voltaics engineers then focused on the development of materials and processes for mass production of these highperformance materials for solar cells. The result is a completely new type technology that can produce materials for solar cells that generates a higher efficiency with an attractive low cost for customers.

_______________________________________WATTGUARD Wattguard develops, markets, and sells simple, efficient concepts for reducing electricity consumption and carbon dioxide emissions in lighting-intensive environments.

_______________________________SOLEIA GREENTECH Solelia Greentech offers solutions for charging electric vehicles (EVs) with solar electricity. Its business builds on the core IT and energy system Solbank™ (The Sun Bank) that enables solar charging in connected chargers at any time of the day, any day of the year. _____________________________SVENSKA AEROGEL AB Svenska Aerogel AB has developed a patented, flexible method to produce Quartzene®, an aerogel-like material, at a significantly lower cost than previously possible.

Quartzene® is significantly cheaper and more ecologically sustainable than other aerogel materials.

____________________________________________WATTY Watty has developed the first scalable, low-cost, solution for eliminating energy waste in every household and building in the world. ______________________________________XENETA Xeneta, enables anyone, anywhere, make smarter freight decisions. They believe in actionable metrics, and if you cannot measure it – you cannot improve it.

That’s why they are assembling big data, crowdsourced from industry stakeholders – feeding back real-time benchmarks and unique market intelligence.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN W I T H I N T H E N O R D I C S | 63

HIT IS MAKING ANY FOSSIL FUEL

CLIMATE NEUTRAL

WWW.HYDROINFRA.COM

CLE A NTECH IN S WE DE N

Sweden has plenty of interesting cleantech to explore, but until now it hasn’t always been easy to find what you are looking for. Enter a new portal that makes it easier to find your way around Swedish cleantech.

New Gateway to Swedish Cleantech

I

nternationally, Sweden is considered at the forefront of several clean technologies, but Swedish cleantech needs a showcase to help people find the things it excels in. Envirosweden.se is an entirely new portal that makes it easy to quickly find what you’re looking for in the Swedish cleantech industry. The portal is a collaborative project established by a number of regional cleantech initiatives, from north to south.

“There are a lot of people working to market Swedish cleantech abroad,” says Johan Strandberg, who initiated the database. “By providing them with good information, we aim to make it possible for as many people as possible to showcase what we’re good at here in Sweden.”

ENVIROSWEDEN.SE compiles information about demonstration plants and reference projects for Swedish cleantech in a joint database.

“We believe that the portal will be very useful for Swedish cleantech companies that want to be seen, at the same time as it will make it easier for those interested to find what they’re looking for,” Strandberg continues.

Facts: More useful contacts for finding business partners in Sweden: • Business Sweden (formerly Invest Sweden) www.business-sweden.se • Business Region Göteborg www.businessregion.se • Cleantech Inn Sweden www.cleantechinn.se • Cleantech Uppsala www.uppsala.se • Cleantech Östergötland www.cleantechostergotland.se • Kompetensspridning i Umeå AB www.umea.se • Stiftelsen Teknikdalen www.teknikdalen.se • Stockholm Cleantech www.smtc.se • Sustainable Sweden South East www.sustainable-sweden.se • Sustainable Business Hub www.sbhub.se

Technical visits are important for showcasing exciting technology.

According to one estimate made by the Swedish Environmental Technol-

66 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

ogy Council (Swentec) in 2010, Sweden hosts at least 100,000 visitors a year through different technical visits and informational programs. “The portal gives those of us who organize technical visits a professional-looking, smart, and easy-to-use website with good information,” says Strandberg.

THE PORTAL’S DATABASE contains basic information about Swedish cleantech companies. What makes envirosweden.se different from other databases is that it will be open for companies to manage their own information and that the information it contains will gain exposure and be accessible on many different websites and through other applications from a central source, which also makes it a kind of cloud service.

“These interconnections and large-scale distribution provide interested parties and visitors with more pathways to finding the right Swedish supplier or expertise. The companies also gain access to valuable statistics and information about foreign visitors who want to come and see their technology,” says Strandberg.

Apart from the envirosweden.se website, information from the database will also be visible on ten different websites through the initiative’s partners.

“Having only a regional mindset when it comes to selling cleantech is not enough,” Strandberg maintains.

“Competition is fierce, and if you’re

going to be seen, everybody has to be able to work effectively.”

Envirosweden.se’s partners to date are: Green Gothenburg, Sustainable Småland, Sustainable Business Hub, Green Business Region, ­Cleantech Östergötland, RECO Baltic 21 Tech, Stockholm Cleantech, Sustainable Umeå, Skellefteå Convention Bureau,

Sustainable Sweden South East.

Another means of finding cleantech companies to invest in is through the umbrella organization ASSET and its network. ASSET consists of national and regional organizations working to promote cleantech as a business opportunity and to help companies in the cleantech field.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 67

SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC AND ­REGIONAL GROWTH

Website forum to support local cleantech ­companies Swedish Cleantech is a website that serves as a forum to support local cleantech companies. The site has been ­developed by the Swedish Agency for Economic and ­Regional Growth together with other public authorities, trade and professional associations, and regional cleantech players. “Swedish Cleantech is part of the national government’s cleantech strategy. Our mission is to coordinate and make relevant information available so that cleantech companies can reach the international market,” says Arash Sangari, ­ Project Manager for the site.

68 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

Foto: Jeanette H채gglund G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 69

SWEDISH AGENCY FOR ECONOMIC AND ­REGIONAL GROWTH

S

wedish Cleantech is intended to promote the development, commercialization, and export of Swedish cleantech. It is the official national website for cleantech companies and is based on cooperation between public authorities, trade and professional associations, and regional cleantech players.

“GLOBAL INTEREST IN CLEANTECH is growing, and the need for technology to support sustainable development in growth markets is significant. When information and advice become more easily available, cleantech companies can improve their competitiveness”, says Director-General of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, Gunilla Nordlöf.

SWEDISH CLEANTECH also includes a searchable company database that includes the majority of Swedish cleantech companies active within the various areas of the industry. Sweden is home to many successful, innovative companies and system solutions in the cleantech field, but these companies are not always successful in commercializing their products and services on the international market.

“It’s very important for us to bring together everyone who can cooperate to support Swedish cleantech and to make it easier for companies to reach international markets. There are many public and private players offering a wide range of consultancy, financing, and other types of support to cleantech companies. Previously, information about this kind of support wasn’t compiled in one place and the Swedish Cleantech website is something that many companies and organizations have requested for a long time. It’s a national rallying point for the Swedish cleantech industry where we now can coordinate our efforts in a powerful way,” says Arash Sangari.

ONE IMPORTANT CHALLENGE TO EXPORT cleantech products and services is to package different types of solutions and offer a system solution. Many interested buyers internationally want the whole solution, not individual parts for example waste management. So, it’s important that they have the opportunity to visit cleantech

Arash Sangari. Foto: Jeanette Hägglund.

Facts: The Swedish Cleantech website is operated by the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth, a government agency under the Ministry of Enterprise, Energy and Communications that works to improve the competitiveness of Swedish companies. For more information: www.swedish­ cleantech.com.

70 | G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES

facilities and study companies of interest to see how the entire value chain of solutions fits together—an opportunity that our collaborating partner, EnviroSweden, offers,” Sangari adds.

SANGARI BELIEVES THAT, in addition to the innovations themselves and having a system approach, new types of business models are also important. “Naturally, we want Swedish companies to be able to ride the global cleantech wave, and Swedish Cleantech can help them do just that. Our hope is to make it easier for cleantech companies to grow and become more competitive on the international market, at the same time as we solve the global environmental problems we’re facing. It’s a clear win-win situation,” he concludes.

C O LU M N : M I K A E L SA LO

Why Putin Could Become ­Environmentalist of the Year

T

he year is coming to an end and the world is more turbulent now than it has been in many decades. A new Cold War between Russia and the West is casting a long shadow over international relations and global stability.

It all started when Russian troops annexed the Crimean peninsula at the beginning of the year. Shortly thereafter, Russia likely created and began supporting the separatist movement active in eastern Ukraine; an area that is now in a state of war. A steady stream of troops and war supplies now flows from Russia to the separatists, who aim to create a new state under Russia.

As a direct consequence, relations between East and West have soured and we now see warfare occurring between them on most levels, with the exception of outright military conflict. Western countries have imposed economic sanctions and, for its part, Russia is now waging a completely new form of advanced information-based warfare. Propaganda is being widely used to manipulate the message and context to suit Russia’s purpose, through TV, websites, Twitter, and other channels.

The Russian dictator’s main weapon in this conflict, however, is natural gas. One quarter of the gas Europe consumes is imported from Russia and a number of countries rely heavily on Russian gas to function.

In effect, the seemingly unreliable and autocratic Putin has put a pinch on the gas line to Europe–a weapon that may be more effective than any large army.

Europe’s insufficient energy security

measures have been clearly exposed. By cutting the gas supply, Putin could easily cast Europe into a severe energy crisis.

For their part, many European decisionmakers and politicians are now emphasizing the importance of energy efficiency and investments in renewable energy on a broad front. Swedish trade associations and companies testify to greatly increased interest in their energy and environmental solutions. The need for independent, climate-smart, sustainable energy systems is huge if Europe is to free itself from its dependency on Russian gas.

From an environmental standpoint, this is a fantastic opportunity, and could be the spark needed to ignite a wholesale transformation of the European energy system.

In the end, might it in fact be the autocrat, Putin, who transforms the European energy system into something environmentalists can currently only dream about? Exactly what the future holds is difficult to predict, but I think that one thing is certain: gas will continue to cast a dark shadow over Europe until the windmills, solar panels and district heating is installed.

Mikael Salo Editor in Chief, Miljöaktuellt (Scandinavia’s largest environmental news organization).

Publisher/chief editor: Erik Säfvenberg, Editorial production: Dynamo Press AB, Project Manager: Lars Ling, CEO & Founder C ­ leanTech Region, Journalist & Blogger: Kaj Embrén, Art Director: Jan Petterson Print: Trydells. Contact: Dynamo Press, ­­­Västra Norrlandsgatan 18A, 903 27 Umeå, Sweden, info@dynampress,.se, Sales: +46703982211, +46727406606, info@dynamopress.se, Information: Green Solutions from Sweden is distributed in cooperation with International Data Group, IDG, Sweden.

G R EEN SO LU T I O NS FRO M S W ED EN A N D T H E N O R D I C CO U N T R I ES | 71

SWEETPOP.SE

SUSTAINABLE THINKING IS WORKING TOGETHER Almost everybody agrees that the key to a brighter future for the environment is cooperation. If we can set new standards for how we solve problems together we can really make a change.

That is exactly what we have been doing for decades in the Swedish process industry.

Working together to solve common problems. It is proven to be an effective strategy and we call it the ssg way. But you could also call it sustainable thinking.