The Swedish Energy Agency, Energimyndigheten, will invest at least SEK 10 million in 2018 in order for more energy innovations to reach the market. Several innovation environments in East Sweden participate in the pilot project. The goal is to speed up the energy change and get more products on the market.
The project is being carried out in cooperation with Science Park Mjärdevi, LEAD Business Incubator, Norrköping Science Park and Cleantech Östergötland. This is the first time the Energy Agency makes such a commitment.
“The Swedish Energy Agency’s initiative is good and important, says Lena Miranda, CEO of Science Park Mjärdevi. By acting through the academic innovation environments, the authority strengthens our ability to focus on companies with energy innovations. New innovative startup companies and growth companies with smart energy solutions should be lifted, supported and matched by the right needs owners, such as the real estate industry.
“Our joint work will also include mapping of ongoing initiatives and the majority of activities to capture new entrepreneurs and idea owners. We look forward to shaping our forces for more world-enhancing green innovations together with LEAD, Norrköping Science Park, Cleantech – and hopefully in collaboration with more players in the region’s innovation system.
“We want to create more conditions for companies with energy innovations to be able to commercialize their solutions. With a venture like this one, we get a clear foundation in the regional and local innovation system. That means that we get partners where we can make concrete efforts to bring new energy innovations to the market and thus contribute to the conversion of the energy system, says Sasan Shaba, business developer at the Swedish Energy Agency.
Lena Miranda, CEO Science Park Mjärdevi
Goals
- Increased commercialization of research results and innovations with energy relevance
- Increased capital supply and business development in companies in different development phases
- Building a methodology for learning, development, and follow-up together with the innovation environments that lead to increased cooperation and energy gathering on energy and climate issues
- Several effective and competitive new solutions that contribute to energy and climate policy goals.
How to
The project starts as a pilot in 1 year with another two years as an extension. The goal is to get more solutions with energy relevance on the market through concrete business development and initiatives relevant to the companies.
Among the innovation environments and their partners, there is a wide range of strengths within which they will commercialize new energy innovations. Strength areas mean that each region has a number of areas where they are particularly successful and pay extraattention. In Östergötland it is:
- Environmental benefit as a business
- Visualization and simulation
- Connected systems and products
- Effective logistics
- Advanced materials
The money will be used to support innovation companies with business development for energy innovations. The focus will be on education initiatives in, among other things, commercialization and matching of energy innovations with investors and large companies.
Cooperation will be initiated with the following actors:
Västerås
Create Business Incubator
Automation Region & SynerLeap
Blekinge
Blekinge Business Incubator
Netport Science Park (+ Energy Cluster) & Blue Science Park
Stockholm
KTH (KTH Innovation)
Stockholm Innovation & Growth (STING) & KIC InnoEnergy
Gothenburg
Johanneberg Science Park
GU Ventures & Chalmers Ventures
Partners: Innovatum & Lindholmen Science Park
Lund
Ideon Science Park
MINC, EON Agile, Lund University (Energy Cluster), Ideon Open, Ideon Innovation and Beyond Accelerator.
East Sweden
Science Park Mjärdevi
LEAD Business Incubator, Norrköping Science Park, Cleantech, Östergötland
Skellefteå
Skellefteå Science City
Uminova Innovation, Connect North, Skellefteå Kraft, Umeå Energy, Arctic Business Incubator, North Sweden Cleantech & RISE Processum
Uppsala
Uppsala Innovation Center
STUNS Energy, UU Innovation & SLU Holding
Top picture: By Kenueone [CC0 or CC0], via Wikimedia Commons
