Scale-Up Camp: Batch 3 Companies Gear Up for Growth in Stockholm
On May 5th, seven cleantech startups gathered in Stockholm for the Scale-Up Camp, an intensive, full-day workshop designed to sharpen their funding strategies and prepare them for scaling. The camp is part of the Investment Accelerator Programme, run by Cleantech Scandinavia in partnership with the Swedish Energy Agency.
Real-world Insight and Strategic Guidance
The day kicked off with a keynote session on the Climate Bricks Model for scaling cleantech ventures, featuring Sofia Graflund of EQT Ventures and Gustav Hasselskog, founder of electric boat company and Investment Accelerator Programme alumnus, Candela. The session explored the interplay between economics, execution, and ecosystem building, with Hasselskog sharing candid lessons from Candela’s scale-up journey—including the importance of knowing when and how to pivot.
Image: Sofia Graflund, EQT Ventures, presenting the most recent launch of the Climate Brick, a framework for scaling climate technologies.
A deep dive into debt structuring followed, led by François Gaudet from the European Investment Bank (EIB), who outlined how cleantech companies can make the most of blended finance instruments.
Other sessions covered:
- Corporate PPAs, led by Boel Stier of Baseload Capital, sharing hard-won lessons on navigating long-term power purchase agreements.
- Public funding and grants, with expert input from Zaz Ventures, EIC, and the Swedish Energy Agency.
- A legal session with Vinge, unpacking the financial and strategic role of offtake agreements.
Investor Preview & Pitches
After a packed agenda, the afternoon transitioned into investor pitch sessions. Each of the seven companies in Batch 3 presented their innovations to a group of Swedish investors in a private preview ahead of the international matchmaking rounds.
Fredrik Eiserman, Investment Director at East Hill Equity, reflected on the quality of the companies:
“It’s always inspiring to hear from founders who not only recognize that hardware plays a crucial role in solving the climate crisis, but who also tackle it with bold innovation and carefully crafted funding strategies.”
The participating companies included:
- 2D fab – unlocking industrial-scale graphene production
- 3eflow – enabling hygienic, energy-saving tap water systems
- Direct Carbon – boosting production in indoor farms while capturing CO2
- Graphmatech – creating advanced graphene-based composites
- Enerpoly – building sustainable zinc-ion batteries
- Mat4Green Tech – sustainably producing critical materials for solar cells
- Enjay – making heat recovery viable in harsh industrial environments
Investor-readiness and Matchmaking Work Ahead
The Investment Accelerator continues to provide hands-on support, refining the companies’ scaleup strategies and connecting founders with the capital and expertise they need to scale groundbreaking climate solutions.