Sweden’s innovative capacity in cleantech
Sweden has a strong ecosystem of cleantech companies that are ready to scale. Investing in cleantech is not just to benefit the climate, it is also about countries becoming more resilient. Last week, Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day gathered investors and leading figures in cleantech for insightful discussions on policy advancements and investment insights. During the event, 27 cleantech companies also showcased their innovations to potential investors.
The agenda of the conference included many interesting and current topics. Among others, Julia Reinaud from Breakthrough Energy, Thomas Östros from the European Investment Bank (EIB) and Ben Murphy from KIKO Ventures, discussed how we can mobilise capital to achieve a net zero emissions Europe.
The starting point was Mario Draghi’s recently published report – The future of European competitiveness. The report has identified three areas to focus on to achieve sustainable growth. One of the areas is decarbonisation which offers a great opportunity for Europe to increase its competitiveness, especially in the cleantech sector, where Europe already has a prominent role.
Julia Reinaud, Senior Director at Breakthrough Energy, shared her observations on Sweden´s competitive advantage in the cleantech sector:
Connecting capital and innovations
The Swedish Energy Agency supports small and medium sized companies in the cleantech sector. We have seen a great need for arenas to meet across the different types of capitals such as banks, venture capital, angel investors and public funding to support cleantech companies.
“It’s the 6 th year we are organizing the Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day. It’s become a well-established and appreciated arena where national and international investors meet industry leaders and scaleup companies within energy. The set up gives us the possibility to push the agenda forward and show case good examples of innovative companies ready to scale up”, says Sara Persson, Business Developer at Swedish Energy Agency.
Product to market
In order to get new technologies to the market the companies need to overcome many challenges such as the current inflation, cost of materials and regulatory challenges. The most recognised challenge all startups are familiar with is growth funding for scaling. However, the trend seems to show that in recent years there has been an increase in specialised venture capital funds in cleantech.
Sofia Graflund, Investor at EQT Ventures says:
– We’re surrounded by amazing innovations just waiting to take off. Investors are eager to find the technologies that can help us cut emissions today, not just the next big thing. The real challenge is figuring out what will actually work. That’s why it’s so important for investors and companies to connect in places like this, where we can share ideas and shape a better future together.
Support for fundraising
The Swedish Energy Agency runs an Investment Accelerator supporting cleantech companies through the entire capital raising process – including matching with relevant international investors.
We support small and middle sized cleantech companies in order to strengthen Swedish growth and create new jobs. By ensuring that Swedish cleantech solutions reach the international market, we can help speed up the global transition.
Continued strong interest for investment initiative (energimyndigheten.se)
New investment initiative attracts many scale-up companies (energimyndigheten.se)
EU competitiveness: Looking ahead – European Commission (europa.eu)
Photo: Niklas Hampinen