14 September 2022

Polestar expands range of partners for global climate-neutral cars project

Swedish electric vehicle company Polestar is accelerating its efforts to eliminate greenhouse gas emissions by introducing 12 new partners to the Polestar 0 project. The new and existing partners are all industry leaders and are actively participating in the project. Each partner will focus on the different materials, components and processes involved in vehicle production. Hans Pehrson, Head of the Polestar 0 project, says that their new partners will help develop solutions that do not exist today and they will meet the challenge of creating new technologies. The next five years are crucial and the company needs partners involved in this project in order to be successful.

The 12 new partners for Polestar 0

• Pensana: Independent and sustainable supplier of rare earth materials
• Boliden: Copper and other metals
• Papershell: Advanced fibre composites based on paper
• Sekab: Bio-based chemicals
• Bolt: Fasteners
• Hexpol TPE: Soft polymer compounds, TPE
• Plasman: Manufacturer of bumpers, grilles, exterior trim and subsystem components
• YFPO: Dampers and similar materials
• Ovoco: Technical steel with 100% carbon neutral operation and 97% recyclable content
• Mistra Carbon Exit: Research consortium to analyse and demonstrate how supply chains in construction, infrastructure and transport can be transformed and decarbonised
• Stilride: Green metal production and mobility through SILFOLD technology called "industrial origami
• GG Group: Sustainable cables and networks
  

Press Release

Swedish Soltech shareholders receive preferential rights in new share issue

Rising electricity prices, pressing climate targets and the energy crisis are making solar energy increasingly attractive. By 2022, Soltech is targeting revenues of SEK 1.7 billion. The growth is probably due first and foremost to the growing demand for renewable energy, but also to the company's acquisition strategy to realise holistic solutions. Through its acquisitions in the solar, roofing, facade and electrical engineering sectors, Soltech has gathered expertise. During spring 2022, Soltech also started to internationalise with acquisitions in the Netherlands and Spain. One of these is the solar energy company 365zon, which is one of the largest solar companies in the Netherlands with an estimated turnover of SEK 2 billion for the period 2022-2024. The company is now executing a new issue, giving priority to its 73,000 shareholders. Soltech is now receiving SEK 228 million through a share placement to be able to better utilise business opportunities and be part of the drive towards a green energy transition.

SvD

From Our Sponsors

BASF and Samsung Heavy Industries collaborate on CCS for ships

BASF and Samsung Heavy Industries (SHI) will carry out a collaborative feasibility assessment of capturing CO2 onboard maritime vessels using BASF’s OASE blue technology for flue gas applications. The scope of the collaboration includes a marinization study as well as engineering design and construction of the carbon capture unit. BASF will support with its expertise on floating liquefied natural gas (FLNG) and with its well proven OASE blue technology contributing to sustainability by substantial energy savings compared with conventional technologies. SHI will evaluate the feasibility of installing the gas treatment technology onboard maritime vessels. The joint effort is in line with the strategy of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) to reduce the carbon intensity of international shipping by at least 40% by 2030.

Press release

McKinsey: Play offence to create Nordic sustainability champions

Nordic companies are uniquely placed to lead the world's response to climate change and have the potential to create a sustainable Nordic Silicon Valley. Between now and 2050, Nordic companies can unlock a large pool of global value by playing an offensive role in the green transition. That is, by developing knowledge and solutions to help the rest of the world decarbonise, rather than focusing defensively on their own decarbonisation challenges. While the Nordic countries and their companies are already focused on sustainable development, they have an incentive to go further: doing so could mean gaining up to EUR 130 billion in GDP and creating almost one million new jobs. 

Globally, as the net-zero transition progresses, McKinsey has identified 11 high-potential value pools that could have a combined annual revenue of close to EUR 12 trillion by 2030. These value pools offer significant expansion opportunities for existing Nordic companies, as well as the emergence of new sustainability champions. The Nordic countries are world leaders in sustainability research, and Nordic companies rank among the highest in the world in terms of investment in R&D as a share of GDP. This results in a high proportion of climate-related patents per capita and a high proportion of sustainable companies. In addition, the Nordics have leading clean energy systems, environmentally conscious consumers and a globally focused culture. The Nordics can capture some of the value and growth potential of almost EUR 12 trillion through six targets: carbon management, hydrogen, electricity and energy storage, buildings, transport, consumers and waste. If the Nordics achieve these goals, they could gain an additional EUR 130 billion in GDP and create up to one million new jobs by 2030.

McKinsey concludes that there are two things that are required to succeed in creating a "Sustainability Valley" in the Nordics. First, established companies must dare to invest more in green growth, similar to how Volvo created Polestar. Secondly, the private and public sectors need to invest in - and facilitate - startup companies, so that they can scale up their innovation and grow more quickly

Press release, McKinsey

SunRoof raises EUR 15 million in a funding round led by European growth fund Klima Energy Transition Fund

Swedish start-up SunRoof is revolutionising the production and use of renewable energy through its innovative solar rooftop system. Now, the company has raised EUR 15 million in a funding round led by Klima, Alantra's growth equity fund focused on technology companies accelerating the energy transition. The financing will strengthen SunRoof's position in the existing European market by increasing sales and production capacity. The company offers two-in-one solar roofs and innovative facades that optimise decentralised electricity production in buildings. To track the progress of solar production, SunRoof provides homeowners with a digital platform and a complete energy management system. The platform also allows homeowners to monitor and manage their energy production and consumption through SunRoof's energy app, which can ultimately increase the financial return on a SunRoof installation. Over the past two years, SunRoof has established and expanded its operations in Sweden, Germany and Poland and it is the fastest growing company in the BIPV industry. 

Press Release

Helsinki is involved in a large plastics recycling economy project in Finland

An extensive EU-funded cooperation project aimed at promoting a circular economy in plastics is being launched in Finland. The Ministry of the Environment and the Finnish Environment Agency (SYKE) are piloting the project with a total budget of approximately EUR 20 million. Helsinki is involved in the project to develop a circular economy in plastics in the construction sector and the goal of the Helsinki sub-project is to improve the circular economy of plastics in buildings and to reduce the harmful effects of plastics, such as CO2 emissions, litter and microplastics. The aim of the project is to achieve a sustainable plastics circular economy in Finland by 2035. The seven-year project will start in January 2023 and run until the end of 2029. Helsinki has mapped plastic flows in infrastructure construction with the aim of identifying the most important plastic flows in urban infrastructure construction in terms of volume, environmental impact and circular economy. In addition to SYKE and the Ministry of the Environment and the City of Helsinki, the entire project consortium includes several Finnish universities and the Finnish Plastics Roadmap Network.

Helsinki

Finnish MP Jari Koskela believes that setting up overtaking routes for 'green transition' projects will only increase unnecessary bureaucracy

The Finnish Government has issued a proposal to temporarily prioritise projects that promote the green transition in administrative licensing procedures. Finnish MP Jari Koskela believes that the proposal is problematic and only adds unnecessary bureaucracy. He said the central problem in the presentation was the set of criteria on which projects were considered to promote the green transition. Applying for a licence has become more complex and extremely bureaucratic. With this government proposal, the process has become even more complicated and slow. Now, in the midst of the energy crisis, we would rather try to reduce regulation and bureaucracy. In Koskela's view, this too, like many other government proposals, lacks resources. If the reform goes ahead, the licensing process and the administrative court procedures will require more staff. The funds provided by the government will not be sufficient. 

SUOMEN UUTISET

Norwegian energy technology specialist acquires Melbourne grid consultancy

Independent energy specialist DNV announced its acquisition of Clean Technology Partners (CTP), which is expected to expand its market footprint and strengthen its position in the renewable energy and grid markets in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region. CTP's ten years of experience in advising on Australian grid, renewable energy and storage technology projects will help expand DNV's presence in Australia and enable it to better support its customers in Australia and the Asia-Pacific region.

RENEW ECONOMY

Varberg Energimarknad and Wästbygg Gruppen cooperate on co-ownership of wind turbines and solar parks

Varberg Energimarknad AB and Wästbygg Gruppen have signed a letter of intent for a joint venture. The agreement involves the rehabilitation of two wind turbines formerly located at Bäckagård in Tvååker and the construction of a new solar park south of Varberg, which will provide approximately 12 GWh of new electricity production per year. To carry out the construction and secure future operations, the parties intend to form a joint venture operating company in which Wästbygg Gruppen will be the majority shareholder with a 75% stake. The parties are currently working on finalising the agreement and forming the company. The target is to have production facilities ready by the third quarter of 2023.

Vindkraftsnyheter, Press Release

What we're reading

• EU prepares ‘action plan’ to digitalise the energy system (Euractiv)
• Soaring energy costs trigger radical market shake-up in Brussels (Politico)
• EU plans windfall levies on energy firms to tackle price spike (Reuters)
• Factbox: Europe's plan to tackle winter energy crisis (Reuters)

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