GREEN SOLUTIONS

anna-karin hatt
■ “Often, these sOlutiOns have been
wOrked Out at the municipal level,
resulting in gOOd, cOmprehensive
sOlutiOns that can be applied in Other
cOuntries. we’ve nOw integrated this
intO Our strategy, which includes dem-
Onstrating swedish sOlutiOns within
Our ‘symbiO city’ cOncept” ■
One of Hatt’s secretaries of state,
Daniel Johansson, points out that
Sweden took up the environmental
cause early on by expanding its
district heating and electricity
resources, and that this know-how
can now be exported. He also points
out that this expansion has been
achieved in close cooperation with the
Swedish people.
“Often, these solutions have been
worked out at the municipal level,
resulting in good, comprehensive
solutions that can be applied in other
countries. We’ve now integrated this
into our strategy, which includes
demonstrating Swedish solutions
within our ‘Symbio City’ concept,” he
explains.
Meanwhile, energy derived from
waste is an important aspect of the
Swedish energy system and will
continue to be so. “In all likelihood,
waste will continue to play a major
role. We have combined heating and
power plants that provide much of our
energy and heat from waste incineration.
In this regard we’re ahead of
many other countries, where it’s still
common practice to dump waste in
landfills.”
The state secretary also emphasizes
other forms of waste management:
“Even more exciting is the role
that waste and residual products can
play in the development of new fuels,
such as biogas made from household
24 | GREEN SOLUTIONS FROM SWEDEN
waste that powers municipal buses
and trucks. I believe this role will
increase in the future,” he says.
One important issue on Anna-
Karin Hatt’s agenda is how to increase
cleantech exports. A strategy has
been put in place for the period 2011
to 2014 and under this strategy, all
Swedish ministries and authorities
dealing with exports and technological
development are to cooperate.
This includes the Ministry of Environment,
the Ministry of Enterprise,
Energy and Communications, and the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs, together
with agencies like the Swedish Agency
for Economic and Regional Growth,
the Swedish Governmental Agency for
Innovation Systems (Vinnova),
Business Sweden, the Swedish
Environmental Protection Agency, the
Swedish Energy Agency, and the
Center for Environmental Technology
(Centec).
In addition to cooperation
between different cleantech stakeholders
and between government
agencies, Daniel Johansson believes
that the most important part of this
strategy is taking a holistic approach
to the entire value chain.
“It’s not just about different
stakeholders cooperating. In reality,
the strategy involves initiatives that
cover the entire value chain–from
concept and innovation to finding a
market and establishing a product.
The broader initiative also aims to
identify the challenges that companies
face,” Johansson says.
In addition, the state secretary
points out that some of the efforts
have been very concrete and well
timed. “We are now seeing targeted
export ventures aimed at China,
Russia, India, the US, Turkey, and
Brazil,” he adds.
The 400 million Swedish kronor
being spent to help Swedish cleantech
companies enter the world market are
being combined with research into
renewable energy. Anna-Karin Hatt
has described the main purpose of
state-funded energy research as
helping Sweden to achieve its energy
and climate goals. Because new
knowledge and new technology are so
important, energy research is a
natural and integrated part of
Swedish energy policy.
“We’re now investing heavily in
energy research; spending SEK 1.3
billion per year starting this year and
SEK 1.4 billion per year from 2016,”
wrote Hatt in a blog post dated
January 22, 2013.
In the same posting, Hatt also
mentions a company working within
cleantech that combines several of the
factors that she considers to be
important–renewable energy and
export opportunities. The company is
Nlab Solar AB. Nlab Solar develops
solar cells that can be integrated into