GREEN SOLUTIONS

Venture capital
About IKEA GreenTech
IKEA GreenTech AB is a
corporate venture capital
company that makes equity
investments in green technology
companies. Its mission is
primarily to invest in technology-based
companies that
improve the sustainability of
IKEA’s business activities. The
company is owned by the
IKEA Group. This ownership
structure gives potential
access to the global and
well-renowned IKEA retail
concept.
Companies invested in:
Exibea AB (Sweden)
A market-driven company that
produces products for
monitoring and regulating
energy consumption.
I
KEA GreenTech latest
investment is in DyeCoo
Textile Systems, a Dutch
company that has developed
the first commercially available
waterless dyeing technology. Using
recycled carbon dioxide (CO2), the
technology avoids the large
amount of water and chemicals
used in traditional dyeing processes.
“DyeCoo’s waterless dyeing
technology is a truly innovative
system that could bring real
environmental and costs benefits
for the textile industry by reducing
water and chemical use. Through
the partnership, IKEA will help to
speed up the development and
availability of the technology,” says
Christian Ehrenborg, Managing
40 | GREEN SOLUTIONS FROM SWEDEN
Other
Mountain Cleantech Fund II
(Cleantech growth fund in
Germany/Austria/Switzerland)
El-Seed Corp. (LED technology,
Japan)
BoFood AB (Sweden)
This company develops and
produces vegetable-based food
products with a focus on
healthier dietary habits and
reduced environmental impact.
One example of its products is
the ice cream brand Lovice–ice
cream made from soybeans.
Today, soybeans are often used
in animal feed. Using soybeans
as a base means that cows are
no longer needed for ice cream
manufacture, eliminating one
stage in the production
process.
Director, IKEA GreenTech AB.
The investment will support
the delivery of the IKEA Group
Sustainability Strategy, People &
Planet Positive, which includes
challenging commitments for
IKEA to make its products,
operations and supply chain more
sustainable. The significant
potential of the waterless dyeing
process has also been recognised
by the world’s leading apparel and
footwear brand, NIKE, Inc. which
invested in DyeCoo in 2012. Nike’s
strategic partnerships group
worked closely with IKEA
GreenTech throughout the
investment process. The textile
industry is one of the largest
consumers of water and most of
the world’s textile suppliers are
Alelion Batteries AB
(Sweden)
This company works to supply
complete, modular, climatefriendly
energy storage
systems consisting of battery
cells, a mechanical connection,
and their guidance and
control electronics, primarily
based on Li-ion batteries, for
trucks and other applications.
IKEA GrEEnTECh InvESTS In
wATErlESS TExTIlE dyEInG SySTEm
located in Asia. The scale of the
industry’s activity in the region can
put pressure on the availability of
clean water and contribute to
environmental pollution in the
discharges from manufacturing
processes. By removing the need
to use water in the dyeing process
and eliminating the risk of effluent
discharge, a known environmental
hazard, the DyeCoo system could
bring significant benefits to the
region. The first range of machines
developed and manufactured by
DyeCoo are for waterless dyeing of
polyester fabric. As well as helping
to scale the processes for dyeing
polyester, the partnership with
IKEA will speed up the development
of processes and machines
for dyeing cotton.