The world’s largest innovation factory is launched
The search for new inventions and the roll-out of many new jobs is underway. This major European investment in energy - InnoEnergy – will create 60 new companies and 100 new products in the energy sector by the year 2014. The total budget behind the project is astounding – over 6 billion SEK.
In addition to new products and new companies, InnoEnergy will also register 80 patents and examine 3,300 students in the energy sector in the next five years.
One sixth of the massive investment in energy will come to Sweden and the Mälardal region, including over 500 new job opportunities and 12 patents.
Only 12 patents may not sound very impressive in this context, but Ramon Wyss, Vice-President at KTH and coordinator of InnoEnergy, reminds us that one or several patents may generate very large revenues.
– Voltage Source Converters (VSC), jointly developed by ABB, KTH, Vattenfall and STEM, now has a business scope of 10 billion SEK, says Ramon Wyss.
He adds that InnoEnergy is a condition for Sweden’s welfare, which will lead to many new jobs and exciting career opportunities in Sweden and the other EU states. InnoEnergy also means that Europe can compete on a serious level with USA and Asia in the area of energy research. The investment is also a requirement for the changeover to sustainable energy systems to be implemented.
- InnoEnergy is a European venture and a condition for its success is that it covers the whole of Europe. Over 50% of the entire European research capacity in the energy sector will be involved in InnoEnergy, says Ramon Wyss.
KTH, Uppsala university, ABB and Vattenfall will constitute the Swedish part of InnoEnergy. With respect to energy research ventures, the universities and companies will definitely put Mälardalen and Uppsala on the map. In Europe the project will include another 11 companies, 10 research institutes and 11 universities. In Sweden there are mainly two areas of research that will be given priority: smart electricity networks and electricity storage.
– We shall play an active part in ensuring that Europe gains a leading position in the changeover to more climate-friendly energy systems, says Torbjörn Wahlborg, CEO at Vattenfall Norden.
Sten Jakobsson, CEO at ABB Sweden, also recognizes the chance of being involved in the changeover - including strengthening the innovation environment in Sweden through a European project of cooperation.
– It is crucial to attract talented engineers. Using Norra Djurgårdsstaden as a demo-plant for smart electricity networks, at ABB Sweden we can see that we have an important role to play in designing future energy systems for a sustainable society, says Sten Jakobsson.
Joseph Nordgren, Vice-President at Uppsala university, sees great opportunities for Uppsala to contribute to InnoEnergy.
– The successful battery and electricity research at Uppsala is based on advanced materials science know-how at the Ångström laboratory. The research has awoken great interest from players in Sweden and Europe and has a huge potential for creating successful companies and products in the area of electricity storage, he says.
Ramon Wyss adds that InnoEnergy is the world’s largest innovation factory including cooperation between universities and companies.
For more information, contact Ramon Wyss at 08 - 55 37 82 10 or wyss@nuclear.kth.se.
Peter Larsson