Cleantech for Nordics

✍ Read our final reply in Dagens Industri outlining why Sweden needs a robust, green industrial policy to make it easier for businesses and investors to bet on climate.💡 Reply: https://lnkd.in/d7eXYPQB 🏛 There’s a tendency to oversimplify #industrialpolicy and the role of the state in societal transformations. Experiences from the U.S. show that green industrial policies have often been very successful. What’s important to note here is that we are talking about high-risk investments that private capital tends to avoid. While Sweden can’t replicate the U.S. model entirely, there’s no reason we can’t support #innovation on a smaller scale. ⏳ Historically, it is also clear that private actors usually enter new sectors first after the public has absorbed the highest risks and uncertainties—especially in capital-intensive industries. 🛠 Public support is critical for #breakthrough innovations in hardware. The financing models and scaling trajectories we see for software companies are simply not applicable here. 🔎A recent Swedish interview study on green industrial policy shows very positive experiences from strengthening existing funding programs in Sweden, and creating additional support for #investments and #scaling of new technology. While the private sector should bear most of the financial risk, public support is often necessary to unlock private capital and help build emerging markets. 🌍 We also need to look at the #geopolitical realities of green industrial policy. The U.S. risks falling behind China, and the EU risks losing major investments to the U.S. This raises an essential question: which sectors are strategically important enough to retain within Europe? With billions earmarked for cleantech in the EU over the coming years, Sweden should aim to secure at least a portion of these investments. 💰 This isn’t about throwing money into a green void. We’re talking about #blendedfinance, #publicguarantees, support for #scaling new production, and #catalyticcapital to unlock private investments. Most importantly, we need a long-term green industrial strategy that provides the market with the signals it needs for stable, predictable investment. 🇸🇪 Sweden has the opportunity to lead the green transition – not just for the climate, but to create jobs, boost competitiveness, and take the next industrial leap. We are already impacted by global industrial policies, and it would be a mistake to not support the competence and innovation we foster here in Sweden. Magnus Agerström Eva Andersson Cleantech for Europe Breakthrough Energy Julia Reinaud Mariano Berkenwald Suzana Carp Jules Besnainou

🚀🌿 Last week, we organized a a Masterclass in Fit for Purpose Funding, as part of Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day. With exports across the financing landscape, the day was focused on learning, networking, and understanding how to scale a cleantech company. 🛠 🏗 Sofia Graflund from EQT Ventures dived into the The Climate Brick framework, pointing out the differences in scaling climate and deep tech companies versus more traditional, software solutions. With the high capex costs many companies face, we need to think differently about the scaling journey. 💰 Anna Skarborg from P Capital Partners shed light on the role non-sponsored credit can play in a scaling journey, and explained how they lend money directly to entrepreneurs without diluting ownership. 💶 Teppo Havo, Danske Bank Growth, gave us a clear walkthrough in the traditional banking approach, versus the banking approach for scaling and growth companies. What do we take with us? The three C’s! Cash, cashflow, and collaterals! 🏦 Fredrik Larsson, representing Nefco - the Nordic Green Bank, highlighted the ever so important ”missing middle”, and the role Nefco can play as an actor which can finance Nordic SMEs with a higher financial risk profile than is acceptable for most commerical banks. He also left us with an inspiring message, pointing out how green companies – in the room with us right now – are demonstrating a huge industrial transformation. 🌍 Carl-Johan Karlsson Johan from EKN Exportkreditnämnden shared some impressive numbers with us. Sweden's exports of goods and services make up 46% of the country’s GDP, and 40% of those exports come from SMEs. As he introduced EKN's Green Credit Guarantee and other tools aimed at boosting start-up funding, it became clear that EKN is a force to be reckoned with. 💡Isabella Gustafsson Ismodes, representing the Swedish Energy Agency, delivered an inspiring message while explaining their financial support for projects: the SEA actually likes risk! Since they finance projects rather than companies, it’s acceptable if a project fails—there’s still valuable knowledge to be gained. One piece of advice from Isabella: State aid is actually prohibited, but there are exemptions. Familiarize yourself with these exemptions to make application processes easier. ✍ Finally, Albert Wållgren and Henrik Ossborn from Vinge took us on a journey in offtake agreements and their role in debt financing. Our audience of startups left with something close to a to-do list of what to think about before setting up these agreements. Through the eyes of banking lawyers, they provided valuable insights into the bankability factors that need to be addressed, offering much food for thought from a bankability perspective. A big thank you to Vinge also for hosting us during this educational and inspiring event! 🙌 Julia Reinaud Magnus Agerström Eva Andersson Leonor Zubillaga Boel Rydenå-Swartling Maria Groschopp Dellwik Dr. Verena Adamheit

Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day is all wrapped up. While we can’t summarize the entire experience, here are some of the highlights we take with us here at Cleantech for Nordics.   🔥 The opening fireside chat with Julia Reinaud of Breakthrough Energy and Thomas Östros vice president of the European Investment Bank (EIB), moderated by Ben Murphy, set the tone for the day—but perhaps also for the year ahead. How can we mobilize capital for a net-zero Europe? The Draghi report makes it clear—decarbonization is a massive opportunity for Europe to boost competitiveness, especially in cleantech, where Europe holds a strong position.   🏦 Here, we can look at the EIB and how it can support industrial decarbonization to boost competitiveness and innovation. But specifically, emphasizing the importance of intermediated financing for SMEs.   🏛️ One of the main messages: we need to think about public funding 2.0 for scaling future industries. Here, we’re looking at blended finance, derisking with public guarantees, and attracting venture growth funds with catalytic public capital. For the next generation of scaleups, we also need to offer support and strategic policies like we did with solar and wind.    💸 The panel on Navigating Scaleup Funding and Risks, moderated by Boel Rydenå-Swartling, featured a panel of women across the financing landscape. Maria Groschopp Dellwik of Nasdaq, Anna Skarborg of P Capital Partners, and Sofia Graflund of EQT Ventures. They shared insights on scaling companies, the current state of capital funding in Europe and Sweden, and how we can bridge the significant funding gap. A standout message? Infrastructure funding should be fun, cost-effective, and safe. But also, when we think about competitiveness, we should also think about quality of life and why many people choose Europe. 🙏   🌍 In the afternoon, we heard about cleantech on the global stage, with actors representing different markets across the world. As well as a panel diving into building a green industry. The questions we were posed with? What does the cleantech landscape look like in different geographies? What does it take for companies to scale beyond their local markets? Importantly, we also heard from both Qvantum International and Skeleton Technologies, sharing their growth journeys and participating and building a green industry as we speak. A final message we take with us is that there is a need for policymakers to create a level playing field for green industry markets to work as intended. Since this is not always the case, and because of the realities of the climate crisis, there is the need for public funding 2.0 to help accelerate the green industry in Europe.💚🙌 Cleantech Scandinavia Laura Fostinone Natalie Marie Saez Eva Andersson Medea Nocentini Markus Hökfelt Malin Carlstrom Fredrik Rosenqvist Arnaud Castaignet Shanbor Gupta Kristina Hagström-Ilievska

📣 *Op-ed alert in Dagens Industri* 📰 In today’s edition of Dagens Industri, Cleantech for Nordics’ Magnus Agerström and Eva Andersson highlight how public and private capital can come together to fuel the green transition, and why we cannot afford to slow down. 🌱 ⏳ 👉 𝗥𝗲𝗮𝗱 𝗼𝘂𝗿 𝗼𝗽-𝗲𝗱 𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲: 𝗵𝘁𝘁𝗽𝘀://𝘄𝘄𝘄.𝗱𝗶.𝘀𝗲/𝗱𝗲𝗯𝗮𝘁𝘁/𝘀𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗻-𝗼𝗰𝗵-𝗸𝗮𝗽𝗶𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗲𝘁-𝗯𝗲𝗵𝗼𝘃𝘀-𝗳𝗼𝗿-𝗴𝗿𝗼𝗻-𝗼𝗺𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴/ Sweden is a global leader in cleantech, with immense potential. Our data shows that over 200 cleantech investments were made in Sweden in 2023 alone — a clear testament to the strength of Swedish industry. This opportunity, however, is far from guaranteed. Without a clear industrial policy, Sweden risks losing its chance of becoming a major player – and winner – in the global climate transition. 🏆 The green transition is capital intensive and consists of extended timelines, but we need to view these investments as part of a broader, long-term strategy. The cost of inaction is far greater — both for our climate and our economy. ⏱ 🌍 We work with these issues every day, and this week you will find us in Stockholm at Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day, engaging with the investors and innovators who are building Sweden’s green industry. 💸 🏗 Breakthrough Energy Julia Reinaud Mariano Berkenwald Markus Hökfelt Anna Lundin Veronica Wänman Ben Murphy Anna Ljungdahl Jorgen Bodin Alexander Lidgren

Our colleagues at Cleantech for Europe organized the annual #CleantechforEuropeSummit in Brussels last week. #Policymakers, #innovators, and #investors all gathered together under the same roof.🏛️ And the message was clear: 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝘀𝗰𝗮𝗹𝗲! 🏗️👩🏭 It’s hard to summarize a full day of excellent panels, discussions, announcements and meetings, but here are some of our favorite takeaways from the day. 💰 From the get go, Julia Reinaud emphasized two key messages. (1) We need to address the core issue of #marketdemand. We need to create conditions and environments where it is easy for innovators and industries to bet on #cleantech. (2) 𝗗𝗲-𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗶𝗻𝘃𝗲𝘀𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀. We can’t say it enough, but we need to introduce financing mechanisms, like public guarantees, which can help #derisk investments and attract private capital. 🏦 This leads us to an excellent point made by Anna Skarborg, of P Capital Partners 👉🏻 We need to think about additionality. How do we ensure that the capital we inject brings in 𝗮𝗱𝗱𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝗮𝗹 𝗳𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗻𝗴? We need to use public funding to leverage private capital — not use public money where private capital is already going. 🇪🇺 Martin Hojsik, Vice President of the European Parliament, put it bluntly: "𝗪𝗲 𝘁𝗮𝗹𝗸 𝗮 𝗹𝗼𝘁. 𝗕𝘂𝘁 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝘁’𝘀 𝘁𝗶𝗺𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗮𝗰𝘁." To give cleantech companies a real chance to compete, we must clear roadblocks and inject capital at scale. Some ventures will fail, others will thrive—but in the end, Europe will make a profit and can seize leadership in scaling and deploying clean technologies. 💼 Policy, policy, policy. Its importance cannot be overstated, a point echoed by many speakers throughout the day. Kurt Vandenberghe made it clear: the Green New Deal is here to stay, no question about it. However, there’s still a critical need for de-risking measures and 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗽𝗼𝗹𝗶𝗰𝘆 𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲𝘀 to provide investors with the certainty they need. 🏆 We were excited to see some Nordic companies join the Cleantech for Europe scale-up coalition! Congratulations to Stegra, Baseload Capital and Heart Aerospace! ...And much much more. We had a great time in Brussels, and if there's one message to leave you with it is this: It's time to scale! 🚀🚀 Mariano Berkenwald Magnus Agerström Eva Andersson Veronica Wänman Boel Stier Ola Hansén Maria Persson Gulda Cleantech for Iberia Cleantech for Baltics Cleantech for France Cleantech for UK Tech for Net Zero Cleantech for Italy Breakthrough Energy

📣 🇪🇺 Commissioner nominees are out, and the Nordics are set to be cleantech leaders under Ursula von der Leyen's proposed #Commission! 💚 🇫🇮 Henna Virkkunen from Finland is nominated as Executive Vice-President for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy. With her extensive background in EU tech innovation, she will be crucial in overseeing technological sovereignty and digital infrastructure—critical components for advancing European competitiveness in the cleantech sector. 🇩🇰 Denmark’s Dan Jørgensen is nominated as Commissioner for Energy and Housing. Having served as Denmark’s climate and energy minister, Jørgensen has been a central player in shaping ambitious climate targets. He will now lead the EU’s energy strategy and spearhead the transition to clean energy. 🇸🇪 Jessika Roswall from Sweden is nominated as Commissioner for Environment, Water Resilience, and a Competitive Circular Economy. With her background as an EU Minister, Roswall will be key in advancing the green transition, promoting a competitive circular economy, and speeding up the shift from fossil fuels. Next up: hearings in the European Parliament for each nominee. 🌍💡 #Cleantech #EUCommission

We hope you didn't miss our interview with Anders Stromblad this summer, where we discussed the crucial role pension funds can play in financing the future of cleantech. If you missed it in our Q2 Quarterly Briefing, we're sharing it again here! Some takeaways: - Long Time Horizons ⏳🌿 Cleantech stands out as an investment area by often being very capital intensive and consisting of long time horizons. Extending investment periods and prioritizing long-term returns over short-term gains may be essential for climate-focused investments - Sustainable Investment Performance 💰💼 AP2’s portfolio shows promising performance in sustainable investments. Their sustainable infrastructure portfolio, which includes funds like Copenhagen Infrastructure Partners, Generate Capital, Pattern Energy, Sandbrook, and Climate Finance Partnership, has averaged a 13% return since 2020. Their private equity portfolio, featuring climate-focused funds like Breakthrough Energy Ventures, Khosla Ventures, TPG Rise Climate, Generation Just Climate and DCVC, has also performed well, often outperforming the listed stock market. While returns have varied, it’s promising to see such positive outcomes in the cleantech space. - U.S. Outperforms Europe 🌎🏆 Most investments remain U.S.-centric due to the larger availability of venture capital and the relative ease of scaling companies in the U.S. compared to Europe, where legal and market conditions vary widely between countries. Therefore, improving the European investment landscape is crucial for attracting pension funds and other institutional investors to Nordic cleantech companies. Check out the full interview!👇

🌱 Two weeks ago, the Cleantech Friendship Group held its inaugural meeting in Strasbourg, building a renewed coalition for cleantech leadership in the European Parliament. With cross-partisan collaboration, we are excited to see this united leadership in the EU ready to drive the cleantech transition. Here in the Nordics, we are very happy to see representation from our parliamentarians Isabella Lövin, Niels Fuglsang, and Niels Flemming Hansen. 🇸🇪 🇩🇰 🇪🇺 Thank you to Lídia Pereira and Thomas Pellerin-Carlin for chairing the session, and all other EU parliamentarians and cleantech experts who joined the meeting. We look forward to following their progress and seeing what comes next from the Cleantech Friendship Group. 🚀

Quarterly brief alert! 🌱 The quarterly brief for Q2 2024 is here! Before we head off for the summer, we are happy to share our latest quarterly brief with you. Take a look for a great snapshot of the latest cleantech dealflow activity and policy updates in the Nordics. 📈 🌍 In this edition, we especially want to bring your attention to our interview with Anders Stromblad at AP2 who provides us a great overview of the intersection between pension funds and cleantech investments.💰💼 Read the brief below and dive into the current state of cleantech in the Nordics. Enjoy! 🌟 Breakthrough Energy Julia Reinaud Mariano Berkenwald Markus Hökfelt Anna Lundin Veronica Wänman Anders Kjær Peter Hirsch Carin Elisabeth Breitholtz Eivind Olsen Jan-Olaf Willums Fredrika Svanholm Tuomas Oksanen Jussi Teijonsalo Henri Isohanni Niko Elers Ben Murphy Helga Valfells Anna Ljungdahl Magnus Agerström Alexander Lidgren Eva Andersson Cleantech for Europe

The EU elections are important for the cleantech industry, investors, and most importantly, of course, for voters! At Cleantech for Nordics, we are deeply invested in the future of the European policy landscape and its impact on sustainable innovation. Ultimately, this election is about setting us on the right pathway for reaching our climate targets. Your vote shapes this future! 🇪🇺 💚 Here's a reminder of our manifesto for the 2024 EU elections and why we care about the elections. See the full manifesto and its signatories here: https://lnkd.in/dWszDebG Nordic voters, remember to cast your vote by June 9th! 🌿