We have our winners!
Two startups take home the grand prize in Startup 4 Climate 2021, Northern Europe’s biggest energy innovation challenge. Get to know our winners and how they aim to speed up the energy transition below.
A big thank you to everyone who contributed to this year’s challenge, especially the startups that participated with their time and bright ideas.
The energy transition is ongoing. Stay tuned for Startup 4 Climate 2022,
Krafthem started in 2020 with their minds set to drastically increase available flexibility in the power grid to support the renewable electrification of everything. Through their virtual power plant, they create a platform that connects owners of EVs, energy storage, solar panels, heating and more, with those in need of flexibility. By applying the use of AI they are able to make smart improvements to an ever more decentralised energy system.
Through their innovation, they have made being part of the energy transition an exciting upgrade for consumers, combining an attractive, low effort offer for users while providing an essential service for keeping society’s electricity system working smoothly in an increasingly complex energy landscape.
In order to create a sustainable energy system based on intermittent energy sources, we must find a solution for our energy storage needs. Ligna Energy is a company based in Norrköping with the mission to make energy storage sustainable. Although an essential part of the energy transition, batteries are often linked to harmful practices during the extraction of raw materials.
By substituting conventional practices with bio-based materials from Swedish forests, Ligna Energy is paving the way for growing the energy storage segment at a minimum cost for the environment. Their innovation seeks out business opportunities across the scale, from small sensor-powered applications to large scale energy storage, including several key components of a future energy system: electrification, IoT and renewable energy sources.
Startup 4 Climate is aimed at young companies with ideas that can speed up the energy transition and steer the development towards the global goal of 1,5-degree warming.
The energy transition encompasses initiatives that promote the switch from current energy and transport systems to solutions that are smarter, more efficient and have the ability to reduce humanity’s negative impact on planet earth.
This year, eight of the best submissions pitched their ideas to a jury of experts from the fields of entrepreneurship, energy, green technology and climate action. The two winning startups were granted a SEK 2 million prize to help catalyze their ideas and contribute to the energy transition.
By participating in Startup 4 Climate, contestants have the opportunity to pitch their ideas to our jury of experts. The final winners will share a prize of SEK 2 million, as well as 3 hours of coaching from a jury member, to help catalyze their ideas and contribute to the energy transition.
Participants will also have the opportunity to interact with two of Sweden’s most well-known energy companies, tap into their networks as well as be fronted on large social media platforms and news outlets.
As two of the Swedish energy market’s most well-known actors, we have a great responsibility in shaping the future of the sector. We want to promote the transition to a truly sustainable energy system, but we can’t do it alone.
Innovation and wide-spread engagement are key aspects for curbing the global climate crisis. Therefore we want to catalyze more actors and contribute to initiatives that can enable our common goals for a sustainable future.
Stefan Krook is a serial social entrepreneur with vast experience from the telecom, IT and electricity sectors. In 1997 he co-founded internet service provider Glocalnet which later merged into Telenor Sverige. He co-founded the GoodCause Foundation where he is also chairman. The foundation has started companies such as GodEl and GodFond. Stefan is co-founder and chairman of Kivra.
Johan Lindehag is the CEO of Ellevio, one of the largest distribution system operators in Sweden. Johan has more than 18 years of experience from the energy sector. He occupied several senior management positions within Fortum Distribution, which in 2015 was divested from Fortum and became Ellevio. Johan is a member of the Board of Directors of the industry association Energiföretagen Sverige.
Jane Walerud has been a successful serial entrepreneur and private investor since 2002. She has invested in several successful companies, including Klarna and Lensway. Nowadays, the family business Walerud Ventures focuses on deep tech, clean tech and AI first companies. The current active portfolio includes Volumental, Graphmatech, Swedish Algae Factory and Racefox.
Lina Bertling Tjernberg is a Professor, and Director of the Energy platform, at KTH the Royal Institute of Technology. Her research and teaching are focused on power grid technology for sustainable developments with special interest in reliability analysis, predictive maintenance and asset management. She is a Distinguished Lecturer of IEEE Power & Energy Society.
Johanna Mossberg is Vice President of Biorefinery and Energy at RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, as well as adjunct senior lecturer in energy science at Luleå University of Technology. Mossberg holds in-depth knowledge on topics such as environmental improvement assessment of industrial production and biorefinery concepts and analysis of industrial transition. She has previously been managing director of f3 – the Swedish knowledge centre for renewable transportation fuels.
GodEl is the 9th biggest electricity company in Sweden. They are owned by GoodCause foundation that donates all dividends to charitable purposes. To this day, GodEl has donated over SEK 54 million to NGO:s such as the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation and MSF. GodEl is also a key player when it comes to sustainable electricity contracts. They provide only renewable energy marked as a Good Environmental Choice. Additionally, GodEl measures the company’s entire carbon footprint and invests in projects that reduce the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.
Ellevio AB is one of Sweden’s largest distribution network operators. Ellevio invests in, develops and maintains the company’s power grids in order to ensure a reliable electricity supply to its 962,000 customers. By investing in a long-term sustainable power grid Ellevio works to improve the quality of life for its customers as well as to enable the ongoing energy transformation and the continued digitization of the society.
THINGS is the #1 industry focused deep tech and innovation hub in Sweden. They are a 2,000m2 co-working space for startups, connected to an extended community of close corporate partners, including some of the most successful and innovative export companies in Sweden. THINGS is committed to disruptive innovation and technologies, which are driving the digital transformation.
We Don’t Have Time is a social media network for everyone who wants to be a part of the solution. Being a member of We Don’t Have Time is free of charge and lets you create climate reviews as well as interact and follow other members. The non-profit foundation is based in Stockholm, Sweden and its principal purpose is to contribute to a reduced climate impact and an ecologically sustainable environment.