MAGaZINE environmental technology in the Twin Cities of Sweden

brilliant PET mission

diamonds!
With over 350 patents, HTC
secures its innovations which
make cement flooring durable,
sustainable and easy to clean – all
without the use of chemicals.
Pages 28-29.
PASSION
PET bottles are collected by
Returpack and sent next door to
Cleanaway which manufactures
products for new PET bottles.
The eco-cycle is closed.
Pages 24-25.
possible
Petra has made the impossible
possible. Creating ultraclean
water. Now, the innovation is
on the market. Good water – no
chemicals – solves most problems.
Pages 18-19.
 Content
welcome!
The region’s distinguishing feature –
industrial ecology put into practice.
Pages 4-5
with focus on CLEANTECH
Cleantech Östergötland coordinates and
promotes environmental technology.

14 20
Pages 6-7

A good purpose
The man who transforms
grease into fuel.
Pages 8-9
econova
Creates both socio-economic
and environmental benefits.
Pages 10-11

MPDU
Strengthens and supports environ-
mental technology companies.
Pages 12-13
Händelö energy complex
One of the world’s most
effective energy complexes.
Pages 14-17

magic water
Using ultraclean water, they remove
both chemicals and competitors.
Pages 18-19
baas evolves biogas
Tekniska Verken cooperates
with Professor Leo Baas.
Pages 20-21

from cow to car

Unique collaboration
creates vehicle gas.
Page 22
Holmen paper
Has reduced Bravikens oil
consumption by 80%.

28 22
Page 23

Passion for PET

A unique closed eco-cycle
system for PET bottles.
Pages 24-25

24
climate smart taxi
Contributes to a better
editor
inner-city environment.
Lina Skandevall, Skandevall Media AB
Page 26
Graphics design & layout
siemens Simon Ahlvin, Signed by Simon
Government subsidies get
turbines moving. PHOTO
Page 27 Ida Ling Flanagan, Niclas Sandberg, Oscar Lürén
Brilliant Diamonds TEXt
Diamonds are forever, and so are Lina Skandevall, Henrik Lenngren, Charlotte Magnusson,
the floors that HTC cleans. Expert English Training Sweden AB (translation)
Pages 28-29
Published by

12
Marknadsbolaget Fjärde Storstadsregionen

27
environmental
Science Programme and Regionförbundet Östsam.
Prepares students for a complex
PRINT
and changeable world.
TelloGruppen Söderköping, lic.nr. 341363
Miljömärkt trycksak från TelloGruppen Söderköping, lic.nr. 341363
Page 30
 From problem to
business
opportunitY
In your hand you are holding a magazine
about the cleantech industry in the Twin
Cities of Sweden – a leading environmental
technology region in terms of the number
of employees in the sector. A sound culture
of cooperation between the public sector,
academia and private sector has developed
over a long period of time. A good example
of this is Cleantech Östergötland which is
a business-oriented collaborative arena for
regional actors within the fields of environ-
mental and energy technology. Regional
companies represent world-class examples
focusing on the areas of recycling, waste to
energy and renewable fuel.
Industrial ecology
put into practice
Industrial ecology has become a distin-
guishing feature for the Twin Cities of
Sweden. For a long time now, we have
been working to transform environmental
problems into business opportunities and
the region offers numerous good examples
of industrial ecology put into practice. At
Händelö, on the outskirts of Norrköping,
two renewable fuels are produced in sym-
biosis with the power and heating plants –
energy production which to a large extent
4 Cleantech Magazine
is based on biofuel. In Linköping, a range
of partners cooperate in order to produce
biogas from organic waste from, for exam-
ple, the food industry.
Another significant area is recycling
where the region’s strategic location has
made it very attractive for the logistic-
intensive recycling industry. Hubs for the
national collection systems of aluminium
cans and PET bottles are located here.
The concept of ‘Waste to Energy’ is well-
implemented in the region and is in con-
stant development in the private sector and
academia.
Furthermore, production and research
in the field of renewable fuels is a prominent
competence area in the region. The renew-
able fuels in use today are all produced in the
Twin Cities of Sweden. The world’s most
energy-efficient ethanol is produced here,
biogas is extracted from different substrates
and a regional innovation facilitates small-
scale bio-diesel production the world over.
A ’climate-smart’ region
In the Twin Cities of Sweden, we unite
sustainable development with strong op-
timism for the future. As municipalities,
we can hasten the development towards a
‘climate-smart’ region by taking strategic long-
term decisions at the right point in time which
create the prerequisites for sustainable develop-
ment. Municipal initiatives can be seen in the
examples of the expansion of the district heat-
ing network and the use of renewable fuels in
town bus fleets. These investments have led to
international visitors making a pilgrimage here
to visit our facilities and explore how it is all put
into practice.
We hope that the magazine articles inspire
you to visit the region so that you can acquaint
yourselves with the business and investment
opportunities we offer. We wish you a very
warm welcome!
Eva Andersson,
Municipal Commissioner,
the Municipality of Norrköping
Paul Lindvall,
Chairman of the Executive Board
and Municipal Commissioner,
The Municipality of Linköping
Cleantech Magazine 5
 Gert Kindgren, chairman of
Cleantech Östergötland

Cleantech Östergötland is the and national level. It is the entirety that

unifying force that will ensure visitors want to see, there are many fac-
that the region is promoted tors that are behind the system we can
both nationally and internation- show today.”
ally. “Our mission is to increase
visibility and support the envi- Powerful Investments
ronmental technology compa- In order for an eco-industrial system to
nies in increased, more effective develop, a number of factors are required.
collaboration and in that way Much of it depends on commercial driving
expand business opportunities”, forces, according to Gert Kindgren.
says Gert Kindgren, chairman of “In this area several powerful invest-
Cleantech Östergötland. ments have been made this year alone.
E.ON is now investing SEK 1.5 billion in Gert Kindgren,
MB A
Östergötland has over 500 environmental its district heating plant at Händelö out- CHAIR MA N
technology companies and a world-class side Norrköping. Lantmännen Agroetanol
+46 705 66 56
research and eco-industrial system to show. has invested SEK 1.3 billion in its etha- gert@cleantec
55
hostergotland
.se
Just over a year ago, an environmental nol factory, and Svensk Biogas is expand- Gjuterigatan 1,
SE–582 73,
technology centre was founded that will ing capacity for about SEK 140 million, Linköping, Swed
en
promote the Twin Cities of Sweden’s en- which is almost double their investment
vironmental technology internationally to date,” he says.
and stimulate regional companies to get In the Twin Cit-
involved with environmental technology. ies of Sweden there
The centre was created by the municipali- are about 500 envi-
ties of Linköping and Norrköping together ronmental technol-
with Linköping University, the Östsam ogy companies with
Regional Development Council and envi- combined sales of
ronmental technology companies. around SEK 10 bil-
The main mission is to gather, support, lion. They account
promote and coordinate the environmental for approximately
sector in the Twin Cities of Sweden through 10% of Sweden’s

With focus on
a non-profit organisation – Cleantech total environmental
Östergötland. The starting point is environ- technology exports.
mental technology, one of the Twin Cities “Sales of biogas for vehicles have
of Sweden’s strongest industries, with waste increased by 40% since last year. In fast FACTS
handling, recycling, renewable fuels, prod- Linköping 7% of all vehicle fuel is biogas,” cleantech

clean
uct development and services plus research says Gert Kindgren. östergötland
and training as important aspects.
“This is a result of what the region’s ac- Network most important • The joint stock company
tors have done for a long time. Our mission Cleantech Östergötland also has the mis- Miljöteknikcentrum i
is to publicize it,” says Gert Kindgren. sion of supporting environmental technol- Östergötland AB [Envi­
ogy companies in increased, more effective ronmental Technology
The entirety is collaboration. The association currently has Centre in Östergötland]
was formed with the pri­
interesting to visitors over 80 members.
mary mission of gather­
The Twin Cities of Sweden has something “Building up successful networks is

TECH
to show that few regions in Sweden have –
an eco-industrial system.
“The biogas venture in Linköping, along
with the energy cluster at Händelö, has at-
tracted great international attention. When
we supplement this with additional informa-
tion, it becomes really interesting for those
who visit us,” Gert Kindgren continues.
“There are forward-looking munici-
palities here that have made strategic
decisions at the right moments, such as
the long-term establishment of district
heating and the use of renewable fuels.
Much of what is going on in the region
is a direct consequence of political and
commercial decisions in combination
with economic incentives on the local
ing, supporting, promot­
what our members emphasize the most.
ing and coordinating the
Together we can open new, larger business-
environmental sector in
related opportunities for export and devel-
Östergötland through a
opment of environmental technology,”
non-profit organisation
says Gert Kindgren.
— Cleantech Östergöt­
He goes on to say, “We are in an excit-
land.
ing region. Companies get established and
• The company is owned
find new synergies, other companies start 40% each by the munici­
to collaborate and the system makes itself palities of Linköping and
stronger and stronger. In addition a collab- Norrköping, plus 20% by
oration between public actors, the business Linköping University.
community and the university has been • Cleantech Östergötland
going on for a long time and resulted in currently has over 80
several successful projects in the triple helix partners and companies
model. There is enormous potential in the as members.
area and there is still a lot left to take hold
of. The work has only begun.”

6 Cleantech Magazine Cleantech Magazine 7


Motivating force:
a good
purpose
Since the first machine was
produced an additional
68 machines have been
manufactured in the offices
in Norr­köping and sent to 18
different countries
8 Cleantech Magazine
Inventor and businessman.
Ageratec’s founder David
Frykerås has developed a
process that transforms fat
into biodiesel.
A red-painted office building in Norr­
köping is the home of Ageratec, a company
which, thanks to its much-discussed bio­
diesel processes, receives up to 2,000 visi-
tors every year. Delegations from all over
the world take the plane to Östergötland to
see with their own eyes how these machines
function in operation.
The machines produce biodiesel,
which can then be used as fuel in cars and
farm machinery or sold.
“Producing biodiesel requires some
form of fatty raw material,” says David
Frykerås.
“In Sweden this mainly means rapeseed
oil. But there are many alternatives, such as
used frying oil and slaughterhouse waste.”
david frykerås,
founder of Ageratec.
Since 1996 David Frykerås has fought
hard to develop and market his product. Ini-
tially it was supposed to be so “intelligent”
that it could work for a naymen – automatic
and user-friendly. Only after seven years was
the product ready for commercial use.
The company grew quickly and is now
housed in a 100-square-metre office with
space for building machines, a testing
room, laboratory and welding room.
Since the first machine was produced
an additional 68 machines have been
manufactured in the offices in Norr­
köping and sent to 18 different countries.
From 2003 to 2007 sales soared from 0 to
SEK 50 million.
Supports 200 People
In Europe a machine may support one per-
son. This is compared to Rwanda, where
200 families get by on one machine.
“Sweden is a really small part of the
world, and there is nothing that says that
our way of thinking is the best. Rwanda
might just as well know better,” David
Frykerås observes.
Despite the fact that Ageratec got an
initial boost, in principle all money goes
right back into the company to manage
continued expansion. The product has
to be continually developed further. The
motivating force for David Frykerås is
the knowledge that the machines con-
tribute to something good. His com-
mitment has not lessened over the years.
David Frykerås is still passionate about
his product and travels all over the world
to sell it. Last year he accounted for 100
travel days – and 16 hours of vacation.
This is not sustainable – he admits that
– but he’s not ready to quit before he
achieves his dream.
“We will become so large that we can
continue to be at the leading edge and
develop our product,” David Frykerås
concludes.
fast FACTS
ageratec
Founded: In 1996 by Gert
and David Frykerås. The
basic idea was to create
a completely automated
machine that can process
many different types of raw
materials, and be operated
by someone who is not a
chemist.
Business concept: To
manufacture and deliver
complete solutions for
production of biodiesel
with a capacity of 2,000
to 340,000 litres per day.
It should be possible to
deliver equipment from
processing of the raw ma­
terial all the way to finished
biodiesel.
Customers: Examples
include farmers, recycling
companies, oil companies
and various types of finan­
ciers who want to produce
biodiesel.
Every step in the process:
Is carefully optimized to re­
duce the use of energy and
effect on the environment.
This guarantees not only
effective solutions, but also
an environmentally sound
production process.
Largest markets for bi-
odiesel processors: Swe­
den, Poland and Australia.
Operations: In Norrköping.
Number of employees: 35.
Awards and recognition:
Company of the Year in
Norrköping 2007, Norr­
köping’s “Rookie Company”
2007, named by Östgöta
Enskilda Bank.
Cleantech Magazine 9

Legislation as a
driving
force
Econova’s eco-cycle thinking
permeates everything they do.
Today, Econova is a successful
environmental company which
creates both socio-economic and
environmental benefits.
”An entrepreneurial spirit and
legislation have been important
driving forces for our success,”
says Håkan Larsson, managing
director at Econova.
Econova is an international company with
the Nordic countries as its domestic mar-
ket. Econova has two business areas consist-
ing of Econova Energy which operates in
the field of biofuel and landfill operations
and Econova Garden which is Scandina-
via’s leading supplier of garden products
and which also produces environmentally-
friendly soil products.
“Our two business areas are partly
10 Cleantech Magazine
seasonal and overlap each other. Energy’s
customers are large combined heat and
power producers and municipalities whilst
Garden reaches its end-consumers via cus-
tomers of DIY, grocery and garden retail
trade,” says Econova’s managing director
Håkan Larsson.
Econova’s waste recycling plant
Häradsudden, outside Norrköping is a
good example of the part Econova con-
tributes to sustainability. Material which
is conventionally seen as unusable waste is
transformed using an eco-cycle into new
raw materials. The powerful greenhouse
landfill-gases are collected for electricity
production with the help of three micro-
turbines. The three turbines generate a
combined total of 2.5 million kWh of elec-
tricity and 4 million kWh of heating per
year. This can be on a par with providing
domestic electricity for 500 detached hous-
es and district heating for 200 per year.
jeanette tretten, marketing
director, and håkan larsson,
managing director at econova.
900
600
Graph showing Econova’s turnover in relation to Swedish environmental legislation.
fast FACTS
ECONOVA
Founded: In 1959 by Bengt and
Kerstin Andersson with a view
to build forest vehicle tracks for
the forest industry with hired
machinery.
Business concept: To make
use of by-products and waste
products from industry and
society at large using a closed
eco-cycle and with utmost con­
sideration for the environment.
Vision: To be an internation­
ally successful environmental
technology company.
Environmental benefits:
Econova uses environmentally-
friendly and price-conscious
methods in harmony with
nature in order to take care of
by-products and waste prod­
ucts from saw mills, the paper
and pulp industry, sewage and
treatment works, industry and
society at large. These prod­
ucts are recycled by Econova
to create biofuel, soil fertilizer
and landfill cover material. As
a part of the local eco-cycle,
the market is confined to the
immediate surroundings to
reduce transportation.
Location: Head office is locat­
ed in Åby, outside Norrköping
(the core operations consist
of the company’s numerous
recycling plants which are
strategically located close to
the customers. Econova is also
established in Norway, Finland,
Denmark and Estonia.
MSEK
300
0
1973 1985
The environment pays off
The foundation of industrial ecology is to
turn environmental problems into business
opportunities, to have a system approach,
to utilise resources effectively and to co-
operate through the division of resources.
Econova is industrial ecology at work.
Discovering possibilities where others have
seen problems is the key to the company’s
success. Since the company’s beginnings
50 years ago, Econova’s business idea and
success factor has been to take care of the
by-products from saw mills, paper and
pulp industry and sewage treatment works.
The materials has been recycled and trans-
formed into biofuel, soil fertilizer and land-
fill cover material.
“We know that the environment pays
off,” says Håkan Larsson.
A turnover of almost a billion kronor
a year proves the thesis. Håkan Larsson
thinks that it is the politicians who have
1998 2010
forced the pace regarding the development
of recycling for example, thanks to Swedish
legislation. It is a fact that Econova’s suc-
cesses from 2000 can be largely linked to
Swedish environmental legislation.
Legislation as a driving force
Econova’s methods work all over the world
and using legislation as a driving force is
possible in all countries.
“This demands, nevertheless, political
environmental-reasoning in the long-term
and some political courage in order to im-
pose taxes and manage regulations, as for
instance, in the depositing of waste. Of
course there are many other factors which
play an important role, such as a well-func-
tioning infrastructure which provides the
possibility to collect and incinerate waste.
Sweden has a lot of knowledge to contrib-
ute in this area.”
“Legislation and alternative costing via
2009
EU directive on landfills
2005
Ban on landfill of
organic waste
2003
Landfill tax 435 SEK/ton
2002
Electricity certificate –
Green electricity
2002
Landfill tax 375 SEK/ton
2000
Ban of landfill of
incinerable waste
2000
Landfill tax 250 SEK/ton
taxes is the most important driving force
to change behaviour. Had it been permit-
ted to deposit waste without charge or de-
posit organic waste for example, then most
probably industries, municipalities and the
general public would do it and the envi-
ronmental benefits would be lost.” Håkan
Larsson adds that it is crucial that decision-
makers talk about goals to be reached rath-
er than the methods needed to reach them.
“It is important not to close the door in
the face of innovation. The perspective on
waste today counteracts the potential these
raw materials have and regulations need to
be reviewed so that we can better utilise the
planets resources,” says Håkan Larsson.
Cleantech Magazine 11
 mPDu goals
Goals:
1. Conduct product devel­
opment projects in 25 small
companies in the region.
2. 70% of the projects
should have reached a
commercial market within
three years.
3. Create lasting networks
of companies with an inter­
est in environmentally-driv­
en product development in
the region.
4. Describe good examples
of marketing of environ­
mentally-driven product
development and its eco­
nomic and business-related
Successful venture in significance for the compa­
nies’ future development.
environmentally-driven FAST FACTS 5. Further develop meth­
mPDu ods/processes for sup­

Product Purpose: To strengthen

companies’ profitability and
porting and stimulating
environmentally-driven
product development in

Development competitiveness, increase small companies.

expertise and understand­ 6. 20% of the participating
ing of the growing environ­ companies should be led by
mental requirements from women or have a woman as
In the region there are about 500 companies with some form manager of the company’s
markets and legislators on
of environmental orientation. Twenty-seven of these are in- product development.
products and services. An
volved in the MDPU project (“Environmentally-Driven Prod- 7. 10% of participating
additional purpose is to
uct Development”). The purpose is to strengthen these com- companies should be led
bring together companies
panies by means of knowledge, support and active networks. by an individual with for­
with similar interests: to
“The goal is that 70% of the products will have reached a eign background or have
Olof Hjelm, assistant pro- form a group of companies
commercial market within three years,” says Olof Hjelm, as- fessor at the Department
that will form the basis for a an individual with foreign
of Industrial Environ-
sistant professor at the Department of Industrial Environ- mental Technology at lively, professional network background as manager
mental Technology at Linköping University. Linköping University.
with a common interest of the company’s product
in environmentally-driven development.
product development.
Inspiration: Has come from
The MDPU project has many different projects that were conducted in Östergöt- external resources. But the absolute, most a previous, successfully im­ project Linköping University, the Coun- energy to run it, it still gives the same or
purposes. It will help strengthen profit- land, Fördel MPU [Advantage MPU] and important success factor according to our plemented project: Simple ty Administrative Board Östergötland, increased effect,” says Peter Lembke, man-
ability and competitiveness plus increase Simple, both of which resulted in new participating companies is the network ac- (Successful Implementa­ Almi Företagspartner AB and Cleantech ager of production and sales.
expertise and understanding for lawmakers products reaching the market and increased tivities. Support from the EU means that tion of Eco-Design in Small Östergötland [Miljöteknikcentrum] are The company already had the prod-
and the market’s growing environmental profitability for the companies. we can develop those aspects,” says Olof and Medium-sized Compa­ collaborating with one another. uct going when they entered the MDPU
requirements on products or services. It “We build networks by dividing com- Hjelm. nies) that was conducted Several of the companies that are cur- project, but the project helped them get it
should also ensure that the companies in- panies up into three groups of about ten during 2006 and 2007. rently successful cleantech companies ready sooner.
volved gain a strong, professional network small companies in each from widely sepa- Network - the greatest benefit The project was based on have their origins in MDU or in previous “In addition the project has meant
with a common interest in environmental- rated industries. Two groups have compa- In principle the MDPU project is aimed carrying out various types projects. strong marketing channels for us, even
ly-driven product development. nies that work with physical products, one at all industries. For the time being the of eco-design projects at One of the participating companies is ‘worldwide’,” Peter Lembke notes.
“We want to help individual smaller consists of service companies,” Olof Hjelm groups consist of environmental and crea- small companies in the re­ Rydell & Lembke Kyl- och Värmeteknik The greatest benefit, according to him,
companies working on products that have explains. tivity consultants, manufacturing compa- gion, financed in half within [Cooling and Heating Technology] AB. is the enormous network to which they
some type of environmental benefit or are The companies get access to expertise nies and companies trying to introduce TOWER, which in turn is Within the project they have developed a now have access.
meant to reduce environmental impact,” and other networks, while they also get the new environmental technology on the financed within EU Interreg combined refrigeration machine and heat “We’ve made direct contact with eve-
says Olof Hjelm, who is responsible for opportunity to be scrutinized in several dif- market. Our starting point is always the IIIC. There too the method­ pump, which thanks to the combination rything from other companies to govern-
the supply of environmental knowledge in ferent contexts. needs of the respective companies. ology consisted of creating has several different areas of application. ment officials to whom we’ve been able to
the project, while he also does research on “We give them knowledge about en- For the most part this is about the networks for exchange of The method is based on Freon encapsu- introduce our product. And this also ap-
the project’s methods with the purpose of vironmentally-driven product and service Triple Helix in its proper element, i.e. experiences and develop­ lated in small, sealed systems. plies internationally. The Swedish Export
investigating how environmentally-driven development. We create seminars based on collaboration between research, policy- ment, plus support of spe­ “The percentage of Freon is so small Council has started to visit us with inter-
company development can be stimulated. the participants’ needs and we give them makers and the business community in cific development projects. that it doesn’t need to be reported for com- national delegations that want to find out
The method is based on two successful help in analyzing the product by means of one or more specific areas. In the MDPU panies that buy it, besides reducing the about our product.”

12 Cleantech Magazine Cleantech Magazine 13

 supplied as district heating through a con-
nected network of about 350 kilometres.
Residual products become
biogas and bio-manure
Agroetanol’s residual products — grain
remnants and draff water — get new life as
raw materials. The grain remnants are rich
in protein and become raw material for fod-
der, thereby reducing Sweden’s need for im-
ported soy meal from Brazil and elsewhere.
Svensk Biogas, a subsidiary of Tekni-
ska Verken that has also established itself at
Händelö, takes care of the draff water. It is
used to produce biogas for vehicles to sup-
fast FACTS
Lantmännen Energi
Founded: Lantmännen,
which is one of the Nordic
region’s largest groups in
ply the local biogas market in Norrköping.
In addition bio-manure meeting special re-
quirements is produced which returns nutri-
ents to local agriculture – which in turn pro-
duces more grain. The Svensk Biogas facility
is the first greengas facility in Sweden and is
a part of the climate investment programme
of Norrköping (KLIMP) 2004-2008.
Applicable at
several locations
Various companies collaborate within a com-
plex in an open, business-related way and
function as eco-cycle engines in the region.
“A complex can be developed based on
commercial conditions, assuming that the
companies let their business models be linked
together within the industrial processes.”
An efficient energy complex also at-
tracts more innovative companies, which
in turn means a more expert workforce,
which drives development for everyone in

world’s grocery, energy and agricul­

ture. The corporate group,
owned by about 40,000
the cluster,” says Henrik Johansson, re-
gional head of E.ON Värme Sverige.
“The cluster can certainly be applied in a

most efficient
farmers, is active in over 20
countries with sales of SEK
42.9 billion. The group is
about five years old and is
number of other places in the world, where
several of the companies at Händelö can be
advisory, production and operational part-
ners in new facilities,” says Henrik Johansson.

energy complex
One of the world’s most efficient
energy complexes is at Hän-
delö in Norrköping. Lantmännen
Agroetanol, Svensk Biogas and
E.ON have created a complex
that produces climate-friendly
ethanol with efficient technology,
making use of grain ethanol’s pro-
tein-rich by-products. “Through
collaboration the energy complex
is achieving a higher exchange
of energy and greater climate
benefit than what each operation
could achieve on its own,” says
Henrik Johansson, regional direc-
tor at E.ON Värme Sverige.
The energy complex at Händelö in Norr­
köping is a good example of the munici-
pality of Norrköping’s investment in “the
sustainable state.” Here is a cluster of envi-
ronmental technology companies that have
found synergy effects where by-products
from one process become raw material for
another. The complex has developed based
on commercial conditions.
“The complex has not been affected
by any company, organisation, govern-
ment or subsidy. It is grown on its own by
means of business opportunities that have
been successively realized,” says Henrik
Johansson, E.ON.
“Research into complexes shows that
openness and communication between
companies is the most decisive factor in
bringing them about. It works that way
here too. We sit down together and have
discussions and make decisions about
business opportunities, without stepping
into each other’s areas,” Henrik Johans-
son explains.
Combined heat and
power plant is the hub
E.ON’s combined heat and power plant
functions as a hub for the complex. The
combined heat and power plant is one of
Sweden’s largest biofuel-fired heat and
power plants, and makes use of renewable
biofuels and waste to produce electricity,
district heating and process steam. The
electricity that is produced replaces elec-
tricity produced at coal-fired power plants,
which means that the investment reduces
carbon dioxide emissions globally.
The process steam is sent on to neigh-
bouring Lantmännen Agroetanol. There, fuel
ethanol is produced from high-starch grain,
which is then used for low-mixture (5%) of
95-octane gasoline. The ethanol plant is one
of the most modern and climate-efficient in
the world. The environmental performance
is excellent besides. The majority of the grain
raw material can be put to use. Five times
more energy emerges – ethanol, protein fod-
der, biogas and district heating – than is put
into the production chain.
“The ethanol is world-class. We can
document major reductions of greenhouse
gases, thanks to the fact that we’re using
process steam from E.ON’s combined heat
and power plant,” says Erik Herland, busi-
ness policy director at Lantmännen. The
establishment of the ethanol plant is based
on good logistical advantages.
“E.ON’s combined heat and power
plant combined with the proximity of
the harbour was decisive for us,” explains
Erik Herland.
The waste heat, in this case hot water,
can go back to the Händelö plant and on
to Norrköping residents as district heat-
ing. The Händelö plant also takes in waste
from Norrköping residents, which is also
fast FACTS
E.on
Founded: In 2000, after merg­
er between industrial compa­
nies VEBA and VIAG. E.ON.
Sydkraft became E.ON Sverige
on 16 September 2005.
Main office: In Düsseldorf,
Germany.
Number of employees:
90,000 of which 6,000 are
in Sweden.
Corporate group: The world’s
largest private energy com­
pany, with establishments
in Europe, USA and Russia.
The company is listed on the
Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Händelö Combined Heat
and Power Plant: One of
Sweden’s largest biofuel-fired
combined heat and power
plants. Has produced electric­
ity and heat since the 1980s.
The Händelö plant supplies
E.ON’s customers in Nor­
rköping with environmen­
tally sound district heating
through a connected network
of about 350 kilometres.
based on a number of agri­
cultural associations.
Is: One of Sweden’s leading
energy companies and has
a key role in the transforma­
tion to renewable energy.
Number of employees: About
360 employees within Lan­
tmännen Energi. A total of
12,000 employees in the group.
Business concept: Products
and services should be de­
veloped with concern about
people, the environment and
machinery.
Mission: To contribute to
profitability for the members’
farms and maximize returns on
their capital in the association.
Operations: Ethanol, biodie­
sel, district heating, heat­
ing pellets, salix, lubricants,
alkylate gasoline, and gas
and credit cards are the pri­
mary businesses.
Brands: Apen (develops,
markets and sells alkylate
gasoline, primarily used in
small engines in lawnmow­
ers, chain saws, scooters and
boats) and Agrol (environ­
mentally adapted lubricant
which is the market leader in
Swedish agriculture).
fast FACTS
Svensk Biogas AB
Founded: In 1996, as
Linköping Biogas AB, by Te­
kniska Verken in Linköping,
Swedish Meats and LRF.
In 2003 Svensk Biogas i
Linköping AB was formed.
Production facilities: In
Linköping, Norrköping and
Katrineholm.
Number of employees: 20.
Business concept: Through
committed and knowledge­
able personnel and with a re­
gional base, offer vehicle fuel
with the best environmental
performance with good ac­
cessibility and quality and
offer in-demand bio-manure.
Mission: Advance market
development of biogas for
vehicles. This means through
a regional market in Sweden
establishing public fuelling
stations, as well as offering
internationally marketable
process development for bi­
ogas with incoming raw ma­
terials in the form of waste
and vegetable matter.

14 Cleantech Magazine 15
 THE energy
complex
e.on

at Händelö
lantmännen
6. Green public transporta­
agroetanol
tion. Most buses operating M
in the city of Norrköping are STEA
fuelled by biogas. The trams
are also operated on renew­
able fuel, because they run 2. E.ON’s district heating plant is the

ELECTRICITY
on green electricity. Even energy motor and in the facility the
the waste collection vehicles household waste is pulverized before
run on biogas. They collect incineration. During incineration water
the household waste that is heated and turns to steam, with

HEAT
is driven to E.ON’s facility high pressure. The steam is conduct­
on Händelö, etc. See square ed through a turbine that generates
one; the circle is closed. electricity, which is distributed on the
electricity network. After the turbine
a portion of the steam, now at lower
pressure, is conducted to Lantmän­
ER nen Agroetanol to provide energy for

BI
D

O
their plant.
OD

G
4. A grain mixture of wheat, F

A
S
rye and barley is used as

WASTE
DRAFF

ETHANOL
raw material in ethanol
3. Lantmännen Agroetanol
production. This is trans­
has a contract with E.ON’s
ported from the growers
Händelö plant for the sup­
to the Ethanol factory by
ply of energy (steam) based
lorry and emptied into a svensk on biofuel. The steam is
reception cavity. The grain biogas required for the production
is then transported by
of ethanol. The new fac­
conveyer for cleaning and
tory, opened in the spring
intermediate storage.
of 2009, produces about
AIN 200,000 cubic metres of
GR ethanol per year.

NTS
PLA
URE
MAN
BIOGAS CNG

5. Svensk Biogas uses by-products from the ethanol fac­

1. When households in Norrköping have sorted their
tory and agricultural crops for biogas production. The raw
household waste, biogas-driven waste collection vehi­
materials are mixed and pumped into the composting
cles come and collect the waste for E.ON’s facility on
chamber, where the organic material breaks down, form­
Händelö. Norrköping gets electricity and heat from the
ing biogas and bio-manure. The biogas is refined into gas
steam produced through incineration.
for vehicles and the bio-manure is reused in agriculture.

BIOGAS IN BRIEF THE ENERGY COMPLEX AT HÄNDELÖ

Biogas has more advantages than reducing demands
on our climate. Using a locally produced fuel such as
biogas reduces dependence on oil, and employment
in Sweden increases. The use of biogas is increas-
ing every year. Private individuals as well as public
agencies, municipalities and companies are seeing
the advantages and using biogas-fuelled vehicles. In
2008, 13 times more biogas was sold in Norrköping
compared with four years previously.
The energy complex is part of a greater eco-industrial cluster in the
region, which collaborates to minimize resource use and environmental
effects. The cluster consists of several parts, with the energy complex
as the motor. Other clusters include recycling (PET and aluminium cans,
rubber tyres, paper), clusters of paper factories for recycled paper, and
a recycling industry that makes fuel and soil improvement from the
factory’s residue. The companies involved have turned environmental
problems into business opportunities, as they have opened system
boundaries to find opportunities for business-driven resource sharing.

16 Cleantech Magazine Cleantech Magazine 17

 Discovering something that no one thought petra hammarstedt,
was possible is a fantasy for just about eve- successful entrepreneur.
ryone, but a reality for Petra Hammarstedt.
Let’s first rewind back to 1998. The
company where Petra was then employed
was involved in graffiti removal, and Petra
and her husband ran the company’s opera-
tion in Linköping. Then they encountered
deionised water and saw its potential.
“We discovered that the oxidization
disappeared when the water was left on
sheet metal for a long enough time. We
thought about whether this could be devel-
oped. We aren’t chemists, but we started
experimenting with various filters. Before
that, distilled water was the zero point; we
wanted to make it even purer...”
They succeeded. Suddenly they had

FAST FACTS
SERVICESTADEN
Founded: 2002
Business Concept: Sale of
services and products for
commercial property com­
panies, property managers,
energy companies and in­
dustries related to environ­
mentally sound cleaning
based on ultraclean water.
Works specifically with:
chemical-free cleaning of
exteriors, exterior washing, produced water that was 20 times purer crete cavities under the transformers at the
control rooms, tunnels and than distilled water. This ultraclean water control rooms so that oil didn’t leak out,”
industries. also had qualities that meant that it could Petra explains.
Active: All over Sweden, dissolve oil and oxidise on sheet metal Today Servicestaden’s knowledge base
with a base in Linköping. without using heat, high-pressure wash or is continually strengthened by means of
Operations: In addition chemicals. research from Linköping University. A suc-
to product development, Progress was a fact. cessful application created together with re-

magic
Winner of the Svenska Kraftnät
Environmental Prize, then Company of
the Year in Östergötland. Servicestaden is
finding success with its ultraclean water.
And the journey has only just begun.
includes two primary areas
– Qlean Surface and Qlean
Construction. The Qlean
method was developed to
become the most gentle,
environmentally sound and
economic cleaning solution
on the market.
Awards: Company of the
Year in Östergötland 2009,
Company of the Year in
Linköping 2009, Svenska
Kraftnät Environmental
Prize 2009.
Vision: That Qlean Surface
shall be one of the alterna­
tives for cleaning of old
building exteriors in all of
Europe, as this method –
according to Servicestaden
– is optimal with regard to
both gentleness and envi­
ronmental soundness.
In 2002 Petra and her husband found-
ed Servicestaden AB.
“We realized that this was a business
opportunity. Environmental issues were
becoming more and more important, so we
tested our wings,” Petra says.
In the beginning this innovation was met
with scepticism, above all from chemists.
It wasn’t until Bo Svensson, researcher
at Linköping University, developed a theo-
retical explanation for why the process
worked that the doubters were silenced.
Several Areas of Application
The rings on the water spread. For one
thing, the energy company Fortum in
Värmland had heard about Servicestaden.
Underneath the control rooms at their
power plants was concrete with cavities that
could take in oil if anything went wrong.
Together with Fortum, Qlean Construc-
tion was developed.
“We could both clean and seal the con-
searcher Erik Sundin meant that Mistra and
SSF (Foundation for Strategic Research)
contributed SEK 3.2 million to a ProEnviro
project (as support to develop the method
for application in machinery part washing in
the manufacturing industry).
“The researchers’ task is to understand
how great the environmental benefits can
be, how ultraclean water can be used in
various processes. The use of researchers is
a good way to get impartial input. They do
research and want to obtain results, regard-
less of whether this benefits us or not.”
Flextronics has also discovered ultra-
clean water in the cleaning of circuit boards
and yet another market has opened up.
“There is an enormous potential
around ultraclean water,” Petra Ham-
marstedt thinks.
The woman who discovered something
that no one thought was possible.
And the doubters have now fallen si-
lent for good.

18 Cleantech Magazine Cleantech Magazine 19


Baas evolves
Leo Baas is an expert on indus-
trial ecology. In May he started
working as a professor in Indus-
trial Environmental Technology at
Linköping University, a position fi-
nanced by the company Tekniska
Verken in Linköping. “It’s impor-
tant to become acquainted with
the university’s research in these
areas,” says Stefan Jakobsson,
head of business development at
Tekniska Verken.
Leo Baas has previously done research on
“Eco-Industrial Parks in the Netherlands,
the Rotterdam Harbour and Industry
Complex” and its symbioses and synergies.
That expertise is incredibly important to
Tekniska Verken.
“We have developed a research pro-
gramme together with Tekniska Verken,
divided into three parts: Industrial Ecology
– Regional Industrial Symbiosis, Renewal
Resources in Industrial Symbiosis, Indus-
trial Symbiosis in Large Technical Systems.
This is a special assignment. I have previ-
ously worked with companies, but always
in larger contexts. This is a direct approach
from two different organisations that cre-
ate synergies together,” says Leo Baas, who
is surprised by how much is happening in
the region.
“Östergötland was a surprise for me. I
was informed about what was happening in
the region. But I did not know that there
was so much going on here. Östergötland is
not that well known internationally – yet.”
Research at an
international top level
Leo Baas is now at the Department of In-
dustrial Environmental Technology, at the
Institution for Economic and Industrial
Development at Linköping University.
The department is internationally recog-
nized and focuses on turning environmen-
tal challenges into opportunities.
20 Cleantech Magazine
Mats Eklund, professor in Industrial
Environmental Technology at Linköping
University, thinks that the joint investment
in a professorship makes it possible to elevate
the research to an international top level.
“The direction of the professorship on
industrial ecology is about developing indus-
try’s environmental performance through
smart system solutions, and industrial appli-
cations suit both Linköping University and
Tekniska Verken particularly well.”
Stefan Jakobsson, head of business de-
velopment at Tekniska Verken, sees major
benefits in the investment.
“Half of the money goes to doctoral
candidates, thesis projects and various re-
search projects. In this way we’re also mar-
keting ourselves to students and building
up a network to attract qualified employ-
ees. The rest of the money goes to finance
Leo Baas.”
“He is leading us into industrial ecol-
ogy. For us it is tremendously valuable
to be able to combine our practical work
history the biogas
project in Linköping
In 1992 a pilot project started in
Linköping where converted biogas
busses were put into service.
In 1995 the Municipality of
Linköping decided to invest in
biogas. Linköping Biogas AB
was started in collaboration with
companies from several industries:
Tekniska Verken (municipally-
owned energy company) and
Scan (grocery company and pack­
ing plant).
In 1996 production began on a
farm outside Linköping. Through
extensive development work and
close cooperation with the univer­
sity and government authorities,
production quickly increased.
In 1999 Linköping’s biogas fleet
was the largest in the world.
In 2003/2004 Linköping Biogas
AB was re-formed into Svensk Bi­
ogas AB, a wholly-owned subsidi­
ary of Tekniska Verken.
In 2006 Svensk Biogas inau­
gurated its facility at Händelö
outside Norrköping, which instead
of packing plant waste, focuses on
vegetable raw materials.
Currently there are about 1,000
biogas-fuelled vehicles and one
biogas-fuelled train in the region.
Vehicle gas is produced in both
Linköping and Norrköping.
In a short time biogas has become
an important alternative to diesel
and petrol in the entire region.
The unique expertise that exists
within the biogas area has also
meant that several companies
have been formed with a focus on
the export market. Scandinavian
Biogas AB is an expansive compa­
ny with a focus on the international
market. The company has its ori­
gins in the collaboration between
Linköping University and Tekniska
Verken. The Ulsan sewage treat­
ment plant in South Korea is one
of the facilities that has signed a
contract with the company.
with Leo Baas’s knowledge,” Stefan Ja-
kobsson continues.
Interesting investment
in biogas
Linköping was one of the first municipali-
ties in the country to invest in biogas. Te-
kniska Verken started its biogas project in
the mid-1990s, with strong support from
the municipality of Linköping, which also
made sure to create business opportunities
within this area.
“The biogas application is rather unique.
It’s a nice concept. In the Netherlands you
are captured in fossil fuel because of govern-
ment decisions about the natural gas system.”
How much political decisions affect
development of biogas is one of the areas
touched on by Leo Baas’s research.
“That’s the interesting part. It’s a part
of my research during my stay here.”
Waste heat for greenhouses
Another partial project is to investigate the
Left: Stefan jakobsson,
head of business develop-
ment at Tekniska verken.
right: leo baas, expert on
industrial environmental
technology at linköping
university.
FAST FACTS
tekniska verken
Number of employees: 984.
Production: Electricity and dis­
trict heating in Linköping and
Katrineholm. District heating in
Borensberg, Skärblacka, Åtvi­
daberg and Kisa. Electricity in
38 water-power stations in the
Twin Cities of Sweden, Söder­
manland and north Småland.
District cooling in Linköping.
Water production in Linköping.
Biogas production in Linköping
and Norrköping.
Subsidiaries: Svensk Biogas
AB, Stadspartner AB, Utsikt Nät
AB, Bixia AB and Usitall AB.
Agreement: Tekniska Verken
and Linköping University have
a ten-year agreement, worth
SEK 30 million. 50% is to cover
a professorship in industrial
ecology, 50% to cover costs
of research projects, adminis­
tered by the industrial ecology
research council.
FAST FACTS
possibilities of using waste heat and carbon Swedish Biogas
dioxide to heat greenhouses. International AB
“In Rotterdam we have a lot of cases
Founded: In 2006 with the
where we turn waste energy into heating
systems for greenhouses. It started with a purpose of exporting the ex­
tensive process knowledge
company that needed something that the
that has been developed in
other company was wasting, and the ques-
Linköping on a national and
tion was — was it possible to close the
international market.
system? An idea developed, and soon the
Operations: With an office in
greenhouses were reality. In Rotterdam
Linköping.
they are filled with king-sized shrimps,”
Number of employees: 20.
says Leo Baas.
Business concept: To own,
“In Linköping this may be about a sim-
operate and streamline bi­
ilar concept, or possibly traditional vegeta-
ogas installations for a broad
ble production. We are looking at various variety of substrates.
alternatives.” Stefan Jakobsson adds.
Goal: To maintain and deepen
“We have sufficient waste heat and car- the expertise in Linköping
bon dioxide needed to find an interesting while new installations for bi­
system solution for this.” ogas are being set up around
“It’s exciting to combine our concrete
the world. In addition the
thinking with Leo Baas’s research on enor- company shall contribute to a
mous greenhouses,” says Stefan Jakobsson. sustainable society, both eco­
“This is a perfect example of knowledge logically and economically.
exchange,” Leo Baas concludes.
Cleantech Magazine 21
 farmer gunnar johansson
is looking forward to
contributing to a
cleaner environment.
THE QUOTE

“Since April of this year oil

consumption at Braviken
has been reduced by 80%.

From cow to
That is a result of environ-
mental thinking and profit-

CAR
able investments.”
the climate
comission
The municipality of Norrköping has in-
Hulterstad and Bleckenstad outside Mjölby are two large dairy vited larger companies in the municipality
farms, which together with Mjölby-Svartådalen Energi AB (MSE) to produce a common energy plan. The
have formed a company to start the production of biogas. “Mjöl- idea is that the companies will function as
by residents can soon fill up with gas from their local farmers,” a reference group and be further integrated
says Jonny Cammerfjord, marketing manager at MSE. into the energy process. One of the partici-
pating companies is Holmen, the Braviken
paper mill.
“It’s a good thing that the municipal-
In 2008 the County Administrative Board by Svartådalen Energi (MSE), a local en- ity is getting involved. Everyone needs to
of Östergötland presented a study. This ergy company that produces district heat- help in these issues,” says Rikard Wallin,
study showed that there was great potential ing for private customers and companies in mill manager at Braviken Paper Mill and
for agriculture in the Twin Cities of Swe- Mjölby and surrounding towns. a participant in the Climate Commission.
den as far as manure that could be exploit- The district heating produced from Braviken is one of Holmen Paper’s
ed for production of biogas was concerned. biofuel and electrical energy for the lo- three paper mills, which are on the front
Swedish Biogas International (SBI) was cal market is supplemented, for the most line of mechanical pulp production.
given the task of investigating the possibili- part with energy from water power sta- The new TMP (Thermo-Mechanical
ties of producing biogas on large dairy farms: tions. Taking the step towards producing Pulp) line was inaugurated in December
Hulterstad and Bleckenstad. The project vehicle gas was a decision by the Board of 2008. It combines spearhead technology,
was given the name “The Biogas Ring.” Directors that was completely in line with internationally significant research, energy
“Our mission was to look at the pre- the goal of MSE. Their vision is to create savings in the millions and higher capac-
requisites for combining the farms. We a long-term sustainable energy supply and ity, with the possibility of developing Bra-
investigated the quantity of manure and provide infrastructure that creates condi- viken’s products.
the possibility of building up a gas network tions for growth. great thing is that the important plant nu- “We have the world’s first research
that connected the farms with Mjölby,” “Initially the farmers were interested in trients still remain, which we can then use facility for mechanical pulp production,”
SBI’s CEO Peter Undén relates. producing power for their farms, but soon in crop cultivation.” says Rikard Wallin.
“Producing biogas from the farms’ realized that there was a great environmen- In one small, geographically limited Three doctoral students are working
manure and other residual products is eco- tal benefit in vehicle gas and more money area, all the parts needed to produce vehicle for a two-year period with the purpose of
nomically interesting and an important ef- to earn,” says Jonny Cammerfjord. gas can be found. making pulp production energy-efficient
fort for the climate and the environment,” “Here are cows, the gas station and the while at the same time the pulp will be of
Peter Undén thinks. New Market for Agriculture end users. We’re eager to contribute our better quality.
The facility will be able to produce Bleckenstad Farm outside Mjölby is one part for a better environment,” says Gun- “We have invested a total of half a bil-
600,000 cubic metres of biogas per year. of the two farms where vehicle gas will nar Johansson. lion SEK in the project. We are increasing
That’s enough to run 500 cars all year be produced from methane gas. The farm He concludes: “The plan is to have the the quality of our products at the same time
round. operates organic and certified milk produc- project ready in the autumn of 2010.” as we want to contribute to a long-term,
“Going directly from the farm to an tion and is run by three brothers. Gunnar sustainable development with reduced en-
upgrade facility and on to a gas station Johansson is one of them. Footnote: The definition of “biogas ring”: a ergy use,” says Rikard Wallin.
without transport or intermediaries is “We’ve been looking at new solutions project where agribusiness, municipality, uni- He goes on to say, “Since April of
unique. Soon we’ll have a gas station where for several years. Producing biogas is an ex- versity, energy company and region jointly in- this year oil consumption at Braviken has
Mjölby residents can fill up their vehicles cellent way for us farmers to reach a new vestigate the possibilities of expanded produc- been reduced by 80%. That is a result of
from locally produced biogas” says Jonny market. Manure contains plant residues tion and distribution of biogas – primarily environmental thinking and profitable
Cammerfjord, marketing manager at Mjöl- that can become climate-smart energy. The from manure. investments.”

22 Cleantech Magazine
 Returpack used to send its
Katarina Lundell, director PET bottles on to Germany for
of marketing at Returpack.
recycling. Now they send them
next door on a forklift truck to
Cleanaway. This means that
there is now a unique, closed
eco-cycle system for PET bottles
at Händelö in Norrköping. “This
is good, both for the economy
and for the environment,” says
Katarina Lundell, director of
marketing at Returpack.
Returpack in Norrköping is responsible for
the Swedish bottle and can deposit system.
The company has been here since 2003.
Previously all handling took place on-site
at the breweries.
“We wanted to have the benefits of coor-
dination by having everything in one place.
In logistical terms Norrköping was a good
alternative, but also because the Municipality
of Norrköping was so active,” says Katarina
Lundell, director of marketing at Returpack.
About 20,000 tons of PET bottles are
sent to Returpack every year.
“We used to send the PET bottles to
Germany. Now we take the forklift truck
next door and in that way avoid transporta-
tion costs,” Katarina Lundell explains.
The set-up is based on an agreement
between Cleanaway and Returpack.
“If the volume became large enough,
we wanted to establish ourselves in connec-
tion with Returpack,” explains Thomas Ot-
tosson, site manager at Cleanaway.
Because Swedes are good at bottle
deposits (88% of all aluminium cans and
PET bottles end up at Returpack), the vol-
ume soon became large enough for the in-
vestment to be profitable.
In 2006 Cleanaway’s factory was ready,
wall to wall with Returpack.
“It’s amazingly smooth. Returpack col-
lects the bottles then we take over,” says
Thomas Ottosson.
To start with, Cleanaway handled the
first step in the process of the cleaning and
recycling of PET bottles.
“We ground down the bottles to
Passion for
‘washed flakes’. Those can be used to man-
ufacture new plastic, but not for new PET
bottles. This means that we have to send
PET
them on to Germany for the next process,”
says Thomas Ottosson.
Closed eco-cycle system
The intent has always been to be able to
carry out the process in Norrköping, some-
thing that became a reality in March 2009.
This means that the entire process of recy-
cling of PET bottles forms a unique closed
eco-cycle system out on Händelö.
24 Cleantech Magazine
fast FACTS
cleanaway
Founded: In 2006.
Number of employees: 32.
Based: At Händelö in Norr­
köping.
Odds & ends: Cleanaway is
owned by the German par­
ent company Cleanaway Pet
International, which in turn is
part of the Veolia group.
Handling: Cleanaway re­
ceives about 8 tons of PET
bottles daily and handles
27,000 tons of PET bot­
tles annually. Of this 20,000
tons come directly from
Returpack, while the remain­
ing share is brought in from
Norway and Finland.
Business concept: Through
efficient recycling of PET to
be part of an eco-cycle at
its best.
About 75% of the PET material Clean-
away produces can be used for production
of new PET bottles. The remaining material
is used for production of other plastic prod-
ucts, for example fleece tops and car mats.
The waste that is left over, about 11-12%
of the material, becomes combustible mate-
rial and is sent straight to E.ON’s Händelö
boiler to be turned into district heating.
“Everything can be sold. But it’s neces-
Thomas Ottosson, site
manager at Cleanaway
fast FACTS
returpack
Founded: In 1984, under the
company name Returpack
Burk. Two years earlier the
Swedish government initi­
ated a deposit system for
aluminium cans.
Number of employees: 49.
Business concept: Manage
the Swedish deposit system
for aluminium cans and PET
bottles, ensuring that every
deposited can and bottle in
time becomes a new one.
Deposit system: Has be­
come a model for other
countries, considering that
Swedes are among the best
in the world at paying de­
posits.
Location: With a factory
on Händelö in Norrköping,
which has been here since
October 2003. The factory
is the largest in Europe of its
type. Since 2005 the head
office has been located in
Norrköping.
Handling: Returpack re­
ceives about 3.6 million cans
and bottles daily. Annually
about 1.4 billion containers
are handled.
sary for us to have a product that is both
less expensive and better for the environ-
ment for customers to choose to buy a recy-
cled material,” says Thomas Ottosson.
Cleanaway is now venturing into the
rest of the Nordic market.
“PET bottles are being bought up in
both Norway and Finland. There is great
potential in this product,” Thomas Ottos-
son concludes.
Cleantech Magazine 25
THE QUOTE ”It’s nice to know
we are contributing
to a cleaner world”
Climate smart
taxi
Just over a year ago, Norrköping received
a welcome addition to traffic in its streets
– Taxi Klimatsmart - with only hybrid cars
in its fleet. The minimal amount of green-
house gases that are released are compen-
sated for through carbon offsetting making
each taxi trip carbon neutral. Tobias Bru-
din and his two colleagues are behind this
venture.
“We were inspired by a company in
London called Green Tomato which uses
hybrid electric vehicles. There weren’t any
environmentally-friendly taxi options in
Norrköping so we saw the business op-
portunity here,” says Tobias. Taxi Klimats-
mart wants to develop further by driving
cars that don’t impact the environment
and at the same time contribute to a better
inner-city environment. For now, between
10% and 20% of taxi customers choose
Taxi Klimatsmart thanks to the environ-
mental aspect. Good customer service and
marketing are two other reasons.
“It feels good to realise our dream of
running a company as well as contributing
to a cleaner planet,” adds Tobias Brudin.
sun shines on
siemens
Government subsidies are necessary to get the solar en-
ergy market started. Siemens knows that, having delivered
about 40 solar-powered steam turbines when the Spanish
government introduced subsidies. “I’m surprised that more
governments aren’t thinking the same way,” says Lars-Göran
Sjöberg, vice president at Siemens.
What began as a single project in the USA was
developed into a major international seller.
“We executed a project in the USA
that concerned solar energy, because we
had an appropriate type of turbine,” says
Lars-Göran Sjöberg.
He was sceptical about a continuation,
considering that a completed solar installa-
tion costs about EUR 300 million.
“What we didn’t realize was that there
are government subsidies...”
Then it “happened.” The government
of Spain made the decision to introduce
subsidies for wind power and solar energy.
“A number of companies saw the po-
tential in our product. Because we already
had a turbine that was suitable plus a refer-
ence from the US project, in principle we
became the ‘purveyor to the court’,” says
Lars-Göran Sjöberg.
In the summer of 2008 the first solar
energy turbine was put into operation in
Spain, and a total of about 40 turbines have
been sent to that country.
“Every solar turbine produces
50,000 kWh and supplies about 50,000
to 100,000 households, depending on
weather and energy demands. In Spain
this entails a reduction of 15,000 tons of
carbon dioxide compared with a tradi-
tional Spanish power plant.
USA - a potential market
The market is where the sun is. Lars-Göran
Sjöberg mentions North Africa, the Middle
East, India, China and the western United
States as possible markets. In Europe there
is the possibility of using solar energy all
the way up to Germany.”
“Government subsidies are necessary to
get the market started. With the electricity
prices that exist all over the world, it’s dif-
ficult to get anyone to get involved in this on
a commercial basis. Private investors are not
jumping onto projects without government
subsidies,” says Lars-Göran Sjöberg.
The next step for Siemens is the USA.
Negotiations are in progress.
“Solar power has been interesting to
them since the 1980s. There is a lot planned
in various types of stimulus packages. Eve-
rything is a question of money. The banks
want a government guarantee to invest in
solar turbines.”
Great future potential
The possibilities of solar energy are enor-
mous and this source of energy is inex-
haustible in principle. Solar energy is free.
If we have solar installations that covered
approximately 300 by 300 kilometres of
the surface of the Sahara, the world de-
mand for energy would be met. The tech-
nology for solar power plants is in the cra-
dle of its development. Siemens will refine
its turbines to meet the solar power plants
of the future.
“We got a natural head start when we
had an already functioning product when
the market was new. Now we have to see
to it to retain that head start,” Lars-Göran
Sjöberg concludes.
fast FACTS
Siemens Industrial
Turbomachinery
Founded: In 1847 by Werner
Siemens and George Halske.
There were ten employees
the first year, housed in a little
farmhouse in Berlin.
Number of employees: About
400,000 people, of which
2,300 are based in Finspång.
Head office: Germany.
Active in Sweden: Within the
areas of industrial automa­
tion, construction automation,
security systems, medical
technology, energy technol­
ogy, traffic technology, IT and
communications, light sources
and household appliances.
Steam turbines: Siemens is
the market leader in steam
turbines for solar power
plants. About 10% of sales
are invested in research and
development. In Sweden some
of the money goes to contin­
ued research on steam-driven
solar turbines. Siemens has
produced steam turbines in
Finspång since 1913. At the
present time Siemens has sold
about 40 turbines, primarily to
Spain, but also to Algeria and
Egypt. The solar turbines are
effective because they make
use of all solar energy, from
early morning to late evening.
In early 2009 Siemens re­
ceived an order from the USA
on what is going to be the
world’s largest completely
solar-powered steam turbine.
A total of 35,000 American
households can be supplied
with pure solar energy from
the solar power plant. The
purchaser is Bright Source En­
ergy, an American developer
of solar power plants.
Cleantech Magazine 27
 Charlotte Uhrbom,
quality and
environmental
technician.
HTC has started an environmen-
tally sound cleaning revolution. By
using the hardest material there is
– diamonds – with a technique as
simple as it is ingenious, all types
of hard floors can be cleaned,
completely without chemicals.
HTC Superfloor and Twister are inven-
tions that are changing habits in highly pol-
ished concrete and chemical-free cleaning,
Brilliant
and are challenging the entire floor indus-
try. Now HTC Academy is training stra-
tegic partners, such as flooring companies,
DIAMONDS
who can market these products and show
that HTC’s machines and methods are the
best alternative, both for the environment
and from an economic standpoint. In Swe-
den alone, Twister could replace tens of
millions of litres of chemicals per year.
Major commercial interests in the
chemical industry are keeping a close watch
on HTC.
“We have to see this as acknowledg-
ment that we have a successful product.
We’re a commercial threat,” says Mats
Tikkanen, marketing director at HTC.
To discourage imitation, HTC has
taken out over 350 patents on its products.
An attorney works full-time formulating
patents and pursuing copies.
“On one occasion a company was pro-
moting our concept at one of the largest
flooring trade shows in Amsterdam. We
sent an attorney there and they had to take
down almost everything they had in their
booth,” Mats Tikkanen says.
Patents also require proper wording.
The chemical industry takes a close look at
every formulation, but at the same time it is
important for HTC to express itself prop-
erly so as not to restrict itself.
demonstrating the floor
“If we don’t use the right wording, it
cleaning system. may mean that we can’t develop our own
product. Patents require time and money,”
28 Cleantech Magazine
FAST FACTS
HTC
Founded: 1987 by
Håkan Thysell
Owned by: Håkan and Gunn
Thysell plus by an additional
three partners (in a venture
capital company)
Business concept: HTC’s
business concept is to de­
velop, manufacture and sell
professional floor solutions
that take economy, ergonom­
ics and ecology into account.
Number of employees: 105.
Location: Main office in
Sweden (Söderköping)
with branch offices in the
USA, Germany, England and
France.
Export: 85% of HTC’s
products are exported. The
world market is approached
directly through distributors.
Collaboration: With
Linköping University in the
form of various degree
projects.
Mats Tikkanen,
marketing director.
says Charlotte Uhrbom, who is a quality
and environmental technician.
You always want to be ahead of your
customers and introduce new solutions be-
fore they ask for them.
“We don’t develop with our custom-
ers. We let others follow us. We can’t be
controlled too much by the customers’
needs,” says Charlotte Uhrbom.
The environment is an
important argument
The first floor grinder was built in 1992.
The initial goal was to build a better floor
grinder than what was on the market and
sell machines by the tens. Now they know
that the demand has resulted in sales of
10,000 machines – so far.
With its diamond cleaning, HTC has
opened up a completely new segment in the
cleaning industry. Without putting wear
on the floor, the machine grinds away dirt.
Millions of microscopic diamonds, placed
on each cleaning disc, scrub and polish the
floor mechanically without chemicals. The
results are so sustainable that floor polish
and period maintenance are not required.
With this technique, it is only necessary to
replace the water.
The scrubbing discs are adapted so they
can be placed on all conventional cleaning
machines.
“This is the only completely envi-
ronmentally sound alternative to regular,
chemical-based cleaning methods,” says
Charlotte Uhrbom.
In Sweden alone, Twister could re-
place millions of litres of chemicals,
which would otherwise be released into
sewers every year.
“The environmental issue is an impor-
tant argument that we are pushing hard.
We are also getting this as a requirement
from the construction industry,” says
Charlotte Uhrbom.
Cleantech Magazine 29
THE QUOTE

future
environmental
scientist
She already has several job offers, but chose
to stay within the confines of the univer-
sity for another two years to complete her
master’s degree with a focus on sustainable
development. Natasja Sondered is a future
environmental scientist in the Environmen-
tal Science Programme, an interdisciplinary
course of study at Linköping University.
“The environment knows no bounda-
ries and is constantly changing. Therefore Experience world
we need knowledge from several seg-
ments in order to understand complex class industrial
environmental problems. Included in the
programme are practical laboratory experi-
ecology at work
ments, social science, human science issues,
technology and policy, and we are learning If you want to experience world ergy saving technology that is
to place them in a meaningful whole,” Na- class industrial ecology at work, crucial in reducing environmental
tasja Sondered explains. the Twin Cities of Sweden is the impact.
The environmental scientists are ready place to visit. In both energy and For more information, please

“This region is a
to meet the environmental problems of the transportation this region took its contact us for technical visits and
future. Regardless of whether it is within first steps towards a more climate meeting arrangements.
the public or the private sector, at a lab or friendly society long ago.

step ahead” as an environmental consultant. We can arrange visits that Gert Kindgren
“Östergötland is on the leading edge. highlight all what the region has Phone +46 705 66 56 55
It’s the right region to be in,” says Natasja to offer in terms of developing gert@cleantechostergotland.se
Sondered. sustainable cities as well as en­ www.cleantechostergotland.se
 What do unique creativity,
leading technology and inter­-
national success have in common?
The Twin Cities of Sweden, made up of the cities of
Linköping and Norrköping, have a proud tradition. A whole
host of unique ideas have been born here – particularly
at Linköping University, as well as the Science Parks in
Mjärdevi and Norrköping. These ideas have now become
a reality, creating internationally successful products and
concepts. This is one reason why the twin cities are enjoy-
ing such strong growth!

Linköping University (LiU), one of Sweden’s leading centres

of higher education, currently has over 25,000 students in
a number of prominent research areas. Interest in studying
in Norrköping and Linköping has shown a marked upswing.
The Center for Medical Image Science and Visualization
(CMIV) is a multidisciplinary research centre initiated by
Linköping University, Östergötland County Council and Sec-
tra AB. It carries out research that leads the world in several
medical technology areas.
One of the most successful companies in the region is
Gripen International, a company owned by Sweden’s Saab
and the UK’s BAE SYSTEMS. Gripen has delivered or will be
delivering fighter planes to the Swedish, South African, Hun-
garian, Thai and Czech air forces, among others. The fighter
planes are manufactured in Linköping.

campus norrköping CMIV gripen international

32 Cleantech Magazine www.twincities.se