Industry electrification requires innovation across the entire system

As industry shifts towards electrification, the challenge goes far beyond building new power generation and expanding the grid. Energy and other resources must also be used more intelligently. To make the transition at the pace required, new solutions are needed to address the bottlenecks that emerge along the way.

For Swedish industry, access to electricity is an important competitive issue, according to Lowina Lundström, CEO of InnoEnergy Scandinavia. An organisation that invests in startups working on the energy transition and helps them move from research to commercialisation.

– If we cannot create new opportunities for electrification, companies will look to other countries. Those investments will then not end up in Sweden, she says.

Sweden built its electricity grid early. As a result, parts of the major transmission infrastructure are now around a hundred years old, while demand for new connections continues to grow. The grid needs both renewal and reinforcement, but that is not the only way to create more capacity for electrification.

Flexibility and smart control can also help make better use of the capacity that already exists.

– There is a great deal of capacity that is not being used today. With flexibility or smart control, new connections can be made sooner, says Lowina Lundström.

Startups could play an important role in this development. Changes to major infrastructure often take a long time to implement. Smaller technology companies, meanwhile, can develop, test and adapt solutions more quickly to address specific problems arising as electrification progresses.

– They are more agile. If you look at grid expansion, for example, there are smart control solutions that mean you do not necessarily have to make enormous investments. Instead, you can find solutions that are less costly and much faster to implement, she says.

Electrification is transforming more than the energy system

The challenge, however, does not end with the electricity grid. As industrial processes are electrified, more data centres are established and production expands, demand for water, materials and more efficient resource use also changes. New technological solutions may therefore be needed in several areas to prevent other constraints from slowing development.

One example is Stockholm Water Technology, an innovation company that received its first funding through InnoEnergy. The company develops electrocapacitive water treatment for industry. By applying an electrical voltage, charged contaminants can be removed from water without chemical reactions.

– We can target specific contaminants and remove them to the level the customer requires. We treat the water to exactly the level the customer needs, says Karthik Laxman, CEO of Stockholm Water Technology.

Among other things, the solution can help industrial companies reuse process water, allowing them to manage resources more efficiently as operations scale up. The system’s design could also make it possible to recover some of the energy used in the treatment process.

– The energy can be used in the next treatment cycle or stored in a supercapacitor or battery. We have not yet commercialised that part, he says.

For Lowina Lundström, the company also highlights a broader challenge. Electrification creates new needs, and not all solutions are readily available from large, established players. Startups can provide specialist expertise and develop new technological approaches that can quickly be tested in practice.

– Many large companies are looking for startups because they need that expertise, drive and capability, says Lowina Lundström.

From working technology to commercial scale

A promising innovation, however, is not the same as a commercially ready solution. For startups developing hardware, there is often a demanding step between early-stage technology development and reaching a large-scale market. The solution must be verified, production must be scaled up, and industrial customers need to feel confident using the technology in critical processes.

Stockholm Water technology’s development illustrates that journey. InnoEnergy provided the company’s first funding and is now its largest investor. Through the organisation’s European network, the company has also received support in areas including business development and connections with potential customers.

– Hardware requires more capital than software and takes longer. But once it scales, the potential for global application is enormous, says Karthik Laxman.

Each new application also requires an assessment of whether the technology can compete with existing alternatives. For Stockholm Water Technology, this process can take up to 18 months. At one of the world’s largest water treatment suppliers, for example, the technology is being tested in several stages over a two-year period before it can be considered for full-scale projects.

Collaboration is essential for innovation to scale

Accelerating electrification is therefore not simply a matter of developing more technological solutions. For innovations to make a real difference, they must also reach customers, attract capital and find the right partners.

According to Lowina Lundström, this requires bringing together entrepreneurs, industrial companies, investors and the public sector. Elfack at Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg is one of the arenas where different parts of the industry can meet.

– Elfack is an arena that brings the entire industry together. Installers, energy companies, startups and researchers are all there, she says.

Another initiative is the Swedish Energy Prize, which highlights innovations with the potential to contribute to the energy transition. By giving new ideas greater visibility, the prize can also lower the threshold for more innovators to take the next step.

– The prize allows more people to see just how much is happening and how many brilliant ideas are out there. It can also encourage someone with an idea to think: maybe I should give it a try after all, she says.

From 11-14 May 2027, the electricity, energy and lighting industries will gather at Svenska Mässan in Gothenburg. Make sure to secure your ticket today.

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