A visit to Gothenburg by the director of China’s National Energy Administration revealed export opportunities for Swedish climate-smart solutions within the energy sector. Business Region Göteborg is now following up on this by taking companies from West Sweden along to China.
In March, Gothenburg received the director of China’s National Energy Administration, Nur Bekri. Sweden is now reciprocating with a trip to China led by Minister of Energy Ibrahim Baylan and the Swedish Energy Agency. This is affording Green Gothenburg and Business Region Göteborg the possibility to take along companies from West Sweden which are already recognising valuable business opportunities.
“We are interested in establishing good contacts for our Swedish companies and creating good business opportunities,” says Bernt Svensén, Operations Manager for Green Gothenburg, Business Region Göteborg who will be overseeing the trip.
Cleanergy, Wideco and Elpanneteknik are three of the companies going along. Their products are of great interest to the Chinese market.
As Nur Bekri explained in Gothenburg in March, China’s target is to replace coal as a fuel for heating with green energy within five years. And as a country, China is unrivalled in its investments into renewable energy. Over the next few years, the country’s leadership expects production to account for 40 percent of the world’s wind power and 36 percent of the world’s solar power.
“In China, which is investing heavily in solar power, the market is enormous for a company with the right technology,” Bekri said in Gothenburg.
These are opportunities that Cleanergy has already recognised, which is why the Gothenburg company opened offices in Beijing. The company has developed an efficient solar cell system and has a solution for the cost-effective storage of energy.
Northern China has a cold climate and faces significant challenges in terms of heating and poor air quality. There is considerable interest there in district heating. Gothenburg has a well-developed and extensive district heating system with numerous companies working on associated technologies.
Wideco and Elpanneteknik offer services as well as products for district heating systems. Elpanneteknik purchases electricity at low price hours, such as at night, and heats water for the district heating system which can later be used when the need is greatest – often at high price hours.
Wideco has been active on the Swedish market for 35 years and began its international expansion in 2016. The company has a monitoring system for district heating and district cooling.
The several kilometre long pipes in a district heating system are difficult to monitor. It can prove costly if a leak is not detected in time and if it is not known where in the system the leak is occurring. Wideco’s system reports on level, pressure and temperature changes to prevent leaks, but also indicates where precisely the problem exists in the system.
– “I’m honoured to have been invited to participate in the delegation travelling to China together with the Swedish Minister of Energy,” says Robert Andersson, Head of Marketing and Sales at Wideco. “This trip is fully aligned with our strategy, and my goal is to gain deeper insight into the Chinese market and the potential contained therein. Besides the meetings scheduled through Business Region Göteborg and the Swedish Energy Agency, I will also be visiting pipe manufacturers, power plants and other players in the industry while I’m in Beijing – contacts with whom I hope to create a lasting dialogue.”
The three companies will be on hand at the Swedish Energy Agency’s stand during the Mission Innovation Summit together with Business Region Göteborg, Business Sweden and six other Swedish companies.
In addition to the summit, Business Region Göteborg has arranged a number of study visits and meetings which are of interest to the Swedish companies.
“It’s not easy to gain access to the Chinese market. It requires infrastructure and financing. We have therefore booked several meetings and study visits with potential contacts in China,” says Bernt Svensén, Operations Manager for Green Gothenburg, Business Region Göteborg.
Clean Energy Ministerial
The Swedish delegation will be participating in Clean Energy Ministerial, which is an annual forum held between 24 member nations and the EU at the ministerial level. This year, the forum will be held in Beijing on 6-8 June. The forum aims to create opportunities for and to accommodate political desiderata with private sector management in order to strengthen green energy policies and to produce concrete environmental action.
