We were happy to see such a great interest for our inaugural round of Global Innovation Accelerator. Among all the applicants six companies were invited to participate: Creative Optimization, Cascade Drives, OrganoWood, Mycorena, myFC and IRRIOT. Together, the selected companies and their innovations offer a wide range of sustainable solutions in areas such as logistics, water & energy efficiency and the food industry.

As this program is global, the companies have been given free hands to select which country they aim to commercialize in. As a result, we will this year see activities literally around the world, from North America to Japan via Spain and the BeNeLux region.

 
In the selection process, the key aspect was to find companies and innovations having both a mature international business plan as well as an innovation with large potential positive climate impact. In order to evaluate the latter, RISE was asked to investigate the initial avoided emissions and future compatibility for all the applicants. The assessment tool used by RISE has been developed within the framework Net-Zero Compatible Innovations Initiative (NCI) in which Swedish Energy Agency and RISE have a partnership. 
 
The GIA program was officially kickstarted on March 7th with a joint half-day session where the companies’ representatives, the Swedish Energy Agency and our partner organizations could meet, greet and share our expectations. The companies now take on their first challenge of finalizing their international business plan together with their appointed key account managers from Business Sweden. The key account managers have been handpicked to support each company’s individual goals and needs and are physically located in the country or area of interest.   
 
From the Swedish Energy Agency side we are thrilled to take an active part in the journey ahead as these six selected companies hit the international market.
 
Curious to learn more about our six selected companies? Please find them presented in brief:
Companies