Pioneering spirit, concern and criticism at this year's Demo North

People dedicated to the green transition met at the international conference Demo North in Luleå. It was a day marked by hope and pioneering spirit.
- If we succeed here in Norrbotten, we will have completely redefined Swedish business, said Janus Brandin, regional development director at Region Norrbotten.

Demo North focused on collaborations from a regional, national and international perspective. On site were investors, suppliers, subcontractors, decision-makers and authorities who are in various ways involved in the green transition.

The conference featured both pioneering spirit and criticism of national policies. Participants from industry and society expressed concern about the lack of clear decisions and resources from the national level, which is negatively affecting the industrial transition.

Challenging societal transformation 

A panel discussion entitled “Building Society Expansion” featured Janus Brandin, Lisa Sig Olesen from Meta, Rikard Nyhrén from Parmaco and Fredrik Hemborg from Lindbäcks. A central question was how local communities can grow sustainably, with a focus on housing and housing policy. The panel emphasized the need for new collaborations, business models, incentive structures and opportunities for risk sharing to develop attractive communities.

Janus Brandin, Regional Development Director, presented the report on the potential of industrial transformation which Region Norrbotten recently commissioned. It contains analyses from the consulting firm McKinsey that show that what is happening in Norrbotten is a matter for all of Sweden.

– It is important not only because the efforts here revolutionize entire industries, but also because of the estimated increase in GDP and tax revenues. We have a “viable business case” for Sverige AB, said Janus Brandin.

The demand for increased government support, a higher degree of involvement and interest from the national level was highlighted by several of the panelists.

– I am asking for political pioneers and courageous leaders who dare to make the decisions that are needed. Social transformation needs to go hand in hand with the green industrial transition. If we succeed here in Norrbotten, we will have completely redefined Swedish business, said Janus Brandin.

The story of northern Sweden

Pär Grankvist, journalist and storyteller, painted the image and prejudices most of us already know about Northern Sweden. He suggested that we should focus on marketing our lifestyle with nature and closeness between people in local communities.

Here, Region Norrbotten's strategist Stina Almkvist was able to tell us that our work with population supply actually follows that path.

– We have already done Pär's homework and simply opted out of southern Sweden. Instead, we are focusing on the Netherlands, Belgium, France and Germany - precisely because they love our lifestyle, nature and the smaller communities, said Stina Almkvist.

Stina Almkvist spoke about Norrbotten's participation in the emigration fair in the Netherlands the past two years. Photo: Carina Zolland.

She went on to talk about the network with the municipalities, where a lot of work has been done to work with attraction and to best manage the interest from potential movers.

– The latest Statistics Sweden survey, which overall points to declining figures for the county, shows that we have positive results on immigrants from other countries. Hopefully, that trend will continue and then we can perhaps assume that it is our joint work on labor immigration that has begun to yield results, said Stina Almkvist.

Impact from other program items

The Luleå model - collaboration in a new way

A successful example of collaboration was presented through the work around Luleå Port, called the Luleå Model. Companies such as LKAB, Power2Earth, Talga, SSAB and Uniper showed how they have been able to innovate and share investment burdens through transparency and joint solutions. The model emphasizes a holistic perspective and can serve as a role model for others.

Security issues after Sweden's NATO membership

Luleå Port and Telia emphasized the increased security requirements that come with Sweden's NATO membership, especially with a focus on the vulnerability of the infrastructure.

Energy systems and capacity issues

The demand for energy is expected to increase sharply, with the need for an additional 70 TWh by 2030. Panelists from Luleå Port, LTU, Vattenfall, RWE and Luleå Energi emphasized the importance of national support for northern Sweden to contribute to the competitiveness of the entire country.

Financing of industrial investments

Henrik Henriksson from H2 Green Steel described the challenges of financing large industrial investments, where European banks and investment funds play a central role. He criticized the harmful polarization between northern and southern Sweden and emphasized the importance of national cohesion.

Building a sustainable society

A panel of representatives from SEK, Nordion, Polar Structure, Polhem Infra and EIFO discussed the challenges of building a sustainable society. They emphasized the need for new structures and a holistic perspective, as well as criticizing the reluctance of Swedish banks to invest in the future.

Unique industrial area project on Svartön

Sara Arvidsson from SSAB and Björn Ekelund from + Warm presented plans for the Svartön industrial area where culture and nature are integrated. They also consider how to preserve historic buildings.

Tornedalen Art Gallery

Theodor Ringborg from Konsthall Tornedalen spoke about the challenges of building an art hall with high security requirements and the importance of art. He suggested that the works of great Norrbotten artists should be collected in the art hall and emphasized the importance of collaboration between art and industry.