Almedalen Week sparks energy transition debate, Novatron Fusion Group joins high-level talks
Novatron Fusion Group Chief Communication Officer Linda Nyberg on stage at Almedalen with Swedish Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson
Novatron Fusion Group joined Almedalsveckan (Almedalen Week) 2024 - the world’s largest democratic meeting place designed to stimulate ideas, innovation and passionate discussions about Sweden’s future.
Running from June 25-28 in Visby, Gotland, the annual event is a phenomenon among political festivals. For more than 50 years, Almedalen’s unique platform has attracted politicians, business leaders, NGOs, activists, media and citizens from all walks of life to converge and help shape the nation’s future.
With a packed schedule including more than 2,000 events, the open forum encourages a diversity of opinions on pressing social issues. Key themes for 2024 included the energy transition, AI, sustainability, social justice and entrepreneurship.
For Novatron Fusion Group, Almedalen provided an unparalleled opportunity to network with decision-makers, thought leaders and change agents across Sweden. Several members of our senior management attended including Chief Executive Officer Peter Roos, Public Affairs Advisor Mårten Löfberg and Chief Communication Officer Linda Nyberg, who featured regularly in the TechArena panels.
It follows a period of intense activity across Europe and the USA, seeing Novatron Fusion Group participate in FusionXInvest in Boston, Hello Tomorrow Global Summit in Paris, EU Fusion Energy Conference in Strasbourg, ITER’s Private-Public Fusion Workshop in France, Fusion24 in the UK, plus TechArena, and Swedish Energy Day on home soil in Stockholm. Just weeks ago, Novatron Fusion Group also announced an MoU with the UKAEA (United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority), the UK’s national fusion energy authority, to fast track the transition to commercial fusion power.
With an estimated 35,000 visitors and 1200 organizers, Novatron Fusion Group CEO Peter Roos said Almedalen offered myriad opportunities to discuss Sweden’s energy and industrial transition, climate policy, geopolitics and future research funding.
Novatron Fusion Group hosted a high level roundtable on fusion energy, helping further fusion energy discussions with key people in the energy sector including the Swedish Government’s national nuclear coordinator Carl Berglöf, US Embassy to Sweden representative Andrew J Wylie, Head of Economic Policy at Teknikföretagen Maria Rosendahl, Senior Advisor on Nuclear of Energiföretagen Ted Lind, Director of Renewable & Low Carbon Fuels at the energy company St1 Sverige AB Linda Werner, plus Energy Policy Spokesperson and MP Linus Lakso of the Green Party and Manager of New Nuclear Development at Fortum energy company Jesper Marklund.
“It was another fascinating instalment,” said Mr Roos. “The wide-ranging discussions again served to highlight the urgency of the energy transition, both domestically and across the EU,” said Mr Roos. “With thousands of events taking place, a predominant theme within the energy transition debate revolves around the composition of Sweden’s future energy system to ensure resilience, sustainability and security. With a backdrop of uncertainty, and geopolitical tension, fusion energy will bring much needed stability to our future energy system, delivering a flexible, large-scale source of clean, safe, and virtually limitless energy.”
A broad range of panel discussions on energy looked for answers to Sweden’s and Europe’s energy transition challenge in the decades to come. Like many other countries, Sweden will need to more than double energy production by 2040. It comes as Mr Roos calls for better regulatory framework to ensure a smooth transition to commercial fusion power.
“We’re technologists at heart and yet our biggest challenges are not found in the lab,” he said. “Beyond the obvious needs of investment and faith, we need to prepare a regulatory framework for fusion energy to be part of our energy mix. And that work needs to start now.”
“In a Nordic context we are the first initiative to prove we have abilities in the fusion energy space. The NOVATRON has been engineered and built in Sweden. We are taking a big step forward in terms of knowledge creation, putting our nation on the map with these new abilities. This is part of our broader mission to contribute to the Scandinavian nuclear fusion industry which can capitalise on one of the largest global industries of the future.”
Established in 2019, Novatron Fusion Group is developing state-of-the-art technology in collaboration with world-leading physicists, engineers, and academia to deliver fusion energy. The brainchild of Swedish inventor Jan Jäderberg, the NOVATRON builds on Sweden's rich legacy of advanced civilian nuclear research/ industry and innovation.
Backed by KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm and EU’s EIT InnoEnergy, Novatron Fusion Group has also joined forces with leading fusion industry companies as members of The Fusion Cluster in the UK and The Fusion Industry Association (FIA) in the USA.
Key Almedalen panel discussions covering the energy transition included:
Twin Transition Co-Operation: United States and Europe
New energy for Sweden - how solar parks, batteries and power-to-x can contribute to a sustainable electricity system
How will Sweden become a world leader and not be outdone in the transition?
Do Sweden’s municipalities have enough energy to reach climate targets and meet local growth?
The expansion of Sweden’s energy system is urgent.
Without competence, no transition.
Industry needs more energy now!
Efficiency, automation and collaboration - this is how the energy system of the future is created
The whole world is competing - how does Sweden enter the energy match?
Properties that produce renewable energy - how do we maximize an unused societal potential?
The energy transition is happening globally, Sweden is lagging behind
More positive energy in the debate - dare to test more and realize
Why are we aiming so low? How does Sweden become Europe’s leading energy producer?
Critical infrastructure for society, local energy systems and energy resilience
Energy and Cleantech - how do we solve the global energy challenges of the future?
