Multimillion-crown commitment to research to reduce energy consumption

This will be done in collaboration with the companies SCA, Stora Enso, Holmen, Metso, and Andritz. Mid Sweden University will receive SEK 36 million from the Knowledge Foundation, and the business community will make research commitments corresponding in value to the Knowledge Foundation investment. On top of this, the University is providing SEK 12 million.

“The goal is to reduce the use of electrical energy in producing pulp by 50 percent. This is why the research project is of immense importance to our competitiveness,” says Örjan Petterson, CEO of SCA R & D Centre AB”.

The multimillion-crown grant from the Knowledge Foundation and the same commitment from the companies primarily in terms of staff and equipment will be used to establish an internationally robust research profile.

“The strong support from the three major actors in the field of mechanical pulp production in Sweden and the world’s two dominant machine manufacturers means that we have assembled most of the relevant major national industries in the business” says Göran Bengtsson, Director Group Research Programme at Stora Enso. “We therefore have great expectations for success in this unique collaboration and for gaining new knowledge that we can make direct use of in production.”

Mid Sweden University will now be systematically building up this research profile, initially over a six-year period. The Knowledge Foundation states in its assessment that the current research team is already internationally prominent, both academically and in terms of usefulness to business.

“This is an important investment to Mid Sweden University. But above all it’s important to Sweden, in that we are bringing together the nation’s leading experts in this profile,” says Anders Söderholm, Vice Chancellor of Mid Sweden University. “The Knowledge Foundation’s assessment of the high academic quality and leadership here also represents a mark of distinction for us, and we look forward to proving that we can live up to it.”

The Knowledge Foundation provides funding primarily for research at Sweden’s new universities and university colleges, when it is pursued in collaboration with the business community. Since its inception in 1994 the Knowledge foundation has invested some SEK 7.4 billion in more than 2,100 different projects. This is the fifth time the Knowledge Foundation has allocated funding for research profiles.

Questions may be directed to:
Vice Chancellor Anders Söderholm, mobile phone: +46 (0)70-322 8640
Professor Per Engstrand, mobile phone: +46 (0)70- 573 6752. E-mail: per.engstrand@miun.se