The decarbonisation of business isn’t exactly an easy matter. It requires new business models, new technologies that work on a large scale, and new ways of working. It is imperative that not only companies, but also their partners invest in the acceleration of energy and climate innovations because they will be needed. That’s why we at Fortum are also investing in innovation.
Big challenges often spark new ways of thinking and innovations, and preventing climate change is one of the great challenges of our time. The development of new solutions to advance decarbonisation is already well underway. Hydrogen-based business models are being created and technologies are already being scaled for industry. Significant progress has been made in carbon capture, use and storage, and noteworthy growth potential is seen in the long-term storage of energy.
It is clear that the electrification and decarbonisation of business will require significant investments in new business models and technologies. For many energy-intensive sectors, however, commercial solutions to decarbonise their entire large-scale operations are not yet available. We at Fortum want to help find these solutions. By staying ahead of the curve and thoroughly understanding our customers processes, not only can we produce zero-emission electricity to support decarbonisation, we can also work with our customers to create new business models, processes and technologies to replace the fossil-based solutions of the past.
“We have a strong culture of innovation at Fortum. We are constantly developing new business through our Fortum Innovation & Venturing unit, our businesses, our internal startups and our annual innovation competition. In addition, we collaborate not only with our customers, but also with international research institutions and external startups. We are constantly monitoring what’s going on in the startup world, and we are supporting companies that are developing decarbonisation innovations,” says Fortum’s Mikael Rönnblad, Executive Vice President with responsibility for consumer solutions and innovation activities.
Startups are innovative partners
The agility of startups and their ability to challenge traditional ways of thinking make them excellent partners for creating new innovations. By combining Fortum’s long experience and comprehensive customer insight with the fresh, sometimes wild perspectives and ideas of startups, we can together find revolutionary innovations that work in practice and at the scale needed by industrial companies.
Fortum also invests in startups through international private equity funds. This gives us insight into what’s happening in climate business and climate technology globally, while also enabling us to seize on opportunities that are promising for our customers. Our long-time partner Valo Ventures is a Silicon Valley-based venture capital fund that acts as a bridge between the global startup world and
international investors. The partnership between Fortum and Valo Ventures began when the investment company was founded back in 2018; as an anchor investor, Fortum committed to invest 150 million euros in the Valo Ventures Fund 1 over ten years. Valo Ventures’ investment portfolio includes a number of very interesting startup companies, including climate technologies that can measure carbon footprints, carbon sequestration and impacts on biodiversity. The need for such solutions is quite obvious – companies have to be able to identify their environmental impacts before they can have an impact on them.
“The pace of development in the international startup scene is rapid and constantly accelerating. Therefore, it is important to see the path ahead as far ahead as possible. Fortum’s cooperation with Valo Ventures helps to give us this insight. This has been particularly valuable, as startups focused on climate business and technology and on clean energy have become increasingly prominent in recent years. As the field and the market grows, so too does our confidence that we can find the right solution that enables our customers to leave carbon-based operations behind for good,” Rönnbald concludes.