Innovation

Research and innovation promote progress in the energy sector. Minister for Education Mats Persson today signed an implementation agreement for energy research cooperation with the United States. The agreement was signed in the Reactor Hall at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, where research reactor R1 – Sweden’s first nuclear reactor – contributed to research between 1954 and 1970.

On 26–27 June, Europe’s key stakeholders in the life sciences sector will gather to highlight the importance of research and innovation in personalised medicine. The conference, organised within the framework of the Swedish Presidency of the Council of the EU, will be live-streamed.

The UK and Sweden share historic ties of friendship and are essential allies. We have forged a strong partnership, based on shared values and in support of multilateralism and a rules-based international order. We are united in our steadfast commitment to working together for the security and protection of our citizens and to strengthen European security as a whole. This Leaders’ Statement celebrates and reasserts the enduring and extensive connections between the United Kingdom and Sweden, which benefit from the agreements between the United Kingdom and the European Union, of which Sweden is a member.

Last week, the Government decided to task Business Sweden with strengthening the coordination of efforts to set up large battery plants as part of the automotive industry’s green transition.

To further accelerate the electrification of the transport sector, the Swedish National Road and Transport Research Institute (VTI) was commissioned by the Government to help build knowledge in this area. This need has been clearly highlighted in the work of the Government’s strategic innovation partnership programme Climate neutral industry.

Work within the partnership groups in the four innovation partnership programmes has been well underway since they were first launched in June 2019. Viveca Bergstrand is the Project Manager for the innovation partnership programme Climate neutral industry, and she already sees positive results emerging from the work of the partnership group.

"Sweden aims to be a leading life sciences nation. Life sciences contribute to improving health and quality of life of the population, ensuring economic prosperity, advancing the country as a leading knowledge nation and achieving the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development."

Today, 23 October, the Government’s 2019 Cultural and Creative Industries Export Prize was awarded to Goodbye Kansas Studios. The rising star award went to Rave Review.

Sweden and France have today taken a new step to further increase our bilateral cooperation, at national level, within the European Union and globally.

Migration, EU–US relations, and security and defence will be on the agenda when Prime Minister Stefan Löfven meets his European Council colleagues on 28–29 June.

The Nordic and Baltic regions are to expand their cooperation to maintain their position as Europe’s leading region in the area of digital development. The countries decided today to reinforce their cooperation on artificial intelligence (AI). Sweden will lead this cooperation.

Sweden hosted a Nordic Defence Industry Seminar, NDIS 2018, in Stockholm on 22 to 24 May 2018. The focus of the seminar was “Ensuring Future Capabilities – Nordic Armaments Cooperation in a Competitive and International Context”. The NDIS 2018 event included seminars and panel discussions with various perspectives on Nordic armaments cooperation. The seminar is organised every two years within the framework of Nordic defence cooperation (NORDEFCO).

The development and application of artificial intelligence (AI) is a priority for the Government and the focus of the National Innovation Council meeting on 19 March 2018. Åsa Zetterberg, the Government's Chief Digital Officer, is invited to the meeting to take part in discussions on how the Government can contribute to the development and use of AI throughout society.

Open data for new solutions. This was one of the items on the agenda of the National Innovation Council meeting on 15 May. Ms Barbara Ubaldi, project manager at the OECD, where she leads the work on digital government and open data, was invited to the meeting to inform about open data initiatives in other countries. The Government has asked the OECD to review and deliver proposals on how Sweden can accelerate the use of data in the public sector.

Martin Lundstedt has been President and CEO of the Volvo Group since 2015. He holds an MSc in Engineering and has previously served as CEO of Scania. Since the beginning of this year, he has also been a member of the National Innovation Council. He is passionate about continuously improving and developing businesses and creating system solutions.

The Government is launching five innovation partnership programmes to help meet a range of the societal challenges that Sweden is facing. These programmes involve new ways of travelling, residing, doing business, living, communicating, and using and preserving the world’s resources and ecosystems. Partnership between public actors, business and academia creates new, innovative solutions that strengthen competitiveness, contribute to sustainable development and create more jobs.