International visit on industrial transition

An international delegation of around fifty senior officials from ministries of finance, industry and energy, as well as national development banks, has visited Vetenskapens hus in Luleå. The purpose of the visit was to learn how Swedish companies, academia and the public sector collaborate to achieve fossil‑free operations and greater sustainability.

The delegation represented about ten countries across Africa, Asia and Latin America. The visit took place as part of the Industry Transition Study Tour in Sweden, which aims to deepen understanding of how policy, financing, technology, research and a just transition interact in Sweden’s industrial climate transition, as part of the broader Nordic and European transition.

With a focus on hydrogen

Luleå University of Technology hosted the regional session at Vetenskapens hus. The focus was on regional and local dimensions of the hydrogen economy, how fossil fuels can be replaced by renewable hydrogen in various sectors, as well as the wider industrial and energy‑related transition. The purpose of the visit to Luleå was to enable a broader exchange of experiences on how industrial climate transition can be implemented in practice, including insights from pioneering green industrial facilities in northern Sweden.

“Interest in societal development in northern Sweden remains strong. The ongoing transformation of industry and society is unique. International and local actors want to take the opportunity to learn on site how we work with everything from large‑scale electrification and hydrogen use to skills provision and housing supply,” says Karl Andersson, Professor in Cyber security and Dean at Luleå University of Technology.

The programme began with a research presentation on the development of sustainable hydrogen in Sweden, industrial applications, stakeholder roles, regional collaboration and challenges.

"It has been an interesting experience to understand both the softer aspects and technical aspects of the issues and solutions around green hydrogen value chain and it's journey in Sweden. The lessons learned and the implementation experience is invaluable for the countries that are starting the adoption of industrial decarbonisation pathways", says Surbhi Goyal, senior energy specialist, World Bank Group, India.

The delegation then exchanged experiences and perspectives from their respective countries. The joint discussions addressed socio‑economic effects, local community engagement, green industrialisation and technological development, safety and permitting processes, as well as coordination between local, regional and national levels. Participants included university researchers, representatives from Region Norrbotten, the County Administrative Board of Norrbotten, Invest in Norrbotten, and the municipalities of Luleå, Gällivare and Piteå, as well as Boden Business Park.

“Because hydrogen and other green technologies are often untested at large scale, making the major investments needed to drive development forward involves risk. When actors in Sweden share their experiences with each other and with other countries, we reduce the risk of misallocation of resources and strengthen the socio‑economic efficiency of the transition,” says Linda Wårell, Associate Professor of Economics at Luleå University of Technology.

The study tour is organised by the Government of Sweden through the Leadership Group for Industry Transition (LeadIT), Sida, and the World Bank’s Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), a global knowledge and technical assistance programme. LeadIT is a bilateral collaboration between Sweden and India that promotes joint projects to reduce climate emissions and accelerate the green transition in India’s steel and cement sectors.

During the study tour, the delegation also visited the companies Stegra in Boden and LKAB in Luleå before they went to Kiruna and then onward to Norway.