A Greener, More Digital and Sustainable Finland

What opportunities does the green and digital transition create for Finland? What are the prerequisites for the realisation of the so-called dual transition? What investments have already been directed towards the green and digital transition as part of the NextGenerationEU recovery plan? What is the intended impact of these investments?

“A Greener, More Digital and Sustainable Finland” is an event that will discuss the requirements for the green and digital transition and the associated future prospects.

The event will showcase investments in the green and digital transition funded under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF) through the Research Council of Finland and Business Finland. These investments will cover key areas of research, research and innovation infrastructures, growth companies and industrial reforms. Panel discussions will delve into three different themes, involving researchers and businesses from the funded projects, policymakers and government officials, interest organisations as well as other RDI stakeholders.

The event is open to all interested parties. Some parts of the programme can be attended online, but we encourage attendees to join in person. The event will be organised in both Finnish and English.

As the host and moderator of the event and panel discussions, we have Tomi Korhonen, who holds the position of Head of PR and Media at Business Finland.

Programme

The opening address, presentations and panel discussions are available both onsite and online. The panel discussions are in Finnish, but we aim to provide interpretation for onsite participants during the discussions. The networking part of the programme is for onsite participants only.

12.00 Opening address – Marie Donnay, Director, Recovery & Resilience Task Force, European Commission (EN)

Presentation: RRF Investments – Riitta Maijala, Vice President for Research, Research Council of Finland (EN)

Presentation: RRF Investments – Teija Lahti-Nuuttila, Director, Business Finland (EN)

Panel Discussion 1 – Recycling and Material Reuse (in Finnish)

Principal Investigator Ville Santala, Bio and Circular Economy Infrastructure, Tampere University

Permanent Secretary Juhani Damski, Ministry of the Environment

Sustainability Director Anne Kaiser, Saint-Gobain Finland Oy

CEO Kalle Härkki, Resand Oy

Panel Discussion 2 – Health Technology (in Finnish)

Principal Investigator Emilia Peltola, CLISHEAT Research Project, University of Turku, Finnish Environment Institute, Aalto University, and University of Helsinki

Permanent Secretary Veli-Mikko Niemi, Ministry of Social Affairs and Health

CEO Saara Hassinen, Healthtech Finland

CEO Sanna Koskela, Nuanic Oy

Panel Discussion 3 – Hydrogen Economy (in Finnish)

Principal Investigator Samuli Urpelainen, H2MIRI, University of Oulu, VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd, and Tampere University

CEO Pasi Vainikka, Solar Foods Oy

Chair of the Steering Group Simo Säynevirta, Hydrogen Cluster Finland

CEO Tuuli Kaskinen, Climate Leadership Coalition

14.15 Networking Session and Refreshments

Pitches by RRF-funded projects and companies – (in Finnish and English depending on the pitch, onsite only)

Blue Lakes: Digitizing the Carbon Sink Potential of Boreal Lakes, Senior Scientist Karoliina Koho

Renewable, Recyclable, Recycled – Sustainable Plastic Packaging, Wipak Oy, CEO Tuija Suur-Hamari

Sustainable and Autonomous Carbon-Neutral Aerial Ecosystems and Energy Solutions for Future Metropolises (AeroPolis), Co-PI Dr. Harry Edelman

Wärtsilä Oy, Senior Project Manager, Sustainable Fuels & Decarbonization Kenneth Widell

AI-Guided CO2 Conversion, Project Specialist Arpad Toldy

Neste Oy, Manager, Renewable Hydrogen Sonja Auvinen

Achieving Carbon Neutrality at the Regional Level: Integrated Assessment of Emission and Biodiversity Goals (C-NEUT) , Research Professor Martin Forsius

Vaasa Zero Emission Data Centre (WSTAR), Associate Professor of Sustainable Automation Technology Petri Välisuo

Kuljetusrinki Oy, CEO Markus Närhi (the presented video not available for sharing)

Climate-Smart Health Technologies: Impacts on the Carbon Footprint of Health Care, Researcher Atte Pitkänen

Cosmic Lounge Oy, CEO Tomi Huttula

From Primary Heating Source to Multifuel Heating: Finnish Single-Family Houses Become Hybrids of Complementary and Alternating Energy Systems (Digitally Mediated Decarbon Communities in Energy Transition), DSc Sini Numminen

Lounais-Suomen Jätehuolto Oy, Project Manager Aki Honkanen

EasyDR - Enabling demand response through easy to use open source approach, Research Scientist VTT Essi Nousiainen

15.30 Event ends

The EU Recovery and Resilience Facility is part of the broader NextGenerationEU recovery plan designed to address the immediate economic and social impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Together with the EU’s long-term budget, it constitutes the largest-ever funded recovery package in Europe. The goal of NextGenerationEU is to reform the economy, create more jobs in Europe, and make Europe greener, more digital and more sustainable. Finland’s allocated share of RRF funds is 1.82 billion euros.

RRF funding is intended for implementing reforms and investments that support both EU objectives and country-specific goals recommended in the member states’ recommendations. Finland’s recovery and resilience plan is part of Finland’s Sustainable Growth Programme. Both the Research Council of Finland and Business Finland are responsible for implementing the programme.