Boel Rydenå Swartling: "Europe doesn't have an innovation problem - we have a commercialization problem"

This is part of Sweden Startup Nation's interview series with startup founders, investors and other actors in the ecosystem, which aims to highlight systemic failures and improve the conditions for Swedish startups.

Boel Rydenå Swartling has been investing in sustainable technology for over a decade. She is co-founder of Charge Amps, initiator of Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day and advisor to several Swedish greentech companies through Sting. She is an important voice for the investor community in the climate transition and her message is crystal clear: Europe - and Sweden - is about to miss the next wave of industrial transition. Not because there is a lack of innovation. But because we are unable to bring it to market.

"There is no shortage of innovation in Europe, but we lack a strategy to scale it. Without a commercialization strategy, we are losing the next generation of industrial companies."

A commitment that started in London

Boel's sustainability journey began in London - in the midst of the Dieselgate scandal. The air was dirty, the debate on global warming was heating up, and Boel made up her mind: she would invest in technology that makes a difference.

"I wanted to drive change with the money I had. Do something that actually makes an impact."

Her first cleantech investment was made in 2010 - long before it was trendy.

Greentech: High potential - low priority

Over the years, Boel has highlighted the structural underfunding of greentech and industrial technology in Sweden - not primarily as a critic, but as an actor trying to find solutions to the problem. She compares it to the emergence of digitization in Sweden, where government initiatives such as the home PC reform and broadband expansion laid the foundation for an entire startup wave.
"Digitalization was given a raked carriage. For industrial tech and deep tech, there is neither strategy nor structures for sufficient scaling."

She says deep tech and industrial companies often fall through the cracks - too expensive, too slow and too complex for many VC funds, and without the public capital needed to reduce risk.

"We don't have enough or big enough funders to support this type of company. This kills brilliant innovations."
To help find a solution, she has initiated the Sweden Sustaintech Venture Day, a forum to build bridges between capital and companies in the green transition. At the same time, she now sees positive signals at the European level, for example. the EU has recently announced that it will establish an investment bank for the industrial green transition, with over €1 trillion in planned funding. An important step, she says - although much of the work still needs to be done at national level.

Commercialization is the major systemic failure

Boel keeps coming back to the same point: it's not the ideas that are missing - it's the path from idea to market that is lacking. Europe lacks a commercialization strategy, she says.

"We have the innovation policy, but we don't have the policy to scale innovation. It's just expected to work itself out."

She points in particular to the lack of long-term funds, point-of-sale subsidies and public procurement as tools to build markets for new technologies.

"Sales are the best source of funding. The public sector should take a much bigger role in buying new technologies."

Charge Amps and Europe's fragmented market

As co-founder of charging station company Charge Amps, Boel has experienced first-hand the difficulties of scaling hardware in Europe.

"Expanding within the EU is not like entering a common market. You have to adapt your product to each country's regulatory framework."

She explains how Charge Amps had to develop different versions of its charging station for Germany, France, the UK and the rest of Europe, with separate certification processes for each.

"It is inefficient, expensive and makes us lose momentum. If Europe is to compete with the US and China, we need to get better at dismantling regulatory barriers."

The early-stage ecosystem works but is it enough?

Despite the systemic criticism, Boel has a lot of good things to say about Sweden's ecosystem for startups. She particularly highlights incubators, Almi and the Swedish Energy Agency as actors that make a big difference in early phases.

"We have a good support system for the first years. But then, when it's time to take the next step, the support thins out quickly."

She calls for more resources to be allocated to incubators and better support for companies making the transition from technology to business.

"Tech-driven teams need help with commercialization. Capital raising and sales, that's where we often lose them."

Sweden Startup Nation: A voice that is needed

Boel sees Sweden Startup Nation as an important part of changing the ecosystem. She highlights three roles: collecting statistics, raising the level of knowledge, and driving a clear strategy.

"Today, the responsibility for driving these issues lies with individuals. We need an organization that takes a holistic approach."

She emphasizes that Sweden Startup Nation should be both a voice for entrepreneurs and a bridge between the public and private sectors.

"We need focus and we need a strategy for commercialization. Otherwise, despite all the potential we have, not enough is happening fast enough."