Communication and joint development of solutions is a top priority in both countries
How can Thuringia benefit from the climate-neutral solutions in Sweden and Denmark? ThEEN Managing Director Jana Liebe was part of the Thuringian delegation on a business trip to Stockholm and Copenhagen from 15-19 September 2024 to share experiences and inspiration on the topics of decarbonization and smart districts. The two Scandinavian countries are regarded as pioneers of the energy transition in Europe and produce a large proportion of their energy requirements from renewables.
The participants, including ThEEN-members “IfE Ingenieurbüro für Energiewirtschaft GmbH” and the “Thuringian State Energy Agency ThEGA”, were given a detailed insight into the various markets by numerous companies and institutions, including the Swedish and Danish Chambers of Foreign Trade.
Sweden relies primarily on open communication when dealing with climate-neutral solutions: “It is striking that these are developed all along with the involvement of social stakeholders and sometimes also with lawyers. The projects are also implemented with intensive business involvement. This means that results and benefits can be transferred directly to the companies,” reported ThEEN Managing Director Jana Liebe from Stockholm. The technological developments for decarbonization are already at a good level in Germany; now we need to increase social involvement. Sweden is taking a proactive approach to achieving its climate targets in order to make steady progress. This is also reflected in the energy balance: a full 98% of the electricity generated in Sweden comes from non-fossil sources, 29% of which is nuclear energy.
As in Sweden, Denmark's culture is characterized by equality, transparency and trust, also in a business context. In Denmark, credibility, punctuality and reliability are expected, which is also reflected in the political consensus: “The Danes have a high level of trust in politics and authorities. They like to make decisions quickly, often with a high approval rate of 80 to 90 percent, which has been negotiated both politically and with stakeholders. In addition, there is a great focus in Denmark on innovations that can be implemented quickly due to the high level of digitalization,” explains Jana Liebe.
Both countries are characterized by a good culture of dialogue and the information and involvement of civil society, which is a prerequisite for successfully implementing the energy transition in Thuringia. Jana Liebe outlined the following key areas of action for Thuringia for both German and Scandinavian companies:
- Conversion and decarbonization in the heating sector and in industry - further innovations are required.
- Integrated grid planning and grid expansion in the electricity, heating and gas infrastructure.
- Communication with and involvement of civil society.
ThEEN e.V. is looking forward to integrating the new findings into its activities and using them for its work on the energy transition in Thuringia.