76 million sek from EU structural funds to research projects at Mid Sweden University

The Structural Funds Programme in Mellersta Norrland will contribute to investment in regional growth and employment, and develop the strategies and priorities for the region.

- It is gratifying and important decisions, the research projects are good examples of research conducted in collaboration with external partners who guarantee that they will benefit, broadening the region's industry and utilizes the strengths that exist in our region, says Anders Söderholm, Vice Chancellor.

SMART - Smart systems and services for efficient and innovative society

The project includes 25 companies and regional players where the goal is to research and develop new business in Internet of Things for the industry and smart communities. The goal is to create conditions for the region's businesses to increase their competitiveness and create new services in the area. The project focuses on smart systems within three focus areas; efficient production (products for the energy efficiency / reduce emissions), smart communities (products to reduce emission / resource use and increased accessibility for the disabled) and monitoring of large areas (products for energy efficiency and reduced impact on ecosystems) - the amount granted 29,625,000 sek.

KM2 - Innovative Green Energy

The KM2 objective is to develop innovations in green energy, storage and use. Applications include supercapacitors, batteries, solar cells on paper, new types of wind generators and thermoelectric generators. There are good opportunities for the region's businesses to develop new products for new purposes by combining materials with paper industry production processes. The paper industry has the production capacity and the skills for rapid and cost-effective production of large areas of renewable and recyclable raw material - the amount granted 17,880,417 sek.

Green Pro - green chemicals from forest and forest-products

The project's overall objective is to develop and strengthen the regional forest industry with its surrounding industry and therefore growth in the region through research targeting new products and processes as an alternative or complement to today. The project also intends to build a strong research environment in the biorefinery area, making Mid Sweden University and the region better equipped to be a strong player in the field. Concrete examples of expected results and benefits for the region and participating companies: develop biochemical processes in an environmentally friendly way, extracting products from the forestry and paper industry materials. Customizing a process to pilot scale production of the next generation of fish feed. Develop biochemical processes for the production of custom-made substances with biological activity for protection against pests, mold, bacteria and human diseases. Develop a forest based locally produced natural tanning agents, for production in industrial scale - the amount granted 9,502,835 SEK.

Sports Tech Innovation Initiative

The initiative is to strengthen the region's innovation capacity and competitiveness, primarily for companies working on innovative products in industrial and outdoor sector. The project aims to integrate the existing additiv- and textile laboratories in the new wind tunnel laboratory to a cohesive center for innovative product design and advanced verification, directed primarily toward the sports and outdoor sector in the region - the amount granted 8,240,538 SEK.

Sustainable building - from the middle to northern Europe areas

The project's overall goal is to improve the attractiveness, innovativeness and competitiveness of companies and organizations in the construction and housing sector in middle Norrland. To help solve problems with emigration, a stagnant economic structure and labor market segregation, the project contributes to the further development model sustainable building production by including the economic, ecological, social and cultural sustainability and thus user-driven innovations in the construction and housing which can lead to efficient, flexible and sustainable business models in the construction and real estate sector - the amount granted 5,873,772 SEK.

ISERV - information for the development of e-services

Everyday life in most organizations today means dealing with: customer demands for higher availability and demand for new products and services, constantly growing demands on the efficiency of internal processes, large amounts of information to be managed, continuous renewal of technology and infrastructure, and new laws and directives. The project highlights three areas (energy companies, regional organizations and information management, the region's information systems and infrastructure) where rapid change presents both threats and opportunities for the participating organizations. The project aims to develop conditions for a range of information-based services means that organizations are stronger and can work more effectively with its customers and citizens - the amount granted 4,917,733 SEK.

For more information:

SMART – Mattias O´Nils, professor STC, 010-142 87 80 

KM2 – Håkan Olin, professor FSCN, 010-142 88 55

Gröna Pro – Erik Hedenström, professor FSCN, 010-142 87 29

Sports Tech Innovation Initiative – Mikael Bäckström, professor Sports Tech Research Centre, 010-142 83 01

Hållbart samhällsbyggande – Peter Öhman, professor CER, 010-142 86 77 and Lars-Åke Mikaelsson, associate professor, 010-142 83 05

ISERV – Göran Samuelsson, associate professor ADV Division, 010-142 88 92