Millions invested in Swedish wind power

Uppsala University, together with Chalmers University of Technology and leading academic and industrial partners, is establishing a new national competence centre.

The Swedish Energy Agency has awarded substantial funding to transform the Swedish Wind Power Centre (SWC) into a formal national competence centre under the name SWC 2.0. Uppsala University will host the centre, which will be jointly led by Uppsala University and Chalmers University of Technology. Professor Stefan Ivanell, Director of SWC 2.0 at Uppsala University, will lead the centre together with Sara Fogelström, Director of SWC 2.0 at Chalmers University of Technology

Sweden is facing a doubling of its electricity demand over the coming decades as industry and transport become increasingly electrified. Wind power is essential to achieving the country's climate targets and ensuring access to fossil-free electricity. Through SWC 2.0, the country's leading academic experts and industry stakeholders are now joining forces to address the specific challenges facing wind power in Sweden, from forested environments on land to complex marine conditions in the Baltic Sea and the Skagerrak and Kattegat.

Unlike a traditional research network, its designation as a national competence centre brings long-term, substantially increased funding of more than SEK 100 million over a five-year period. This will enable large-scale research, doctoral education, and the establishment of permanent, more in-depth collaboration structures between academia and industry.

 

“This decision is a major step forward for the green transition. Through SWC 2.0, we are bringing together world-class research and the needs of industry. Our goal is to develop smart, sustainable solutions that enable Sweden to grow with a secure and cost-effective electricity supply,” says Stefan Ivanell, Professor of Wind Energy at Uppsala University and Director of SWC 2.0 at Uppsala University.

“Taking this step to become a national competence centre gives us the long-term conditions we need to tackle the complex challenges ahead in the power system and material supply,” adds Sara Fogelström, Director of the centre at Chalmers.

The initiative brings together nine higher education institutions and 13 major stakeholders from industry, regional authorities and government agencies: Energiforsk, Fu-Gen, OX2, Rabbalshede Kraft, Region Gotland, RES, SR Energy, Statkraft, Svenska kraftnät, Vasa Vind, Vattenfall, Vestas and the Västra Götaland Regional Council.

Work at SWC 2.0 will get underway in autumn 2026, with the centre formally launching on 1 January 2027. The first research projects are expected to start in 2027.

For further information, please contact:

Stefan Ivanell, Professor of Energy Technology at the Department of Earth Sciences, Uppsala University, and Director of SWC 2.0.
Phone: +46 18 471 83 60
Email: stefan.ivanell@geo.uu.se

Sara Fogelström, Research Project Manager at the Department of Electrical Engineering, Chalmers University of Technology, and Director of SWC 2.0.
Phone: +46 31 772 16 62
Email: sara.fogelstrom@chalmers.se

Writer: Malin Eivergård, Communications Officer at the Department of Earth Science