Clean industry for security and competitiveness

The seminar will bring together policymakers, renewable energy players, clean technology developers, industrials, investors, and researchers to share insights, form partnerships, and discuss the policy and financial frameworks needed to implement Europe’s clean industrial transformation.

Europe’s transition toward a clean, competitive, and resilient industrial base is accelerating. The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and related Green Deal policies are reshaping markets, investment flows, and value chains across the continent. The Baltic region, strategically positioned between the Nordic and Central European markets, has the potential to become a regional hub for clean technologies, renewable energy deployment, and innovative industrial transformation.

Clean industry for security and competitiveness

About the event

Estonia has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in developing and implementing clean industrial solutions that drive growth, enhance security, and strengthen European energy and technological sovereignty.

Topics covered at the seminar:

  • Policies for clean, resilient, and competitive Europe.
  • Integrating renewable energy and clean technologies in the industry.
  • From innovation to market – scaling clean technologies.
  • Strategic materials and resource efficiency.
  • Financing the clean industrial transition.

The seminar will be held in Estonian and English, with presentations delivered alternately in both languages.

Register here

Seminar agenda

  1. –

    Registration & coffee

  2. –

    Opening Remarks by Mart Valner, Host of the Day

  3. –

    Ministerial address: Andres Sutt, Minister of Energy and the Environment of the Republic of Estonia

     

     

  4. –

    European Commission address

  5. –

    Presentation: Sunly

  6. –

    Case study: Cracking the EU Innovation Fund with lessons from UP Catalyst. Teele Niidas, COO, UP Catalyst

    UP Catalyst successfully navigated Europe's flagship innovation funding instrument. What did it take, and what should other clean industry companies know before applying?

  7. –

    Presentation: An alternative to financing — partnership? Kevin Vaher, Chief Growth Officer, Gren

  8. –

    Discussion: Public money, private, or both? The capital stack Europe needs to compete.

    Kristin Eine, Senior Sustainability Advisor, Nordic Investment Bank 
    Götz von Thadden, Head of Unit for Financial Instruments in the Baltic Sea & Northern Europe, European Investment Bank 
    Siim Teller, Venture Partner, Norrsken
    Moderator: Mihkel Tamm, Sustainable Transformation Lead, Swedbank 

    The EIB and NIB can provide scale. Private venture and growth funds can move fast. But too often, European clean industry companies find themselves stuck between the two – too big for early-stage funding, too risky for traditional finance. This panel digs into how to close that gap and what a working capital stack for the European clean industry actually looks like. 

  9. –

    Coffee break

  10. –

    Hot chair: Clean energy solutions for the industry

    Jaak Tuksam, Business Development Manager, Gren

    Clean energy supplier and consumer on the hot seat, a conversation with rapid-fire questions about what it actually takes to deliver clean energy solutions for industry in the Baltics and beyond. 

  11. –

    Discussion: Industrial innovation success stories, drivers and barriers

    Raivo Melsas, Country Head of Estonia, Adven
    Timo Hermlin, CEO, Estonian Plywood
    Karl Koort, Development Manager, Bioforce
    Moderator: Mart Valner, Äripäev, Journalist 

    Innovators from various industries (energy, food, timber, machinery) share their success stories, drivers, and barriers to adopting clean technologies and industrial symbiosis.

  12. –

    Inspiration. Jan Gustav Grolig, CTO, Elcogen

    An unscripted account of what it really takes to go from Estonian startup to global clean tech player – the pivots, the deals, and the lessons no textbook covers.

     

  13. –

    Lunch and speed-dating

Speakers

Andres Sutt

Estonian Minister of Energy and the Environment

Teele Niidas

COO
UP Catalyst

Kevin Vaher

Chief Growth Officer
Gren

Jaak Tuksam

Head of Business Development
Gren

Kristin Eine

Senior Sustainability Advisor
Nordic Investment Bank

Götz von Thadden

Head of EIB Group Office for Estonia
European Investment Bank

Raivo Melsas

Estonian Business Manager
Adven

Siim Teller

Managing Partner
Lemonade Stand

Timo Hermlin

CEO
Estonian Plywood

Jan Gustav Grolig

CTO
Elcogen

Karl Koort

Development Manager
Bioforce

Supported by

The mission of the Ministry of Climate is to lead society in environmentally friendly thinking and action, ensuring a clean living environment, biodiversity and sustainable development.

The Ministry of Climate of Estonia focuses on enhancing the living environment while taking into consideration environmental protection. The Ministry’s work ensures sustainable development and responsible economic growth, considering both current and future generations.

Green shift and climate policy, including carbon markets and green technologies, are at the centre of the Ministry’s activities in combatting climate change. The focus is on climate goals and climate adaptation, balancing a broad range of diverse topics related to biodiversity, energy, mobility and transport, construction, housing, maritime affairs and much more.

Contacts

Silver Sillak

Director

The Estonian Renewable Energy Association

[email protected]

Hanna Ess

Communication Manager

Cleantech Estonia

[email protected]

Karlis Goldstein

CEO

Cleantech Estonia

[email protected]