It is now well known that there are resources in north that Sweden and Europe need in order to transform. Both large and small companies have chosen to locate in the area. One example is the defence industry in Örnsköldsvik, which is developing rapidly.

A regional resource that is not so often highlighted in this context is the strong social capital. This is the view of Jonas Joelsson, Research and Business developer at RISE in Umeå. 

– The region holds the keys to the development that the whole of Europe needs to make. It is certainly about natural resources in the form of green energy, forests, clean water and minerals, but it is also about the social capital. There is a high level of trust in the system among residents, and when there is a list of the best places to live in Sweden, all the cities in northern Sweden are in top 15, he says: 

– At a time when social divisions and polarisation are major problems, it is a great advantage to be able to build on the trust that exists in Sweden and especially in the north. The social fabric is a European issue. In building sustainable, inclusive and attractive cities, wherever they are, the cultural and social sectors play an important role in creating attractiveness and cohesion.

"A virtual million city"

The North Sweden European Office, an association of regional actors in Norrbotten, Västerbotten, Jämtland Härjedalen and Västernorrland, describes how the region is considered part of the European Arctic with the most sparsely populated population structure in the EU – and at the same time has one of the strongest innovation systems in the Union, with an attractive urban environment. 

– I like to describe our region as a European systems demonstrator or mega testbed. The region as a whole has a current population of 900,000, and there has been talk of an increase of 100,000 in the context of the initiatives. That is a total of one million people, a virtual million city, you might say. The view of northern Sweden as a single entity gives the actors here more peace of mind and security in the face of change, says Albert Edman, Senior Project Manager at RISE in Umeå.

Individually, cities and municipalities would struggle to implement the infrastructure projects needed to keep the green industrialisation wave going, but together – united as a virtual city of millions - there is a completely different capacity.

RISE has taken on the role of facilitator and platform builder in northern Sweden to make it easier for public and private actors to work together and make joint decisions.  

Common strategy sets the framework for the future

A concrete example of "million city thinking" in action is "Thriving Northern Cities", where Luleå, Umeå, Örnsköldsvik, Östersund and Sundsvall have worked together to develop a strategy for sustainable urban development in the participating cities and in northern Sweden as a whole. One of the strategic goals is to build resource-efficient, climate-friendly and attractive buildings in order to attract people and, not least, investors who are committed to sustainable development.

Albert Edman gives an insight into what the discussions are about at the time of writing.

– In the past, the discussions were about attracting talents, but now the agenda is about retaining talents, i.e. keeping those who are already here. If jobs are lost in one of the larger companies, the region does not want to lose the people who have moved here from outside Europe. It is therefore crucial that other cities in the North are ready to receive and employ these talents as a city of millions.

Continuing to collaborate and mobilise around challenges such as talent retention is essential for sustainable urban development and as a crucial link in Europe's transformation.

– Adopting new ways of working and new knowledge is costly. It is much easier if you can do it effectively together. We are of course working with companies on technical development in detail, but the role of helping to create a structure for cooperation in the North is particularly important for the future, says Albert Edman.

Food production in the future is likely to look very different from today. Work is already underway to supplement conventional ingredients and animal products - with bacteria and fungi. 

"We need to find new types of food to replace environmentally unfriendly products, while ensuring long-term supply. It's all about using resources more efficiently to produce equivalent food for people," says Gunnar Westin, who is responsible for RISE's new food technology infrastructure for biotechnology in Örnsköldsvik.

His team works with microbial ingredients, which are microorganisms that either become part of a food or produce components for a food.

"Together with a customer, we can improve something they have tested on a smaller scale or develop something completely new. A common product in supermarkets today is soy protein in various forms, and our facility can test the production of similar foods but with different raw materials to make the process more sustainable," explains Gunnar Westin.

From waste to protein

So how does it work? Put simply, it involves growing micro-organisms such as fungi, yeasts and bacteria in a controlled environment. Fermentation tanks, where the temperature, pH and oxygen supply are controlled, is an example of such an environment.

The micro-organisms need a carbon source to grow and produce biomass (in this case, what eventually becomes food). The Örnsköldsvik plant uses carbon from agricultural and forestry waste streams, such as the cellulose found in sawdust. Biotechnological methods are used to break down the residues into sugars in particular, which can be consumed by microorganisms and converted into protein and other nutrients. 

The first projects to be launched at the Örnsköldsvik facility will involve the development of meat analogues (meat substitutes), plant-based cheeses and kefir.

"We can work with tens of thousands of micro-organisms in parallel. We can also scale up a process on a very large scale and produce several tonnes of material or ingredients. For example, to verify a new process or for a large-scale market test," says Gunnar Westin.

New food-grade environment strengthens RISE offering 

The fact that the facility in Örnsköldsvik is food-grade means that the products made there can be consumed by humans. This is an important factor for food companies that conduct tests with RISE to be able to use a taste panel and conduct market research.

"At RISE, we have expertise across the food chain, including sensory science, process development and product design. The investment in the new infrastructure is an important addition, giving us new opportunities to use our expertise in biotechnology and food to develop new products and technologies. For example, biotechnology allows us to develop new components that we think would work well in a meat analogue, but to turn it into a product that will be well received by the general public, further development steps are required," says Gunnar Westin. 

Getting a new product accepted by consumers is perhaps the biggest challenge in alternative food. 

"It's not enough for a food to be healthy, people have to choose it. Sometimes it's a matter of imitating something that many people like, sometimes it's a new type of product that we have to get used to," says Gunnar Westin. 

Paving the way for commercialisation

Another challenge is to create the right economic conditions. Today, the knowledge and capacity exists to produce almost anything, but consumers are not prepared to pay for such a process by choosing a vegan substitute that costs many times more than the traditional product.

"Where a lot of effort is required to produce a product, it is important that the process is efficient so that the required quantity is actually produced. And if we take a step back, we first need to identify which of the advances in alternative food research are relevant for actual implementation in society," says Gunnar Westin:

"With my team's technical expertise in biotechnology and our research colleagues' expertise in food, together we can help companies decide whether or not a new idea is worth pursuing. It's very much about combining the experimental part with the economic modelling, so that you get figures on what a process could look like and what it would cost."

In the end, the companies have enough information to take an investor on the road to commercialisation. What started as a single-celled yeast could then end up in the shops as a meat analogue with an acceptable price tag.