Flemingsberg set to become home to Alfa Laval’s future innovations
The opening of Alfa Laval’s new development and innovation centre in Flemingsberg in 2025 will also see the launch of an exciting new technology. Ground was recently broken for the centre, which will accommodate around 700 employees.
The groundbreaking ceremony for Alfa Laval’s new innovation centre in Flemingsberg proved to be a popular event. The ceremonial spade was taken jointly by head of the Stockholm County Administrative Board, Sven-Erik Österberg; Sammy Hulpiau, Site Manager Alfa Laval Tumba Flemingsberg; Daniel Dronjak, Chairman of the Huddinge municipal board; and Stefan Dahlbo, CEO of Fabege.
Alfa Laval’s Sammy Hulpiau gave a presentation about the company and plans ahead of the move, in which he mentioned that this will be the company’s second move since it was established in 1883.
“We’re building a new heart in Flemingsberg with a building of the highest environmental standards, with solar panels on the roof and heating and cooling from geothermal energy,” Hulpiau said.
He highlighted how the choice of location was driven in part by Flemingsberg’s development plans.
“Flemingsberg will be a place for business development and innovation with excellent infrastructure, including rail links directly to Arlanda airport and our operations in Eskilstuna.”
Stefan Dahlbo said that he believed that the groundbreaking ceremony was an important step in the development of Flemingsberg.
“We’re taking the next step towards creating a dynamic, innovative area for 50,000 workers, 50,000 residents and 50,000 visitors. This is one of Sweden’s largest urban planning projects that will attract urban planners from all over the world,” Dahlbo said.
Sven-Erik Österberg also spoke about Flemingsberg as a key part of the development of the entire region.
“I’m extremely proud to participate in the inauguration of Alfa Laval’s investment, which will be part of the development of the Flemingsberg of the future,” he said
The cradle of new technology
The new development and innovation centre will, for example, house an 8,000-square-metre high-altitude lab. This facility will make it easier to bring an idea or project to fruition in collaboration with other businesses and universities.
“Today, the development of new innovation requires an ecosystem of partners who can contribute to the development. Many different skill sets are required to succeed, and therefore our innovation centre will become a place for collaboration,” Hulpiau said.
In conjunction with the inauguration of Alfa Laval’s new building in 2025, the company will also launch a new technology which is being developed in collaboration between Alfa Laval and shipping company Wallenius under the project name: AlfaWall Oceanbird.
Oceanbird is a new technology for powering large cargo ships with wind power instead of internal combustion engines. Ships are to be fitted with vast sails, nearly a hundred metres high, which, once at sea, open out to create forward movement.
“We’re already well established in the marine sector with an extensive product portfolio. This will be a fresh step for us in which we again contribute to reduced carbon dioxide emissions and increased sustainability in marine shipping,” said Peter Nielsen, Business Unit President, Alfa Laval Marine Division.
The Oceanbird concept is also backed by KTH and SSPA.
Read more about Alfa Laval’s move to Flemingsberg.
Presentations at the groundbreaking ceremony were broadcast live, for example to Alfa Laval employees in Tumba.
The groundbreaking ceremony for Alfa Laval’s innovation centre in Flemingsberg attracted considerable interest.
Test your business idea: Flemingsberg Science Award Startup open for applications
STARTUP is a competition for startups with a clear connection to Flemingsberg, either as students, residents or otherwise active in the area. All ideas are welcome to participate in STARTUP as long as you compete with your own idea and the turnover and external equity is below SEK 1,000,000 at the time you submit to the competition. After that, we of course welcome you to continue working with the business idea, sales and any investments.
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Stockholm is growing and we want a smart city with knowledge-intensive industry that is sustainable. In a panel discussion during Science Week on February 1, we discuss how innovative neutral arenas are central to the development of the smart and knowledge-intensive city.
Our Sound Space – soundscapes in cities
Don’t miss the opportunity to experience an interactive sound installation at the same time as you contribute to research that improves the future of urban planning.
The Our Sound Space installation has now opened at Neo in Flemingsberg, which offers visitors the opportunity to use their smartphones to experiment with different sound environments and explore with soundscapes.
Our Sound Space is part of the Planning for Youth research project that aims to study methods and tools for meaningful participation of the younger demographic groups in participatory planning and placemaking. Romina Rodela is Docent at Södertörn University and project leader for the initiative. ““Historically, children and young people have not been very central in spatial planning. In our project, we want to explore new methods which are better able to capture their voice in spatial planning and placemaking,” says Rodela.
In this case, you use your smartphone to listen to how a new residential area will sound, for example. Which sounds are perceived as positive and which sound environments are less attractive? The idea is to give the planners of the future better tools to include children, young people and people with impaired vision or other functional variations in the planning stages of such projects. “We’ll use Our Sound Space to gather opinions from different groups to establish how effective a tool like this can be. At the same time, the installation is open to all to try out and comment on,” says Rodela. The software itself is developed by researcher Maurizio Goina at KTH and may in future be shared with planners, construction companies and architects.
Mattias Lindén is responsible for Hemsö’s properties in Flemingsberg and believes that installations such as Our Sound Space have the potential to improve the image of the area. “We’re sitting on an underused resource. In courtyards and along walkways there are areas that could be used for temporary art exhibitions – opportunities for as yet undiscovered artists to gain some exposure. We’ve just decided to support the Our Sound Space project. Imagine if people in the future will associate Flemingsberg with exuberant creativity, a place where you experience new and fresh ideas. Our Sound Space can be a small step in that direction,” says Lindén, Senior Property Manager at Hemsö. Our Sound Space runs until 7th March, while the research project will continue for another two years.
Let Flemingsberg Innovation Community elevate your idea
The Flemingsberg Innovation Community is a meeting place that brings together a range of organisations that provide various types of innovation support and assistance. Among them is Sting, which since its inception in 2002, has guided hundreds of startup companies to success.
