WA3RM

Greenhouses heated with industrial waste heat can dramatically increase the production of vegetables in Sweden. Sweden is a country with a cold climate but a steaming hot industrial sector. This means we have pretty perfect conditions to realize solutions that can help boost food production and build a more resilient food system – by making use of all the waste heat coming from energy-intensive industries. Regenergy Frövi is one example of this and how we can make the food system more resilient and efficient by working together. It contributes to: 🍅 More local food Increasing domestic food production reduces export dependency and makes the food system more resilient. 🌱 New job opportunities Regenergy Frövi creates new jobs and the associated benefits that come with that for both individuals and communities. ↘ Avoided emissions Growing near the end consumer and heating the greenhouse with industrial waste heat help avoid emissions. We have great confidence in exploiting possibilities in making Scandinavia a hub for vegetable production in Europe. In the coming years, there are several large-scale industrial projects that we are looking into developing greenhouse projects together with, using waste heat. We strongly believe that Sweden and Scandinavia have the potential to greatly increase their self-sufficiency of vegetables and possibly even become net-exporting countries.

You need more than tomatoes to make a ‘salad’ of circular industrial development a tasty success. That’s why we’ve entered into a greenhouse development agreement with the Swedish grower Agtira. Agtira has given us the task of locating, developing and secure financing for a suitable site to develop greenhouse(s) for cucumber production using excess heat from an industry or data centre. Exactly where and how will be further detailed in 2025, but we are naturally excited to add another piece of the puzzle to a more resilient food system and increased self sufficency in Sweden. Stay tuned for more on our work with Agtira in the coming year and read more about the news in this press release: https://lnkd.in/dw2p6xqQ #foodsecurity #circularity #notimetowaste Image: Agtira

Data centers can be at the forefront of sustainable innovation through waste heat reuse: turning the excess heat generated by servers into a valuable resource for nearby communities and industries. By doing so, data centers not only mitigate their environmental impact but also contribute positively to local energy ecosystems. If that sounds interesting (and we think it does), why not head to Kistamässan in Stockholm on December 5th, where WA3RM's co-founder Thomas Parker, and Svante Horn from Scandinavian Data Centers, will discuss exactly that. Later on, Thomas will continue the discussion together with Rolf Jönsson from Alfa Laval, on the topic "Heat reuse and the importance of every degree". Alfa Laval and WA3RM will show scalable solutions built on proven technology, combining a circular approach with heat transfer expertise. And also show how every degree of heat that is reused can have a significant impact on energy efficiency and sustainability. For more information and registration, please visit: https://lnkd.in/esQ6RjWG #datacenterforum

WINTER IS COMING! It’s getting cold and dark, and you might think harvest season has passed in the Nordics. Nope. From now on, every season is harvest season. Especially if you have a greenhouse heated with excess heat from a friend who also share a passion for circular solutions.   This is how to grow in the dark:   First, tap into excess heat from local energy-intensive industries and use it to warm greenhouses. Then: turn the lights on.   Using energy-efficient LED lighting, the perfect growing conditions can be created indoors—no matter the snowstorms and pitch-black winter weather outside.   These LEDs provide plants with the specific light wavelengths they need for photosynthesis, mimicking sunlight to fuel growth. But that’s not all. LEDs are adjustable, allowing growers to fine-tune the lighting to boost growth, enhance flavors, and reduce waste. But the LEDs doesn’t light up the greenhouses like spaceships in the night. In fact, more than 99% of the light is screened off: reflecting much back to the crop, and increases the energy efficiency of the entire greenhouse.    This means the Nordics are poised to become a hub for responsibly grown vegetables. With renewable energy, clean water, and lots of industrial excess heat, this region can grow fresh produce year-round and offer a more robust alternative to current food production systems that are under increasing pressure from climate change.   We have several projects in the making that aim to capture and reuse industrial waste streams to increase local food production.   The Nordic winters may be dark, but the future of food production up here is bright.

Now there are 11.5 billion more reasons to be excited about the future financing of WA3RM’s upcoming projects to strengthen the Swedish food system. The Swedish investment firm Navigo Invest AB (publ) subsidiary Vinga Group has signed a long-term financing agreement with WA3RM that covers the future financing of new upcoming WA3RM projects. In total, the projects have a financing framework of up to SEK 11.5 billion (roughly 1 billion euro). The financing includes WA3RM's circular development projects in Östersunds kommun (Sweden) and Varde Kommune (Denmark), where the plan is to build large greenhouses that utilise the residual heat from nearby data centres for large-scale vegetable production. The financing co-operation is intended for the construction phase of the projects. The financing framework is yet another proof that investments in making the food system more robust and resilient is highly attractive, as well as urgently needed. “We are very pleased to continue the co-operation with Vinga on financing solutions for our upcoming projects in Scandinavia. Developing circular industrial projects is a complex team effort and we are extremely happy to have Vinga on board”, says Jacques Ejlerskov, CEO WA3RM AB. Read Navigo's press release here: https://lnkd.in/dpvjMFgh

Now there are 11.5 billion more reasons to be excited about the future financing of WA3RM’s upcoming projects to strengthen the Swedish food system. The Swedish investment firm Navigo Invest AB (publ) subsidiary Vinga Group has signed a long-term financing agreement with WA3RM that covers the future financing of new upcoming WA3RM projects. In total, the projects have a financing framework of up to SEK 11.5 billion (roughly 1 billion euro). The financing includes WA3RM's circular development projects in Östersunds kommun (Sweden) and Varde Kommune (Denmark), where the plan is to build large greenhouses that utilise the residual heat from nearby data centres for large-scale vegetable production. The financing co-operation is intended for the construction phase of the projects. The financing framework is yet another proof that investments in making the food system more robust and resilient is highly attractive, as well as urgently needed. “We are very pleased to continue the co-operation with Vinga on financing solutions for our upcoming projects in Scandinavia. Developing circular industrial projects is a complex team effort and we are extremely happy to have Vinga on board”, says Jacques Ejlerskov, CEO WA3RM AB. Read Navigo's press release here: https://lnkd.in/dpvjMFgh

We are noticing an increased sense of urgency for looking a waste streams as unused highly profitable resources. Investors are scanning the markets for companies offering adaptation solutions and governments and decision makers are keen to secure future resilience, not least in the food system. This is where we at WA3RM enter the picture. Earlier this week, WA3RM CEO Jacques Ejlerskov, had been invited by Business Sweden Europe to the Swedish Embassy Netherlands to present our solutions to Dutch companies and actors, at an invest seminar themed “Promoting Sustainable Greenhouse Horticulture in Sweden”. Representatives from the Swedish government gave an introduction to Sweden’s national food strategy and different policy instruments available, as well as detailing available investment support. In the moderated discussion that followed, several ideas were introduced of things to come, but a lot of attention was also given to WA3RM as a rare example of someone who has developed a fully circular project on an industrial scale - that actually has an impact on the resilience of the food system. There are several projects to come, but as of now, our first greenhouse project is a stand-out case of what’s possible to achieve with courage and determination. And we are more than happy to be pushed into the spotlight and spread the word on how action beats words. Every time. No time to waste!

Sweden is heavily dependent on food imports, not least fruits and vegetables. A lot of the produce is from Spain, where thousands of hectares of fruit and vegetable production have been destroyed by the devastating storms hitting western and southern Spain during the last couple of weeks.   The full extent of the damage is still unclear, as many farmers struggle to access their farmland. Naturally, we are deeply concerned about everything that has happened to the region and all those affected, but the changing climate needs to have an effect on how countries heavily dependent of food imports set up their food systems to become more resilient and self-sufficient.   Earlier this week, WA3RM founder Fredrik Indebetou took part in a seminar on the green transition in the Swedish Parliament. In his comments to present politicians and representatives from other companies (such as LKAB, Stegra, Northvolt and Jämtkraft), Fredrik stressed the need for action to become more resilient. He also pointed out that we already have the means to strengthen our food system if we really want to. WA3RM’s model of developing greenhouses based on reusing excess heat from energy intensive industries is only a part of the solution but at least it is on an industrial scale big enough to have an impact. However, strengthening the food system is a team sport, so many actors need to pitch in – from the industry but also from society and politicians. And we must all dare to look hard at current business models, supply chains, logistical solutions and customer behavior. Only then can we begin to have real and lasting impact.

Staying true to our inner core of focusing on circularity, we repost this nomination to the Nordic Circular Award. We are very honored to be one of 25 rising circular stars in the Nordics up for the prize being awarded in Helsinki on November 18th. Many thanks for the nomination and best of luck to our other 24 inspirational colleagues!

Yesterday, Fredrik Indebetou took the stage at Fossilfritt Sverige and shared a powerful message on the potential of re-using industrial waste streams:   "Industrial waste streams are a resource with a potential equivalent to iron or hydropower. Reusing industrial waste streams is one of the biggest opportunities to create impact at scale today and meet rising demands for commodities like energy and food.   For example, the re-use of industrial waste heat can turbocharge the progress towards a more efficient and responsible food system. Our projects in Sweden and Denmark show that the Nordics can become a new center for responsible food production, with the opportunity to grow fresh produce year-round, even in the harshest winters. This shift would reduce reliance on imports, strengthen food security, and propose a new global standard for producing food."   We are eager to keep up the pace in the much needed industrial transition going on, where we are determined to play a part in showcasing one way of achieving fast and large scale impact. If you have any ideas on conferences/events that would benefit from a presentation of WA3RM and our ambition to change the way future industries are designed based on circularity and using wasted resources, please drop a comment below or get in touch at info@wa3rm.se. Thanks!