Swedish nonprofit Norrsken Foundation is opening a new hub in Brussels, promising to help European impact startups gain greater access to EU lawmakers.
Norrsken, set up by Klarna cofounder Niklas Adalberth in 2016, already runs a number of co-working spaces around the world — in Stockholm, Barcelona and Kigali — and a €320m impact fund for entrepreneurs trying to solve social problems.
The new space, launched in partnership with Brussels-based policy group Sustainable Hub, is expected to help homegrown startups access lawmakers and have a seat at the table for political debates that affect their industries.
“By bringing impact entrepreneurship into the policy conversation, we can ensure that the EU remains a leader in sustainable innovation — not just in ambition, but in execution,” says Willem Vriesendorp, co-founder of Norrsken House Brussels.
Located just a short distance from the European Commission, Parliament, Council, and other key EU institutions, the hub will offer seven floors of coworking space for impact-driven entrepreneurs, investors, and sustainability advocates. It will also host events and networking opportunities between Norrsken members and decision-makers.
The launch of the hub comes at a critical time. In the last nine months, climate tech has faced significant challenges, including a large drop in investments and high-profile bankruptcies, such as Northvolt’s. As a result, climate tech is going through something of an identity crisis.
At the same time, Europe boasts nearly twice as many climate and cleantech startups as the US, and climate tech accounted for almost 30% of all European VC funding in 2023, says Niklas Adalberth, the founder of Norrsken.
Climate tech was also the vertical with the most investments in 2024, thanks to large investments in Northvolt and Stegra in the first month of the year, according to Sifted data.
“Europe has an enormous advantage, perhaps much bigger than we realise. Europe has all the ingredients it needs to be a leader in the next economy: world-class talent, top-tier R&D, a thriving cleantech ecosystem, and a forward-thinking regulatory environment,” Adalberth says.
“In these times of economic and political turbulence, I believe it is more important than ever that the EU does not abandon its role as a sustainability leader.”
Decisions made in Brussels can sometimes feel distant for smaller startups. However, for cross-border climate tech startups such as Swedish hybrid plane startup Heart Aerospace, access to policymakers in Brussels is increasingly important. Heart Aerospace’s founder and CEO, Anders Forslund, was earlier this week in Brussels to engage with policymakers about the aviation policies on which the company relies.
“We’re in Brussels several times a year, participating in key discussions that influence the future of sustainable aviation,” Anders Forslund says in an email.
“To achieve net-zero aviation by 2050, we need bold political action alongside technological innovation. Engaging with policymakers ensures that startups and scaleups like Heart Aerospace can help shape the future of clean aviation and secure the necessary support to bring these solutions to market,” he continued.
Alexis Normand, co-founder of carbon accounting startup Greenly, also told Sifted last week how they are lobbying against the Omnibus package at the EU level.
“What I discovered at the beginning of this fight is how important Europe actually is, how our interests are shared with other countries. And you know, I’m not lobbying the French people anymore, I’m lobbying the federal government,” Normand said.
Whether or not a Norrsken hub in Brussels will make a difference for climate tech startups when it comes to influencing policy in the EU, Adalberth believes it will help.
“If we can give these startups an additional head start by shaping policy for something that benefits our future generations, then it’s certainly an edge.”
Read the orginal article: https://sifted.eu/articles/norrsken-launches-brussels-hub/
