Svanljung Foundation donates €70,000 to the University of Vaasa – the university to invest in hydrogen and battery technology research
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In honour of its 85th anniversary, the Gustaf Svanljung Endowment Fund has donated €70,000 to the University of Vaasa for the development of research infrastructure. With this donation, the university will expand its engine laboratory in 2024–2025 to incorporate hydrogen utilisation and energy storage. This way, the university will continue its long-term investment in energy research and sustainable energy solutions.
The University of Vaasa operates in the middle of the largest energy and environmental cluster in the Nordic countries, EnergyVaasa, and develops energy expertise in cooperation with international industrial companies and the public sector. The aim is to reform the energy sector and combat climate change with new advanced solutions. VEBIC, a research platform for sustainable energy systems, plays a particularly important role in this.
“We have developed our research environment on a long-term basis to meet future needs. This spring, the university acquired the Energy Lab building which houses our combustion engine and fuel laboratories, says Minna Martikainen, rector of the University of Vaasa.
“The mission of the Gustaf Svanljung Endowment Fund is to support trade, industry and agriculture in Ostrobothnia. Today, the foundation’s assets amount to approximately €5 million and the annual grant allocation to more than €100,000. The majority of the grants are for research and cooperation with the technology industry at the University of Vaasa, of which this support is a good example, say representatives of the Endowment Fund.
In the next phase, the university will invest in research into both hydrogen and battery technologies. This responds to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals on issues relating to the green transition and the energy transition.
“This research infrastructure strengthens the basis of energy research focusing on carbon-neutral fuel, like hydrogen, and solutions relating to energy storage, such as batteries. Research plays a crucial role in driving the change towards carbon-neutral energy production in our society. I’d like to warmly congratulate the Svanljung Foundation for their anniversary and thank them for the donation,” Martikainen says.
In the photo (from left): Vice-Rector Mika Grundström, Secretary of the Foundation Kaj Ericsson, Chair of the Foundation Björn Hartman and Rector Minna Martikainen.
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