Symposium on Heat and Power Technologies for Industrial Decarbonization – 2025
On April 2, 2025, the Heat and Power Technology (HPT) division at KTH hosted a full-day symposium focused on the decarbonization of industrial energy systems. The event brought together researchers, students, industry experts, and public sector representatives to exchange knowledge, build connections, and discuss pathways forward in the energy transition.
The day featured keynote talks, technical presentations, and panel discussions on thermal energy storage, electrification, financing innovation, and research–industry collaboration. It concluded with a networking session where attendees continued discussions informally.
Video teaser
Watch the highlights from the symposium and hear from speakers and participants.
Key takeaways
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Educating the next generation of engineers remains a core priority.
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Collaboration across sectors is essential to accelerate decarbonization.
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There is a clear need for long-term planning and infrastructure investment, particularly in expanding grid capacity to enable electrification.
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Financial and policy support must align with technology development—not only for electrification, but also for CCUS (especially of biogenic origin), energy storage, and demand-response solutions.
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Heat is what industry consumes the most. Solutions and policies must be designed to tackle that.
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Decarbonization is also about making processes more efficient and circular—innovation in industrial processes and materials (including vaporization of waste) can significantly help reduce the footprint of industries.
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A key message is that we must realize this transition without killing our industry. It needs to remain internationally competitive, and users must be able to bear the costs. This is where policy and financial support are paramount—if not addressed, we risk transitioning only to end up importing from elsewhere.
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Decarbonization is not only about fighting climate change through energy transition—it is also a unique opportunity to re-industrialize the EU, boost the economy, and ensure energy security and independence.
Gallery and quotes
Take a look at some moments and reflections captured during the day.
“I think this symposium has been very, very interesting, and the topic is so important for society. It’s been really nice to hear different perspectives from the industry on the energy and climate transition—and also to see how competitiveness ties into our sustainability goals.” Dr. Klara Helstad, Deputy Head of R&I and Business Development at Swedish Energy Agency.
“For us, the biggest challenge is making a zero-carbon industry also a profitable one. Reducing CO₂ emissions is possible, but staying competitive is tough—especially when you’re competing against players who don’t have to care about the environmental side. That creates a real imbalance.” Kamil Maszczyk, Project Manager at K-FLEX.
“For me, the most useful part of this symposium was seeing people from different sectors together in one room. These are people who normally don’t talk every day—but in the bigger picture, they’re working toward the same goals. What comes out of that is important: we can talk about what’s a problem for one group and what might be an even bigger problem for another.
Right now, the biggest challenge in industrial decarbonization—speaking from the perspective of the company I represent—is how to act fast. We need tools and calculations that help us make quick decisions so we don’t slow the process down. It’s about being ready to keep pace with electrification, wherever it’s heading.” Dr. Monika Topel, Power System Analyst, Svenska Kraftnätt.
“This symposium is very timely. What I found especially important is that it brings together the topics of heat and power. Today’s complex challenges need collaboration across disciplines, and this event really helped different partners and actors meet and share experiences.
One of the biggest challenges, from my perspective as a professor in power grid technology, is getting long-term agreements in place to support infrastructure. To solve the challenges we face, we need to expand the energy system—and that can’t be left to the market. It needs government and industry support. But with today’s geopolitical situation, long-term collaboration is difficult. This kind of dialogue helps by sharing knowledge—that’s one way forward.” Prof. Lina Bertling Tjenberg, Deputy Head – School of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, KTH.
“Being here at the symposium has been a great platform for discussing, understanding, and challenging different perspectives on the energy transition. It’s a strong mix—bringing together academia and industry, from established players to startups and scale-ups. I think you need that crossroads of perspectives to really get your brain spinning and start finding answers to the big questions. It’s been great—honestly, better than I expected.” Kristofer Fröjd, SVP Strategy and Business Development, Ellevio.
“There are two main challenges for us. First is socialization—helping people understand that Rondo heat batteries exist, and that they can electrify heat, eliminate carbon, and save money. Second is speeding up the electricity network build-out—because that’s what enables everything else.” Mark Meldrum, SVP Global Head of Business Development at Rondo Energy.
“It was an amazing symposium—I really enjoyed it. You (HPT) did a great job bringing together a lot of different industry stakeholders. For academia, that was very valuable—to see all the challenges and perspectives being addressed. What I found especially interesting was the involvement of the financial sector. That’s not something we see often in similar events, and it’s very important from a research point of view. As we discussed today, we have to balance sustainability and competitiveness. The risk is that we lose industry to parts of the world where sustainability plays a smaller role and costs are lower. That’s something we need to prevent.” Prof. Robert Pitz-Paal, Director of the Institute of Solar Research at DLR.
“I think the technology is already there—we have heat pumps, solar collectors, and storage. The big challenge now is political: how do we create the right environment to shift from fossil-based heat to renewable solutions? We’re seeing a lot of work happening, but not enough installations. We’d really like to see more industries and cities taking the step and actually investing in low-carbon technologies.” Joakim Byström, Chief Executive Officer at Absolicon.
“This symposium was a great opportunity—for me personally and for SyncroStor—to meet others in the field, connect with companies like ours, and network with potential investors. The challenge we face is the competition among technologies. The financial benefits of what we offer are real, but the market isn’t there yet. Until the market evolves, it’s hard for us to be competitive.” Alexis Dole, Chief Technology Officer, Synchrostor.
“As an organizer, I’m really happy with how the event went. We brought together a diverse group of stakeholders, which was one of our goals. We also raised awareness—within KTH, among researchers and students, and in society more broadly.
Industrial decarbonization is definitely a challenge—but it’s also a huge opportunity. If we do this right, we can boost Europe’s economy with new manufacturing and new jobs. But it’s not just about the technology—we also need finance, policy, and awareness working together.
If you ask different stakeholders what the biggest challenge is, you’ll get different answers. And that’s the point. For me, the question isn’t what’s the biggest challenge—it’s how can we, as a university, support each group in solving theirs. And how can we connect them so they can help each other?” Dr. Rafael Guédez, Head of Division ‘Heat and Power Technologies’ (HPT), KTH Energy Department.
“I found the symposium extremely interesting. What stood out to me was the strong focus on collaboration. That was really the key message of the day.
As an organizer, I was happy to see industry and end users so engaged. It’s not just about technology suppliers anymore—there’s a clear will to be involved in shaping the solutions.
The biggest challenge is that industrial decarbonization needs to happen now. That requires large-scale financing and a coordinated approach. Events like this help by bringing different perspectives together and encouraging people to listen to one another’s needs.” Dr. Silvia Trevisan, Assist. Professor and Research Group Leader, KTH Energy Department – HPT.
Participants & partners
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Invited speakers and panelists (see the agenda at a glance at the end of this page)
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Industry and research partners from Sweden and abroad
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Representatives from KTH, the Swedish Energy Agency, and European institutions
Download the full list of participants (pdf 380 kB)
Looking ahead
We thank everyone who contributed to the success of this event—and we look forward to welcoming you to the next edition, tentatively planned for 2027. If you're interested in participating or collaborating, feel free to contact us:
Agenda at a glance
Many hands, one event
This event wouldn't have been possible without the dedication of the organizing team:
We'd also like to thank all colleagues at HPT who supported the symposium throughout the day. Your contributions were truly appreciated.