Seminar: Clean Industry for Security and Competitiveness
Europe’s transition toward a clean, competitive, and resilient industrial base is accelerating. The EU’s Clean Industrial Deal and related Green Deal policies are reshaping markets, investment flows, and value chains across the continent. The Baltic region, strategically positioned between the Nordic and Central European markets, has the potential to become a regional hub for clean technologies, renewable energy deployment, and innovative industrial transformation.
Estonia has an opportunity to demonstrate leadership in developing and implementing clean industrial solutions that drive growth, enhance security, and strengthen European energy and technological sovereignty.
The seminar will bring together policymakers, renewable energy players, clean technology developers, industrials, investors, and researchers to share insights, form partnerships, and discuss the policy and financial frameworks needed to implement Europe’s clean industrial transformation.
Co-organisers :
Topics covered at the seminar:
- Policies for clean, resilient, and competitive Europe.
- Integrating renewable energy and clean technologies in the industry.
- From innovation to market – scaling clean technologies.
- Strategic materials and resource efficiency.
- Financing the clean industrial transition.
Programme
09:00–09:30
Registration & coffee
09:30–09:35
Event welcome by Mart Valner, Host of the Day
09:35–09:45
Opening remarks by organisers:
Ivar Pae, Board Member, Enterprise Estonia
Silver Sillak, Director, Estonian Renewable Energy Association
Karlis Goldstein, CEO, Cleantech Estonia
09:54–10:00
Ministerial address: Jaanus Uiga, Deputy Secretary General for Energy & Mineral Resources, Ministry of Climate of Estonia
10:00–10:15
European Commission address: Vincent Berrutto, Head of Unit – Digitalisation, competitiveness, research and innovation
10:15–10:30
Presentation: Financing of large-scale renewable assets – What works and what does not?
Uku-Kaarel Vorm, Head of Financial Planning & Analysis, Sunly
10:30–10:45
Presentation: An alternative to traditional financing — partnership for energy infrastructure.
Kevin Vaher, Chief Growth Officer, Gren Group
10:45–11:30
Discussion: Public money, private, or both? The capital stack Europe needs to compete.
Igors Kasjanovs, Senior Economist, Nordic Investment Bank
Götz von Thadden, Head of Unit for Financial Instruments in the Baltic Sea & Northern Europe, European Investment Bank
Hendrik Reimand, Founding Partner, 2C Ventures
Moderator: Helen Anijalg
The EIB and NIB can provide scale. Private venture and growth funds can move fast. But too often, European clean industry companies find themselves stuck between the two – too big for early-stage funding, too risky for traditional finance. This panel digs into how to close that gap and what a working capital stack for the European clean industry actually looks like.
11:30–12:00
Coffee break
12:00–12:30
Conversation: Clean energy solutions for the industry
Jaak Tuksam, Business Development Manager, Gren Group
Andres Veske, Chairman of the Management Board, Energiasalv Pakri
A podcast-style conversation between energy entrepreneurs about what it actually takes to deliver clean energy solutions for industry in the Baltics and beyond.
12:30–13:10
Discussion: Industrial innovation success stories, drivers and barriers
Raivo Melsas, Country Head of Estonia, Adven
Timo Hermlin, CEO, Estonian Plywood
Karl Koort, Development Manager, Bioforce
Moderator: Kristi Lember, Key Account Manager (Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals and Materials Technology), Enterprise Estonia
Innovators from various industries (energy, food, timber, machinery) share their success stories, drivers, and barriers to adopting clean technologies and industrial symbiosis.
13:10–13:30
Inspiration: Jan Gustav Grolig, CTO, Elcogen
An unscripted account of what it really takes to go from Estonian startup to global clean tech player – the pivots, the deals, and the lessons no textbook covers.
13:30–15:00
Lunch and speed-dating
14:00–15:00
Breakout session: Electrification opportunities in Estonia and Europe, organised by the European Commission Representation in Estonia, the Tallinn Centre of the Stockholm Environment Institute, and Cleantech Estonia
About the seminar
09:00–09:30
Registration & coffee
09:30–09:35
Event welcome by Mart Valner, Host of the Day
09:35–09:45
Opening remarks by organisers:
Ivar Pae, Board Member, Enterprise Estonia
Silver Sillak, Director, Estonian Renewable Energy Association
Karlis Goldstein, CEO, Cleantech Estonia
09:54–10:00
Ministerial address: Jaanus Uiga, Deputy Secretary General for Energy & Mineral Resources, Ministry of Climate of Estonia
10:00–10:15
European Commission address: Vincent Berrutto, Head of Unit – Digitalisation, competitiveness, research and innovation
10:15–10:30
Presentation: Financing of large-scale renewable assets – What works and what does not?
Uku-Kaarel Vorm, Head of Financial Planning & Analysis, Sunly
10:30–10:45
Presentation: An alternative to traditional financing — partnership for energy infrastructure.
Kevin Vaher, Chief Growth Officer, Gren Group
10:45–11:30
Discussion: Public money, private, or both? The capital stack Europe needs to compete.
Igors Kasjanovs, Senior Economist, Nordic Investment Bank
Götz von Thadden, Head of Unit for Financial Instruments in the Baltic Sea & Northern Europe, European Investment Bank
Hendrik Reimand, Founding Partner, 2C Ventures
Moderator: Helen Anijalg
The EIB and NIB can provide scale. Private venture and growth funds can move fast. But too often, European clean industry companies find themselves stuck between the two – too big for early-stage funding, too risky for traditional finance. This panel digs into how to close that gap and what a working capital stack for the European clean industry actually looks like.
11:30–12:00
Coffee break
12:00–12:30
Conversation: Clean energy solutions for the industry
Jaak Tuksam, Business Development Manager, Gren Group
Andres Veske, Chairman of the Management Board, Energiasalv Pakri
A podcast-style conversation between energy entrepreneurs about what it actually takes to deliver clean energy solutions for industry in the Baltics and beyond.
12:30–13:10
Discussion: Industrial innovation success stories, drivers and barriers
Raivo Melsas, Country Head of Estonia, Adven
Timo Hermlin, CEO, Estonian Plywood
Karl Koort, Development Manager, Bioforce
Moderator: Kristi Lember, Key Account Manager (Pharmaceuticals, Chemicals and Materials Technology), Enterprise Estonia
Innovators from various industries (energy, food, timber, machinery) share their success stories, drivers, and barriers to adopting clean technologies and industrial symbiosis.
13:10–13:30
Inspiration: Jan Gustav Grolig, CTO, Elcogen
An unscripted account of what it really takes to go from Estonian startup to global clean tech player – the pivots, the deals, and the lessons no textbook covers.
13:30–15:00
Lunch and speed-dating
14:00–15:00
Breakout session: Electrification opportunities in Estonia and Europe, organised by the European Commission Representation in Estonia, the Tallinn Centre of the Stockholm Environment Institute, and Cleantech Estonia