CLEANTECH SOLUTIONS – Co-creating Environmental Solutions with Lead Customers is a two-year (2011–2013) research project funded by the Serve -programme within the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (TEKES). The project strives to find new ways to increase industrial companies’ competitiveness by identifying and developing novel processes and tools that facilitate the co-creation, assessment and rapid commercialization of cleantech solutions.
Cleantech solutions are integrated combinations of products and services designed to deliver environmental benefits and economic value for customers and society as a whole. The co-creation of cleantech solutions linking industrial suppliers and their lead customers reduces the environmental load of industrial production processes. Typical cleantech solutions include automation solutions that improve process efficiency, applications for recycling industrial waters, and operating services that result in cost and energy savings.
The research project is led by Lappeenranta University of Technology in collaboration with the University of Oulu and involves researchers in industrial management, environmental technology and business administration. The key project partners are major Finnish cleantech companies and associations including Outotec, Kemira, Metso, Cleantech Finland, and the Finnish Cleantech Cluster.
The project focuses on creating new knowledge on the following themes:
1) Innovating Cleantech Solutions with lead customers in developed and emerging markets
2) Finding new ways to accelerate the commercialization of Cleantech Solutions
3) Assessing the environmental performance and customer value added by Cleantech Solutions
