Lars Gunnar Almryd CEO at Envigas-Civil engineer KTH with a background in the forest industry and the recycling industry who is now working to build a new industry in biochar production to meet the metallurgical industry's need for fossil-free carbon.

How do you see the speed of the transition from fossil to fossil-free fuels and what could accelerate the pace?
If we limit ourselves to transport fuels and include electricity in the form of electrified vehicles or hydrogen operation, there are plenty of moment 22 situations to highlight that mean that it does not go as fast as it could, especially when converting a large system such as the transport sector. There is often a lack of a holistic approach to the issues, and it is also not uncommon for politicians to be greedy, deciding on specific solutions instead of setting clear long-term policy instruments to achieve the desired effect. An example of this is ethanol 10-15 years ago.
I also have an example from our own business. Envigas' main product is biochar, i.e. carbon produced from forest residues. Biochar is used as an industrial input in the metallurgical industry. This transition is driven by companies' ambitious agenda to reduce carbon emissions from their processes and products. Working well! As a by-product of our process, we currently produce pyrolysis oil that can be used as an input in the production of vehicle fuel. It has difficulty finding a market because many people are reluctant to invest in using it because they do not know what the supply will be. In addition, there is an ambiguity in the regulations with changed conditions, such as the quota obligation recently. Does not work well!
We could theoretically make hydrogen instead of pyrolysis oil, but there is currently no infrastructure to handle it. Therefore, it is currently too great a risk to invest in the necessary technology development required to make it possible.
If we believe in democracy and market economy, I believe that the solution is better control instruments that are long-term and predictable and steer towards the effect we want to achieve. Then the market will take care of it and solve the task.

What major obstacles do you see in the future for this transition?
That there is not enough raw material in a broad perspective. From forest raw material to green electricity. In addition, infrastructure will be an obstacle. The root cause is often found in long permit processes and that there are no clear priorities about what is most important in the transition of society.
The Swedish administrative model, with municipal self-government and municipal veto etc. has certainly served our country well in the past when it was not so urgent. Most people want to buy green electricity, but the expansion is often stopped by the "not in my backyard" syndrome, as most people also protest against having a wind turbine near where they live.

How do you see INDUSTRY 4.0? The fourth industrial revolution?
Very excited about the opportunities it offers. But I am also humbled by the developments on a personal level.
Our company is one of the, probably the very first, companies to produce high-quality biochar for the highest demands of the metallurgical industry. The need within a five-ten-year period for biochar is enormous and we will be involved in building a large-scale industry to meet the need.
Then it is important to think right from the start and not get stuck in yesterday's solutions, such as those I have experience of from my time in the process industry. There I am humble to the task.