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In 2023, Tallinn holds the title of the European Green Capital and showcases its biodiversity, sustainability governance and eco-innovation. One of the year’s highlights will be the GreenTech Week, taking place on the 13th – 17th of November, with events like Cleantech Forum Europe, Tallinn NEXPO, Smart Cities Convention, Green Governance Conference and Balanced Economy Forum.
The main goal of GreenTech Week is to promote cooperation between green technology specialists and dialogue between European cities and companies. Up to 500 investors, innovators and entrepreneurs of green technology will be in Tallinn.
“The European Green Capital Year pushed us to bring a green technology event and one of Europe’s most important green technology forums to Estonia,” said Mayor of Tallinn Mihhail Kõlvart. He added that organising the event allows Estonian green technology companies to present their ideas to specialists in the field, investors and the public sector. “We help both Tallinn and other Estonian companies reach the right people and get additional investments in the field of green technology,” Kõlvart concluded.
The most innovative ideas from Europe, Asia and the United States will be hosted in Tallinn during the international technology event NEXPO Tallinn. The exhibition is primarily for companies with innovative technologies and smart city solutions. One of the main focal themes of the expo is mobility, however, the event will also cover the topics of energy & power, materials & chemicals, resources & environment, agriculture & food and enabling technologies.
“In the 13th century, Tallinn joined the Hanseatic League, a trading union around the Baltic Sea, and Tallinn became an important trading point between East and West. NEXPO wants to restore this important role in a modern format – to be a meeting place for Eastern and Western companies. The more we are known as a business and meeting point, the more companies and entrepreneurs will find their way here,” Andres Kask, the project manager of NEXPO Tallinn, said.
“We are delighted that Tallinn’s and Estonia’s own tech giants have shown interest in participating at NEXPO, including Auve Tech, Clevon, Comodule, Fibenol, and Gelatex. At the end of summer, we had 80 companies, all of whom have an exciting product or service to show at the exhibition! Of course, everybody is welcome to the exhibition in November,” Kask concluded.
In addition to NEXPO Tallinn, the Cleantech Forum Europe will take place during GreenTech Week. Cleantech forums are one-of-a-kind and the longest-running innovation events in the world. Since 2002, the events have brought together the most influential innovation leaders in cleantech – business leaders, CEOs of startups and growth companies, investors, government agencies and other actors from all areas of resource innovation.
GreenEST Summit is the largest green technology conference in the region, connecting and facilitating networking among the Estonian greentech industry through coordinated matchmaking.
The Smart Cities Convention will bring together city delegations worldwide on the topic of public strategic innovation, the human-centred application of smart city tools, and linking the public and private sectors.
Balanced Economy Forum brings examples of future economic models from other parts of the world and encourages Estonian decision-makers to conceptualise and implement a balanced economic model.
Thanks to these events, such potential business and know-how for companies open, the like of which has not been seen in Tallinn or even Estonia before. More than 30 city delegations and over 2000 green technology enthusiasts worldwide will be in Tallinn. You are invited to join us and be a part of the future city!
Think global, test in Tallinn!
In addition, Tallinn invites companies to test their sustainable innovation solutions in the capital city of Estonia. The Test in Tallinn initiative welcomes companies worldwide to test their smart solutions on the streets of Tallinn in three focus areas: mobility, energy efficiency and renewable energy. These areas have shown the greatest impact and legislative readiness; they are where today’s cooperation between the city and local entrepreneurs has been the most effective.
Tallinn and Estonia already have a positive image both in terms of the ease of doing business, the creation and growth environment for startup companies and the digital society in general. The strength of Tallinn is our smallness, flexibility, and technological openness of society.
“Solving the urban challenge is crucial to reaching global climate goals, and cities have a key role in transitioning to a low carbon economy. We invite anyone worldwide to come and build or try out their ground-breaking new ideas, prototypes, or products. We are committed to finding the best options and support for the companies,” the Mayor of Tallinn said.
The city supports testing innovation projects in the city environment for up to 12 months on a case-by-case basis. For the development and piloting of innovative solutions, the city offers assistance in finding suitable opportunities and locations (city properties, construction objects, buildings), identifying the relevant departments and contacts in the city organization for validating and implementing innovation projects, and, if possible, providing necessary open data for conducting test projects.
Nine companies in two rounds have already been selected to partner with the city. “Interest in the Test in Tallinn programme has exceeded all expectations, 20 applications have been received in the first half of 2023, nine projects have been approved by the city to test their technology in Tallinn. People from different parts of the world are constantly writing to us with the desire to know more, which is great. Test in Tallinn can be considered a success, as every innovation project contributes to Tallinn’s ambitions to be a smart city – a city with effective, sustainable management providing the best services to our residents and visitors,” said Mark-Emil Talivere, Innovation Expert at Tallinn City Enterprise Centre.
“The first tests are already in progress,” Talivere revealed. “One of the world’s smallest ToF sensors, developed by the Estonian startup Cleanhand OÜ, is already collecting data from the sewage tank under Männi Park, which helps the government of Mustamäe district to make the best decisions regarding the organisation of emptying the tank. An additional hundred trash cans at public transport stops in the Mustamäe district will be digitised to make more environmentally friendly and cost-effective decisions.”
“The product of Green Gravels is tested as a lightweight filling material for the new Mustamäe State High School parking lot. This is a significant innovation project because, in addition to the filling of foam glass rubble, the parking lot is also covered with green asphalt – a concept developed by the company Fibenol to replace conventional bitumen with wood lignin.“
All innovators and GreenTech companies are welcome to test in Tallinn – applications can be submitted anytime.
Tallinn GreenTech Week:
13.-17.11 Tallinn NEXPO
13.11 GreenEST Summit 2023
14.-16.11 Cleantech Forum Europe
14.-15.11 Smart Cities Convention
16.11 Green Governance Conference
17.11 Balanced Economy Forum “Elephant in the Room”
See the whole programme.
