Lars Gunnar Almryd CEO at Envigas - Civil Engineer KTH with a background from 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 view 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 catch-22 situations to highlight that mean that it is not going as fast as it could, especially when you are going to convert a large system like the transport sector. Often there is a lack of a holistic view of the issues and it is also not uncommon with political meddling where you decide on specific solutions instead of setting long-term clear control measures 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, ie carbon produced from residual products from the forest. The biochar is used as an industrial input in the metallurgical industry. This conversion is driven by the companies' ambitious agenda to reduce carbon dioxide emissions from their processes and products. Works well! As a by-product from our process, we now get pyrolysis oil that can be used as an input in the production of vehicle fuel. It has difficulty finding a market because many hesitate to invest in order to be able to use it because you do not know what the supply will be like. In addition, there is an ambiguity in the regulations with changed conditions, e.g. the quota obligation most 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 a market economy, I believe that the solution is better control measures 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 going forward for this transition?
That there is not enough raw material in a broad perspective. Everything from forest raw material to green electricity. In addition, the infrastructure will be an obstacle. The root cause is often in long permit processes and that there are no clear priorities about what is most important in the transformation of society.
The Swedish administrative model, with municipal self-government and municipal veto etc. has certainly served our country well before when there was no hurry. 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 in the vicinity where they live.

How do you view INDUSTRY 4.0? The fourth industrial revolution?
Fantastically exciting with the opportunities it offers. But I am also humble in the face of development on a personal level.
Our company is one of the, probably the very first, company that manufactures high-quality biochar for the metallurgical industry's very highest demands. The need within a five-ten year period for biochar is enormously large and we must 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, which is what people like me have experience of from my time in the process industry. There I am humble in the face of the task.