Glava Energy Center Shared Knowledge at Elmia Solar

Glava Energy Center, a partner of Elmia Solar, contributed to the 2025 edition of the trade fair with a knowledge-intensive program across its various stages. Through speakers, lectures, and the popular Innovation Hour, the center played a key role in the event.

Innovation Hour – A Popular Program Feature

On all three days of the fair, Glava Energy Center hosted the Innovation Hour, a well-attended session highlighting exciting examples from three particularly innovative areas: smart energy management, energy storage, and energy communities.

– Our goal was to inspire and provide networking opportunities, and judging by the strong audience turnout, we seem to have succeeded, said Magnus Nilsson, CEO of Glava Energy Center and moderator of Innovation Hour at Elmia Solar.

The first session focused on energy storage, showcasing new methods, products, and concepts for storing energy in various forms. The second session, smart energy management, explored new ways to design, analyze, and control energy systems. Among the presenters was startup Norgald, which introduced its digital twin Elvira, designed to protect energy infrastructure from cyberattacks. The company now plans to demonstrate Elvira in the solar park at Glava Energy Center.

The final day of Innovation Hour was dedicated to energy communities. One featured startup was S2H2+BM and Morocco Green Hydrogen Industrial Hub, which presented innovative plans for a large-scale solar-powered industrial park with suspended solar panels and hydrogen production on the edge of the Moroccan desert. This suspended solar park concept is set to be demonstrated and validated in Glava Energy Center's test park this spring.

Well-Attended Lectures on Inspections and Battery Installations

Quality inspections in the solar industry were the focus of one lecture at Elmia Solar. Jan-Olof Cleve, a trainer at Glava Energy Center, spoke about the importance of balancing the interests of all parties in inspection processes.

Another lecture focused on batteries and safety, covering smart energy management, the battery market, and connection regulations. With battery storage emerging as a dominant energy storage solution, the number of battery installations has surged in just one year. Isac Myrén Andersson, project manager at Glava Energy Center, was among the speakers and moderated a panel discussion on lithium-ion battery safety.

Insights into Energy Projects

Glava Energy Center also provided insights into ongoing energy projects. On Tuesday, fair attendees had the opportunity to learn about preliminary results from a pilot study on grid flexibility, funded by Energiforsk. The study aims to develop a method for grid owners across Sweden to enhance flexibility in electricity networks, using Värmland as a case study.

– Electricity grid capacity is a major challenge for achieving long-term sustainable competitiveness in Sweden. If the electrification goals are to be met, grid companies must take action. This requires new approaches, but so far, methodologies have been lacking. In our pilot project, we propose a clear step-by-step method to map needs, identify potential resources, match needs and potential, and ultimately implement flexibility, said David Olsson, technical project manager at Glava Energy Center.

Drivers and tools for corporate sustainability efforts were the focus when researcher Mikael Johnson and innovation advisor Fredrik Östlin, both from Karlstad University, took the stage on the final day of the fair. Their discussion was based on experiences from the international ARIES4 project, where Karlstad University and Glava Energy Center collaborate. Funded by the EU through Erasmus+, the project aims to develop tools and courses to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and business leaders in their sustainability efforts.

The Role of Research in the Energy Transition

The role of research in the energy transition was another key topic in the Elmia Solar stage program. Albin Norén, communications officer at Glava Energy Center, moderated a panel discussion based on the LOKEN (Local Energy Management Värmland) project. This initiative is a collaboration between Glava Energy Center and Karlstad University, co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund and Region Värmland. The project's goal is to enhance knowledge, planning, and decision-making capabilities in the energy sector for public and private actors in Värmland, backed by research.

– Researchers and research play a crucial role in equipping both society and citizens with the knowledge they need—so they gain greater capacity, control, and more platforms to actively participate in the energy transition, said Dr. Avit K. Bhowmik, environmental and climate solutions researcher at Karlstad University and one of the LOKEN project researchers.

Image Captions:

• David Olsson, technical project manager at Glava Energy Center, spoke about electricity grid flexibility.
• The LOKEN project took the stage. Participants from Karlstad University included researchers Avit Bhowmik, Mikael Johnson, and Markus Rinio, as well as research advisor Erica Åkerberg. From Glava Energy Center, project manager Eva Lingwall, CEO Magnus Nilsson, and communications officer Albin Norén participated. Special guest: Natalia Jones, project manager at Energikontor Norra Småland.
• Elin Sandahl, founder and CEO of startup Norgald, which plans to demonstrate the digital twin Elvira in the solar park at Glava Energy Center.
• Battery safety lecture with Magnus Ling (RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, battery safety lab), Richard Nyberg (Nybergs Elkonsult), Oskar Öhrman (Svensk Solenergi), and Isac Myrén Andersson (Glava Energy Center).
• Networking at Glava Energy Center's booth.
• Innovation advisor Fredrik Östlin and researcher Mikael Johnson, both from Karlstad University, discussed drivers and tools for corporate sustainability efforts.