Finland Times

Press Release Photo

Snowball, an innovation management platform that converts research findings into business opportunities, is set to make a productivity leap in spreading and refining energy efficiency ideas. The first prototype of Snowball will hit the market this December.

 

Snowball is a unique platform to carry the best energy efficiency ideas from people to people into concrete research-to-business opportunities. It will help to create new, better and more efficient technologies, solutions and business models for companies’ and industries’ energy use, and thus boost business profitability and growth.

 

“Energy is present in one way or another in every product and service that is produced in Finland. By making energy ‘do more with less,’ a productivity leap, bigger or smaller, can be reached in every sector,” surmised Marja Englund, manager of external R&D networks at Fortum.

 

Snowball is one small action that can grow into a big avalanche and change the scenario dramatically. This will speed up the development of ideas by connecting the people who need energy efficiency to those who have deep knowledge of energy efficiency solutions.

 

“Snowball will be the most efficient energy efficiency innovation management platform combining inside-out and outside-in sourcing of ideas with a mass movement,” said Janne Hietaniemi, CEO of Solved - The Cleantech Company.

 

The background of Snowball lies in a dialogue that has been going on among energy efficiency professionals and companies in Finland for more than six years. “Companies, such as ABB, CLIC Innovation, Fortum, Motiva and Solved have databases full of data and ideas that will now be utilised to generate new innovative energy efficiency solutions and even more business for many companies,” remarked Hille Hyytiä, unit head at Motiva.

 

Energy efficiency challenges are often complex and require a broad range of specialised knowledge and expertise and iterative ‘out-of-the-box’ thinking. “Snowball will be a widely shared online brand and a service that will attract enthusiasts from organisations and homes to discuss and refine ideas,” said Tommy Jacobson, CEO of CLIC Innovation.

Snowball has been strongly backed by the community of energy efficiency professionals, companies and organisations from both private and public sectors. For example, the Finnish Ministry of Employment and Economy supports the development of Snowball.

“Doing together has been and is the Finnish way. Snowball can create a new meaning for this very Finnish approach. We are excited to see how human enthusiasm and digital tools are connected to produce smart solutions for energy use,” said Pentti Puhakka, chief counsellor at
the Ministry of Employment and the Economy.

The first prototype of Snowball will be introduced in Motiva’s industrial energy efficiency annual seminar on December 9, 2015. Be there to start the avalanche!