Westward and Wired
A yard built for scale ⚙️
With two newsletters and a wave of great feedback behind us, we're heading west. In this edition, we dive into how a Nordic city is emerging as a hardtech hub—rooted in industry and fueled by fresh energy.
In our latest podcast, we sit down with Madelene Näslund from Business Region Gothenburg to hear how collaboration, grit, and world-class engineering are setting the city apart. Also, we encourage you to explore The Yard, a great new space where hardtech companies can build, test, and grow. After a live podcast session there, our founder Jonas Åström called it "exactly what hardtech needs to scale".
Nordic Hardtech Partners 🤝
Nordic Hardtech is a community for builders of complex tech companies based on physical products. Here are some of our outstanding partners.
- The Yard — a combined coworking space and machine hall for startups in Gothenburg. A unique workspace with industrial feeling. Check out their memberships or take a tour.
- SISP — Swedish Incubators & Science Parks is the industry association for 63 incubators and science parks across Sweden. Members support innovation, scaleup, and investments. Find your incubator or science park here.
- Recuro — a growth partner for hardtech and deep tech companies. They help with strategy, marketing, and scalable business models to drive sustainable growth. Learn more and schedule an intro call.
Let us shine some light on our dear partner The Yard. The Yard is Gothenburg’s dynamic home for entrepreneurs and startups — blending community, co-working, and a bold industrial vibe to fuel new ideas. Truly a launchpad for hardtech builders and deep innovators.
Want to partner with Nordic Hardtech?
Nordic Hardtech Podcast 🎧
Madelene Näslund on Gothenburg's innovation legacy
Episode #21: Gothenburg Rising — where legacy meets innovation
"It’s about building the whole scene"
Gothenburg isn't just Sweden’s industrial heavyweight—it’s quietly becoming a springboard for the next wave of Nordic hardtech.
In a conversation with Jonas Åström, Madelene Näslund from Business Region Gothenburg explains how a deep-rooted engineering culture, a hands-on tech community, and a no-silos attitude are turning the city into a serious hub for early-stage advanced technologies.
Gothenburg might be known for ships and the salty winds off Sweden’s west coast—but today, it’s quickly emerging as one of the Nordics’ most dynamic hardtech ecosystems. We sat down with Madelene Näslund, Project Manager Tech at Business Region Gothenburg, to explore how an industrial past is becoming a launchpad for deep tech innovation.
From bustling shipyards to a powerful automotive sector, Gothenburg’s industrial legacy has long shaped the region. Companies like Volvo, Geely, and Polestar still dominate the headlines, but a new generation of innovators is carving out fresh territory—particularly in fields like aerospace, ocean tech, electrification, and defense.
– We’re seeing traditional strengths evolve into tech clusters. The harbor is still important, but now it’s about sustainable shipping, blue tech, and renewable energy at sea, says Näslund.
And it’s not just a handful of startups. Companies like Heart Aerospace (electric aviation), Minesto (ocean energy), and Recorded Future (cyber intelligence, recently acquired by Mastercard) signal a region moving fast—and globally.
One thing that sets Gothenburg apart is its attitude toward collaboration. And if you ask Näslund, people notice it.
– Incubators, science parks, universities, the city—we’re used to sharing contacts and opening doors. It’s not about guarding ‘our’ startups, it’s about building the whole scene.
This spirit of open collaboration, paired with Sweden’s highest concentration of engineers, creates fertile ground for hardware-focused startups that need both deep technical talent and real-world testbeds.
– Hardtech and deeptech need ecosystems that understand complexity. Gothenburg is really good at that, Näslund adds.
One initiative anchoring this growth is The Yard—a next-generation co-working and workshop space located in Gothenburg’s historic shipyard district. Opened by Business Region Gothenburg in collaboration with Lindholmen Science Park and Älvstranden Utveckling, it’s designed specifically for emerging companies building physical products. Here, teams can prototype, iterate, and even test hardware like vehicles or drones, all while sitting just a few minutes from the city center.
– If you’re early-stage and need a place where you can affordably work on both your tech and your business, The Yard is built for you. We wanted to keep the industrial soul—but make it accessible to innovators, says Näslund.
Major events like EVS 38 (the world’s largest electric vehicle symposium, arriving in June 2025) and Gothenburg Tech Week are helping to put Gothenburg firmly on the deep tech map. Venture capital gatherings like the nordic GoWest are further boosting international attention—and investor interest.
While Stockholm has long been Sweden’s SaaS and fintech capital, Gothenburg’s strengths lie elsewhere. But they are not trying to compete, Näslund emphasizes.
– Stockholm is great at fintech. But when it comes to hardtech, deeptech, and sustainable industry, Gothenburg can lead.
And for entrepreneurs considering where to set up next, Näslund’s advice is clear:
– Just reach out. There’s a lot of free support here—and a lot of people ready to help you land softly.”
Lately ⏮️
Selected news from the hardtech ecosystem
- Lund launches the world’s first EnergyNet, actually similar to the internet. Enabling local energy production, sharing, and storage it's a real game-changer for green electricity and resilient infrastructure.
- Carbfix and Nordic GC are deploying cutting-edge mineralization technology in Sweden, locking captured CO₂ into stone—a breakthrough pathway for scalable, durable carbon sequestration.
- Stockholm rockets up the 2025 DeepTech Index, joining global leaders like Vancouver and New Delhi. With strengths in climate tech, photonics, and quantum, the city’s deeptech momentum is undeniable.
- Danish company Self® has deployed its first self-massage robot at Canary Wharf, reaching 95% booked sessions–a strong first step in making relaxation hands-free.
- How do you raise capital as a hardware startup? If this is a question you've asked yourself lately, then you should checkout Andrew Chan's guide from last year.
Up next ⏭️
What's brewing in the community?
- The Pioneer Prize 2025 honors eight groundbreaking Swedish innovators shaping the future of technology, sustainability, and industry. A showcase of bold ideas with global potential, and at least one nominee is based in Gothenburg and several are hardtech!
- Norrsken Accelerator 2025 is now accepting applications, providing €250K in funding and strategic support to accelerate Europe’s next generation of deeptech and hardtech ventures. Norrsken Magnus Svantegård gives you the details.
- Roxen Innovations (electric watercrafts) is hiring an Industrialization & Production Lead. Follow co-founder Paul Holmstedt's advice and join the Linköping-based team building one of the world's most energy-efficient electric watercrafts. Apply here.
- Aero EDIH supports startups in drone, eVTOL, and U-space with investor matchmaking, pitch coaching, and due diligence prep. Through the Support to Find Investment programme, companies gain visibility at key digital pitch events in 2025. Building in low-altitude tech and fundraising? Apply via hans.siljeback@a2m.aero.
- Polar Mist is building European supremacy with an AI-first approach to maritime combat vessels. Now seeking a talented embedded hardware / mechatronics engineer to join their team. Apply or recommend here.
- Who is the leading unmanned systems expert in the Nordics? A stealth startup in our community is looking for a CTO-type profile with background from design, sourcing and manufacturing of unmanned systems. Contact Nordic Hardtech for information or recommendations.
Constant reminder: Nordic Hardtech Funding List 💰
Making funding more accessible
Find the Nordic investors who fund real hardtech—not SaaS, not apps, just serious engineering:
By the way, did you miss the previous editions of the newsletter?
Jennifer Bark
Jennifer Bark
Nordic Hardtech is a platform for the hardtech ecosystem — sharing knowledge, bringing inspiration, and building community through podcasts, newsletters, events, and more.
💥Get involved. Pitch a topic. Join the podcast. Get on the investor list–if you're hardtech.
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