Fortum and Microsoft seek innovative ideas to accelerate clean and reliable energy transition
FORTUM CORPORATION PRESS RELEASE 3.5.2023
Climate change is forcing companies to look for innovative ways to renew their operations to ensure a sustainable future where people, business, and nature can thrive together. Now Fortum and Microsoft have come together in search of new, innovative solutions to accelerate the clean and reliable energy transition in the Nordics.
As a concrete action, the two companies have launched an idea competition called “Impact Challenge by Fortum x Microsoft” to find solutions that help enhance the delivery of reliable clean energy, drive industrial decarbonization, and protect our biodiversity. The competition is open for four weeks and it is targeted at early-stage startups and entrepreneurs in the Nordics. The winner will receive 6 months of tailored acceleration and business development support in Fortum’s Valkea Growth Club and Microsoft Founders Hub. In addition, Microsoft will also provide technical and business workshops.
After the successful datacenter joint intent agreement last year, Microsoft and Fortum have been looking for new opportunities to continue their cooperation in the field of innovation. Both companies recognize that building resilient and sustainable societies needs innovation more than ever.
“Innovation is a necessity in the current economic and ecological reality. Clean energy transition requires more innovative solutions and cross-industry cooperation, and we are excited to rejoin forces with Microsoft to find the top ideas and startup teams working on these common challenges,” says Mikael Rönnblad, Executive Vice President, Fortum.
“At Microsoft, we are committed to driving sustainability and innovation in the energy sector to meet our ambitious climate goal of being climate negative by 2030. We are energized by the opportunity to collaborate with Fortum and startups to develop innovative solutions that will help accelerate the transition to clean, reliable energy,” continues Mervi Airaksinen, Managing Director, Microsoft Finland.
The idea competition runs from 3 May through 31 May 2023, and the winner will be announced on 15 June in a final pitching event.
Fortum Corporation
Communications
Further information:
Fortum: Fortum News Desk, +358 40 198 2843, newsdesk@fortum.com
Microsoft: Pekka Isosomppi, Viestintäjohtaja, Microsoft Oy, pekka.isosomppi@microsoft.com, +358 40 516 2399
Further information about the competition: https://impact-challenge.fortum.com/
Fortum
Fortum is a Nordic energy company. Our purpose is to power a world where people, businesses and nature thrive together. We are one of the cleanest energy producers in Europe and our actions are guided by our ambitious environmental targets. We generate and deliver clean energy reliably and help industries to decarbonise their processes and grow. Our core operations in the Nordics comprise of efficient, CO2-free power generation as well as reliable supply of electricity and district heat to private and business customers. For our ~5 000 employees, we commit to be a safe, and inspiring workplace. Fortum's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki. fortum.com
Microsoft
Microsoft enables digital transformation for the era of an intelligent cloud and an intelligent edge. Its mission is to empower every person and every organization on the planet to achieve more. In Finland, Microsoft employs 500 people in the field of sales, marketing, and product development, supporting local customers to digitally transform together with its circa 2,000 technology partner companies.
