Sweden Country Commercial Guide
Learn about the market conditions, opportunities, regulations, and business conditions in sweden, prepared by at U.S. Embassies worldwide by Commerce Department, State Department and other U.S. agencies’ professionals
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Smart Built Environment Technologies
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Overview 

The Swedish construction and engineering industry has an approximate annual turnover of $73 billion and the estimated value of the real estate stock is $660 billion, excluding the value of infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, railway, harbors, and airports.  According to the Swedish Construction Federation, the sector employs 330,000 people and in 2022 the investments amounted to $64 billion, which accounts for 11 percent of GDP. The U.S. share of the market is currently three percent, mainly in the form of building automation and control systems and specialized designs.

The pandemic slowed down commercial construction and many hotels, mall and resort projects were put on hold or canceled.  However, both residential and industrial construction (mainly infrastructure projects) increased during 2021 and the trend continued in 2022. Also in 2022, the geopolitical unrest and the potential cement crisis due to revoked licenses to mine limestone delayed or alternatively put several projects on hold again. Sweden has ambitious plans to become climate neutral by 2045 and the built environment is one of the key areas in this plan, accounting for 20 percent of Sweden’s total climate impact.  The government’s Fossil Free Sweden

program (fossilfrittsverige.se) provides a roadmap for the construction and civil engineering sector, with goals to achieve a carbon neutral value chain.  The National Housing Board (boverket.se) also provides smart and energy efficient recommendations and statutes for new construction, renovation and retrofit. These programs and recommendations aim to reduce the built environment sector’s environmental impact, shorten the planning and construction times, reduce total construction costs, and facilitate new business models for the sector. 

Leading Sub-Sectors 

Smart built environment is a wide sector ranging from sustainable construction technologies to digital services.  Some of the leading sub-sectors include: 

  • Low- and plus-energy construction methods 
  • Energy efficient retrofit technologies and windows, doors, and insulation materials 
  • Energy efficient building supplies and materials
  • Innovative HVAC solutions and heat recovery ventilation system
  • Building performance measurement systems for energy and water use
  • Building automation and service integration solutions for connected smart homes and offices  

Opportunities 

Sweden stands in the forefront of smart and energy-efficient construction in the EU, and there are several national and municipal public-private sector strategic innovation projects in place across the country, ranging from awareness creation to digitalization. These projects provide good opportunities for U.S. companies in the design and construction sector. 

  • Smart Built Environment Program (smartbuilt.se) is a 12-year strategic research and innovation program 2016-2028, aiming to create new knowledge, skills, services, and products through the integration of Building Information Modeling and Industrialized Construction. Opportunities exist for U.S. companies providing BIM and GIS solutions. 
  • The municipal project Royal Seaport (stockholroyalseaport.com) is a climate positive, fossil fuel-free suburb with carbon dioxide emissions of less than 1.5 tons per person.   The apartments are interactive and provide the tenants tools to manage every aspect of their living.  The construction started in 2011 and is due to finish in 2030. Opportunities exist for U.S. companies providing digital services and sensor technologies. 

Resources 

  • Byggmaterialindustrierna - Building Materials (byggmaterialindustrierna.se)  
  • National Board of Housing Building and Planning (boverket.se)   
  • Swedish Construction Federation (byggforetagen.se)
  • Swedish Green Building Council (sgbc.se)  

Trade Events  

Nordbygg, April 23-26, 2024, Stockholm 

The largest building and construction fair in Northern Europe 

 

Local Commercial Specialist: Tuula Ahlstrom, Tuula.Ahlstrom@trade.gov

 


 

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