Market Intelligence
Building Products Design and Construction Water and Wastewater Sweden

Sweden Smart Built Environment

The Swedish construction industry has an approximate annual turnover of $80 billion and the estimated value of the real estate stock is $785 billion, excluding the value of infrastructure, such as roads, bridges, railway, harbors, and airports. According to the Swedish Construction Federation, the sector employs 354,000 people and in 2019 the investments amounted to $52 billion, which accounts for 10 percent of the GDP. The U.S. share of the market is currently 3 percent, mainly in the form of building automation and control systems and highly specialized design services, such as data center construction. 

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% of Sweden’s climate impact. The Fossil Free Sweden program provides a roadmap for the construction and civil engineering sector, with goals to achieve a carbon neutral value chain.

The National Housing Board provides smart and energy efficient recommendations and statutes for new construction, renovation and retrofit. These programs aim to reduce the built environment sector’s environmental impact, shorten 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.  

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 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 is a climate positive, fossil fuel free suburb with carbon dioxide emissions 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. 
  • The Million Homes Retrofit is the government’s modernization and renovation project for the suburban public housing stock from 1960s-1970s.  The retrofit includes reducing water use, installing garbage disposals for converting waste to biogas, improving insulation, replacing windows  and doors to decrease energy use, and installing geo-thermal heating where possible. According to the National Housing Board, the estimated  cost for this program is $20-50 billion.  Opportunities exist for U.S. companies providing sustainable and energy efficient building materials. 

For more information, contact us at office.stockholm@trade.gov