The Next Step in the Effort to Drive Local Energy Transition

- with a view to the EU Innovation Fund

September 4, 1:00–3:00 p.m., online

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How can Swedish cities work together to accelerate the energy transition, strengthen their resilience, and at the same time attract significant European capital?

In recent years, Swedish municipalities, with support from the Swedish Energy Agency, Viable Cities, and other stakeholders, have developed new approaches to local energy transition. In 2026, the Accelerator for Implementation and Scaling was launched, focusing on local energy transition, with several of Viable Cities’ member cities participating. At the same time, the EU’s Innovation Fund is opening for investments in large-scale and groundbreaking solutions that can contribute to Europe’s energy transition.

Viable Cities, in collaboration with the City of Lund, is now inviting municipalities, municipal companies, national stakeholders, and financial partners to a joint strategy meeting to explore the possibility of developing a joint Swedish application to the EU Innovation Fund, with a focus on local energy transition.

The starting point is the experiences gained in Lund, Örebro, and Eskilstuna, among other places, where new models for energy sharing, energy communities, local flexibility, storage, and digital energy infrastructure are being developed to meet future needs. EnergyNet is highlighted as a potential system solution for creating open, resilient, and scalable local energy systems.

 

We would especially like to welcome

Representatives from:

    • The 2030 Cities (the 48 cities in the Climate-Neutral Cities 2030 initiative)

    • Municipal energy companies

    • Sweden's Public Housing Companies

    • Financial Institutions and Investors

    • government agencies national collaborative organizations

The Energy System of the Future – Panel Discussion from Transition Lab Forum 20 in Eskilstuna in 2026 with Göran Persson and Jonas Birgersson

Democratizing the Energy System of the Future – A Follow-Up Discussion from the Transition Lab Forum in Eskilstuna 2026 with Göran Persson and Jonas Birgersson

Insikt EnergyNet and the Energy System of the Future
The Viable Cities outlook highlights how local energy systems can become a central building block in the climate-neutral cities of the future. EnergyNet is presented as a possible system architecture for a more robust, cost-effective, and flexible energy system—where local production, storage, flexibility, and digital coordination are designed as a cohesive system.
Read the full outlook in our publications

 

Program

1. Welcome and Introduction – Anders Wijkman, Chairman Cities,and Olga Kordas, Program Director at Viable Cities

2. The Need for a Resilient Energy Transition and Lessons Learned from the System Demonstrator in Lund

3. Eligibility Requirements for Applying for Funding from the EU Innovation Fund

4. A Vision for Europe’s Future Energy System – Josefin Levander, Viable Cities

5. Local Energy Transition in Practice – Opportunities for Swedish Cities – Jonas Birgersson, ViaEuropa

6. Experiences and aspirations of cities – Markus Paulsson, City of Lund

7. Local Organization and Funding Structure Through the Viability Fund for Cities – Olle Dierks, Viable Cities

8. Collaborative Process – Toward a Potential Application to the EU Innovation Fund