NEWS

Great value of Norwegian-Swedish cooperation

- "We need projects like the Circular Bioeconomy Arena. A lot of people want to innovate, but you can't solve the challenges alone," said Elin Appel of Paper Province and Mari Blokhus Nordtun of Norwegian Wood Cluster at the opening of the Forum Wood Building Nordic conference in Malmö.

26/09/2025
En fornøyd gjeng under årets utgave av Wood Building Nordic i Malmø. Fra venstre Elin Appel (Paper Province), Mari Blokhus Nordtun og Julie Gedde-Dahl (NWC).

The international conference Forum Wood Building Nordic took place in Malmö on September 23-24, 2025. Nordic cooperation and circularity are among the themes of the conference. Thus, the conference opened with a presentation of the interreg project Circular Bioeconomy Arena (CBA).

Project with a circular focus

Elin Appel of Paper Province explained the background to the clusters’ joint project. – “After a couple of rounds of Interreg projects where counties and regions on both sides of the border led the forest bioeconomy projects, we wanted to take the lead ourselves. We were keen to develop a joint Interreg project with a stronger focus on companies. That’s why the Circular Bioeconomy Arena project is owned by Paper Province and Norwegian Wood Cluster. And we are very pleased that we were granted support from the EU, Swedish-Norwegian Interreg funds and the county councils on the Norwegian side, so that the three-year project could start in 2023. said Appel.

A stronger circular focus is needed

– There is a need for more buildings with wooden structures, while at the same time there is increased competition for the raw material. Therefore, we need to extend the lifetime of the materials to a much greater extent and use the wood materials several times before they are finally burned. Through our CBA project, we are contributing to this development,” explained Mari Blokhus Nordtun.

– “It’s also an important point that the Circular Bioeconomy Arena has many partners in addition to the clusters. We experience great benefit from sharing experiences and utilizing common expertise and networks across the border,” she said.

More themes

The Forum Wood Building Nordic conference addresses challenges and opportunities for the wood industry, both in terms of competitiveness, increased circularity and modern architecture in tall wooden buildings. A number of speakers highlighted important topics for wood buildings, including vibration and acoustics, connections, fire resistance, facades and material combinations.

Conference program:
Forum Wood Building Nordic

Norsk-svensk samarbeid om sirkularitet fikk æren av å åpne konferansen. Foto Julie Gedde-Dahl
De aller fremste på trekonstruksjoner fra Norden og Europa var samlet for å dele erfaringer. Foto: Mari Blokhus Nordtun
Leverandørene var på plass i
Slagthuset i Malmø er ombygd til konferansehall og ga en fin ramme rundt arrangementet. Foto MBN

Project Circular Bioeconomy Arena

Norwegian Wood Cluster is the Norwegian owner of the interreg project Circular Bioeconomy Arena. The Swedish owner is Paper Province, and the project manager is Gry Lenschow Andersen at Paper Province. In the project, we work closely with Innovatum Science Park, Dalerna Science Park, Byggdialog Dalerna, Sting Innovation, Klosser Innovation, Kjeller Innovation and Circular Packaging Cluster. Circular wood construction has a strong focus in the project. It also works with start-up companies on the Norwegian and Swedish sides that work within the forest bioeconomy.

The project is funded by Interreg Sweden-Norway and EU funds, as well as with support from Innlandet County, Akershus County, Buskerud County, Østfold County, Region Värmland, Region Västra Götaland, Region Dalerna, Vinnova and DNB.