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With 17,000 experts within the fields of infrastructure, industry and energy operating on behalf of customers worldwide, AFRY is a leading international provider of engineering and design services as well as consultancy. Formed in January 2019 through the merger of Swedish engineering consultancy ÅF and Finnish competitor, Pöyry, the company looks back on over a century and a quarter of experience in technical advancement. European Business spoke to the Business Unit Director of Buildings in Denmark Martin Kjaer about the new entity’s strategic goals for the future.

Europe has a reputation for taking the lead in power generation using renewable energy sources. The south of the continent, in particular, has a fondness for solar energy as it bathes in sunshine. EDF ENR supports the solar power industry with a wide selection of services ranging from conceptualization to installation and maintenance. The company will even aid customers in determining their financing options to ensure they can harness the power of the sun.

It is no secret that one of the most widely debated topics is the progression of human activity and the degradation of the planet we call home. While many companies remain ignorant about the importance of caring for the natural environment, some make special efforts to coexist with it. Others have made it their mission to preserve the planet as we know it, understanding that our ecosystems are not individually functioning segments but a truly connected whole. Polish company SEEN Technologie sp. z o.o. fights for this universal whole through its business and its measures to protect the beautiful environment we have been given.

More and more players enter the renewable energy market. Governments issue national and European regulation to support more sustainable developments, while adjusting their directives over time. For companies and public organizations that want to increase their sustainability, it is ever more difficult to find their path in a web of regulations, products and certificates. Nvalue AG acts as a renewable energy wholesaler and supplies renewable energy through a broad range of Certificates to energy distribution companies and corporates across Europe, together with several services to lead the way forward.

We have all seen the news report images of plastic piling up along beaches, and many different solutions have been attempted to incentivise its cleanup. This has often taken the form of plastic recycling schemes, but more recently, there have been attempts to harness market forces to solve the problem. Norwegian company Infinitum AS is one of the most successful models of this kind of enterprise, and now, under the leadership of Managing Director Kjell Olav A. Maldum, it is undertaking an ambitious expansion strategy.

Italy’s natural gas market is the third largest in Europe. Over recent years, the country has invested heavily in new infrastructure. At the same time, Italy is experiencing increasing demand for electricity generated from renewable sources. The Sime Group in Crema successfully operates in this competitive and challenging market. The energy provider considers diversification as one key to success.

The scientific community is sure about one thing: Rising CO2 levels in the air heat up the planet and endanger the survival of mankind. The Swiss company Climeworks wants to be part of the solution by removing CO2 from the air – either to store it underground or to sell it down the supply chain to beverage and fuel manufacturers. European Business spoke with Climeworks’ Communications Director Louise Charles about the impact she foresees for her company’s technology, its business applications and her optimism in the fight against the climate crisis.

Although deregulation of the energy market has allowed consumers to shop around for their electricity and gas supplier, the infrastructure through which that energy is supplied remains a regulated monopoly. In the city of Brussels, the operation and maintenance of the electricity and gas distribution infrastructure is the responsibility of Sibelga, a public company in the shared ownership of the 19 municipal communes that make up the Belgian capital.

There is no denying that alternative energies are the key to our future, but harnessing their power proves difficult at times. Haffner Energy, based in Vitry-Le-François, is the kind of innovative company that will master the challenge and pave the way into that future. The energy expert engineers and produces plants that create hydrogen from biomass.