In Boden, we sees opportunities in the near resource-smart and circular that drives the development of our contrasting living environment equipped for the challenges of the future, with smart and sustainable solutions for future generations to further develop. We are the green heart of northern Sweden, where industry and commerce interact in a unique ecosystem which attracts talent from all over the world. But what does this mean Let us explain.
Boden Plug & Play
The former military airfield and engineering base in the military town of Boden is now home to other green industries. The Boden Plug & Play land area spans 70 hectares and is fully dedicated to serve as a development area for sustainable solutions and circular business models. Here, cutting-edge technology, everyday needs, and future business endeavors intersect through cross-industry collaborations. Academic expertise in sustainability is tested in real-world conditions, scalable for significant industrial applications. Here, new business is emerging through industrial symbiosis where the goal is to maximize the reuse of energy from the power plant in the Lule River a few hundred meters away.
Situated close to Boden’s center, the area includes data centers and a 300-square-meter smart test greenhouse powered by residual heat from a small data center. Plans for a larger 10,000-square-meter greenhouse and a project cultivating insects for sustainable fish feed are underway. But this is only a sample of all projects and activities in the area.
Boden Business Park
Boden Business Park is the largest opportunity site in northern Sweden. A meeting place for people with strong ideas. Local, national, and international networks converge here. The park is an innovation environment where diverse skills and experiences come together. It is both a place and an organization designed to support and foster the development of new and existing businesses across a range of sectors, with a particular focus on those relevant to the green transition and digitalization.
It offers businesses and entrepreneurs the opportunity to meet and work in modern and well-equipped spaces. But also get help to develop through counseling or other forms of support services offered.
The organization plays an important role in Boden’s economic development and transition strategy. By providing a platform for collaboration between business, academia and the public sector, the park helps create an environment that fosters innovation, sustainability and growth.
Boden Game Camp
Boden Game Camp is a unique ecosystem for the gaming industry in Boden. The digital creators of tomorrow are trained here, and currently seven different courses are run from upper secondary to higher education level with around 250 students. Students from Sweden and around the world come here to pursue education with excellent career prospects in a digital future industry.
Integrated into Boden Business Park, Boden Game Camp runs two EU projects focused on industry-related to gaming. Several of Boden’s 20 or so gaming companies have their studios at Boden Business Park, which creates close and natural collaborations and not least exchanges of experience between companies and education.
Boden Game Camp strives to create an inclusive environment within game education and the gaming industry. Through various initiatives, they actively work to welcome and support people from diverse backgrounds, regardless of gender, ethnicity, or other identifying factors. By promoting a culture of diversity and inclusion, they aim to ensure that all talents have the opportunity to contribute to and shape the future of the gaming industry.
Boden Cleantech Center
The Boden Cleantech Center is a development area central to Boden’s transformation into a more sustainable and environmentally friendly future. At present, the area consists of 300 hectares of land, much of which is still undeveloped. Boden Municipality’s strategy is to allocate land to businesses with a sustainable focus, creating an environmental technology center. In 2023, Fortum Recycling & Waste opened a facility for the disposal and treatment of hazardous waste from the region.
Interest from companies is high, prompting the municipality to explore expanding the area and creating connections to Boden Industrial Park.
The vision is to establish an environmental technology center that will serve as a development hub for the entire Nordic region.
Boden Industrial Park
Boden Industrial Park is a 550 hectare industrial area. This is equivalent to just over 1,000 normal-sized football pitches and is larger than Kungsholmen in Stockholm’s inner city (391 hectares).
With abundant access to renewable electricity and proximity to existing infrastructure, the area offers unique conditions for establishing large-scale operations that contribute to the green industrial revolution.
H2 Green Steel is constructing a green steel plant here, expected to reduce CO2 emissions by 95% compared to traditional blast furnace steelmaking. The steel plant will be the world’s first large-scale green steel mill and is expected to have Europe’s largest hydrogen plant using electricity from renewable sources.
The area is also ideal for establishing large greenhouses for year-round cultivation and other activities that contribute to increased self-sufficiency. To connect the area to existing infrastructure, a road and railroad are being built and are expected to be completed in 2025.