“Tekes funds projects that create innovation”

Research and development projects funded by Tekes aim to promote the development of the entire forest cluster.

Tekes' funding for the forest cluster has been approximately 50 million euros annually. Last year, 29 million of the pot went to companies, 13 million to public research institutes, and in addition, the programs of Metsäklusteri Oy, which leads the research projects of the strategic cluster of excellence, received approximately 10 million in funding. The sums were sufficient to finance approximately one hundred projects.

Last year, Tekes also received EUR 25 million as a stimulus measure to be used to borrow for demonstration projects. This funding was used to pilot challenging technology.

Leading Technology Specialist at Tekes' Forest and Chemical Unit Mikko Ylhäisi says that the size of the Tekes funding reflects the economic significance of the forest cluster and the future potential of the sector.

"Tekes funds projects that create new ideas, and in principle it does not have the possibility to fund the product development of large companies. For a large company, Tekes can only fund long-term competence building and related development activities. This requires large companies to form strong partnerships with research groups and SMEs," Ylhäisi says, highlighting, among other things, the networks built by Metsäklusteri Oy.

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