(Specific location to be confirmed)
The Nordic countries are among the world’s most innovative regions, yet too many strong ideas fail to become scalable products and services. This gap between research, innovation and commercialization is highlighted as one of Europe’s key competitiveness challenges, and it is particularly pronounced in the Nordics due to small domestic markets, fragmented demand, limited risk capital and weak scale-up pathways.
In Arctic and northern regions, these challenges are amplified. Innovations are often capital-intensive, based on deep tech and developed under extreme conditions, requiring early internationalization, long time horizons and specialized competence.
At the same time, access to patient capital, experienced commercial leadership and lead markets remains limited. As a result, many promising Arctic solutions stall in the “valley of death” between public research funding and private investment.
This conversation brings together Nordic and Arctic actors to identify the most critical barriers to commercialization and scaling, viewed through an Arctic lens, and to explore where Nordic cooperation can add value beyond national and regional efforts.
By treating small markets as a shared opportunity rather than a limitation, the session will discuss how coordinated Nordic action can strengthen competitiveness and accelerate the global impact of Nordic and Arctic innovation.
Karen Ellemann, Secretary General of the Nordic Council of Ministers, opens the session with a keynote on barriers to commercialization in the Nordic and Arctic regions, followed by a panel discussion with representatives from innovation organizations and businesses.
Panelists
- Sindre Bornstein, Managing Director, Nordic Innovation
- Mads Qvist Frederiksen, Executive Director, Arctic Economic Council
- Kristinn Þór Sigurðsson, Project Manager, Iceland Ocean Cluster / General Partner, Blue Nova Ventures
- Thorhallur Thorsteinsson, Vice President Nordic SMEs, NEFCO – The Nordic Green Bank
Karen Ellemann, Secretary General, the Nordic Council of Ministers - Moderator: Emil Gejrot, Nordic Innovation
The session is organized in collaboration with Arctic Economic Council and Iceland Ocean Cluster.
