Tobias Vahlne becomes the new CEO of the Arctic Center of Energy

Tobias Vahlne has been appointed as the new CEO of the Arctic Center of Energy (ACE). Tobias has extensive experience of working in the cross section between academia and industry and most recently came from the role of Senior Business Developer at KTH Royal Institute of Technology. He looks forward to putting the Arctic Center of Energy on the map as a world-leading center of excellence that accelerates the electrification of society.

The Arctic Center of Energy is an ambitious and long-term investment to accelerate society’s sustainable energy transition. Right now, operations are in full development, and the CEO is stepping in at precisely the right time.

- This is a unique opportunity to be involved in creating an organization that will be central to our success with the electrification of society. Competence building and collaborations will be crucial issues, both of which are very close to my heart, says Tobias Vahlne, incoming CEO of the Arctic Center of Energy.

Tobias, with a background in the IT and finance industry, has run his own company, coached Swedish startups that are entering the international market, and built strategic collaborations between academia and industry. In his role at KTH, among other things Tobias has supervised the industry network Innovative Center for Embedded Systems (ICES), an arena where industry experts, researchers and students collaborate to promote knowledge sharing, development and innovation. These are experiences that will come in handy for the new job.

- My first priority will be to quickly understand how we can best accelerate the build-up of new knowledge so that the transition can be made possible. Among other things, we will bring together several exciting educational initiatives under the name ACE Academy. This step is urgent, and we will have to be bold and think in new ways to meet the great need for skills that exists in northern Sweden, Tobias continues.

Initiators to the competence center are Luleå University of Technology, Northvolt, RISE, Skellefteå Kraft and Skellefteå municipality, all of which are part of ACE’s steering group.

- We are extremely pleased that Tobias is now coming in as CEO. He has a background and drive that makes it possible to establish and develop operations with the goal of taking a leadership role that accelerates change locally and globally, says Margareta Groth, chair of the Arctic Center of Energy and head of department at Luleå University of Technology.

Stockholm-based Tobias will take up the position on March 1, 2023 and is looking forward to strengthening his relationship with northern Sweden.

I am very excited to get to know new companies, people, organizations and, not least, to contribute to securing Sweden’s lead in the green transition, concludes Tobias.

Arctic Center of Energy in brief

The Arctic Center of Energy is a world-leading competence center that accelerates the electrification of society. Through cutting-edge research and groundbreaking education, the Arctic Center of Energy creates the knowledge and abilities required to succeed with the sustainable energy transition.

Based in Skellefteå in northern Sweden, the Arctic Center of Energy offers a unique meeting place, test bed and lab environment for the world’s leading actors in electrification. The initiators are Luleå University of Technology, Northvolt, Skellefteå Kraft, RISE, and Skellefteå municipality.