On 25 February, the Green Transition Initiative was proud to partner with the Consulate General of Sweden in San Francisco and The American Energy Society to convene leaders from across industry, government and finance to examine a central question for the green transition: How do we catalyze investment and scale sustainable biomass solutions?

Building on the Sweden-California Letter of Cooperation, the event focused on the critical intersection of sustainable forestry, climate innovation, and private capital. The event also built on areas of what it will take to move promising bio-based solutions from demonstration to durable, commercial scale.

Sweden offers a compelling blueprint for both the promise and the challenges of scaling climate technology. On one hand, success stories such as TreeToTexile demonstrate that next-generation, bio-based materials can be industrialized and brought to market. These examples underscore the enormous potential of the bioeconomy when innovation, policy, and industrial capability align.

For the United States, California in particular, to successfully scale sustainable biomass, policymakers and investors must focus relentlessly on bankability. The capital stack must be resilient enough to succeed without continuous subsidies, anchored by continuous subsidies, prioritizing rock-solid offtake agreements and sustainable infrastructure capital.

The Sweden–California partnership is especially timely as both regions look to accelerate the bioeconomy while maintaining competitiveness and environmental integrity. By bringing together policymakers, innovators, investors, and institutional stakeholders, the event highlighted how cross-border collaboration can unlock new pathways to scale.

The day was enriched by the Woodlife Sweden exhibition, which showcased the role of sustainable forestry and wood-based innovation in the green transition, as well as a moment of classic Swedish fika, reinforcing the spirit of collaboration and exchange.

GTI extends its sincere thanks to Consul General Cecilia Ekholm for opening the event, and to Eric Vettel, Ph.D. and Henrik Bergfeldt for their leadership and insights. We are also grateful to all the stakeholders who joined us in advancing this critical dialogue.

GTI looks forward to continuing this work with partners in Sweden, California, and beyond as we drive the green transition forward.