Chalmers Innovation Foundation secures funding for new research-based development lab at Chalmers campus

Chalmers Innovation Foundation has been granted funding from Tillväxtverket (The Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth), through the European Regional Development Fund, and Västra Götalandsregionen for a new project that will strengthen innovation capacity and create better conditions for research-based startups and early-stage deeptech companies in West Sweden.

Chalmers Innovation Foundation operates Stena Center since 1999, a startup environment at Chalmers campus for innovative and sustainable tech startups. Through the new project, the existing operations will be complemented with a research-based lab for companies that need access to lab infrastructure in early development stages.

The project aims to establish a development lab at Chalmers campus where companies will have access to relevant lab infrastructure, knowledge and networks close to academic research, entrepreneurial support and the regional innovation ecosystem.

By the end of the project, a development lab of 1,000 square metres is expected to be established and operational. The lab will include chemistry labs, bench labs and electronics labs and will be developed in close dialogue with academic institutions and actors in the business support and innovation system.

The initiative is an important step in strengthening Chalmers as a prominent entrepreneurial university. At the same time, the lab will complement the existing innovation ecosystem in West Sweden and contribute to enabling more research-based ideas to develop into sustainable companies and solutions.

“This is a strategic initiative from Chalmers Innovation Foundation that strengthens and complements our existing operations. Through Stena Center, we have built an environment for startups, entrepreneurs and innovative tech companies at Chalmers campus over many years. With this initiative, we can take the next step and create better conditions also for research-based companies that need lab environments to develop their ideas. It is aligned with Chalmers’ strategy to continue being a frontrunner in utilisation and to work as a cohesive group, where research results and innovations can be translated more rapidly into value for industry and society,” says Madeleine Wahlberg, Managing Director at Chalmers Innovation Foundation.

The project is carried out within the framework of the Swedish Agency for Economic and Regional Growth’s call Strengthen innovation capacity for sustainable industrial development in West Sweden and Västra Götalandsregionen’s call Strengthening innovation power – for a competitive business sector at the forefront.

The project starts on 1 September 2026 and runs until 31 December 2029. The first startup companies are expected to move in during autumn 2027, marking the beginning of a long-term lab resource for research-based companies at Chalmers campus.