The Estonian Cleantech Association (Cleantech Estonia) is the driving force behind Estonia’s clean technology sector. Founded in 2016, the organization has been supporting clean technology innovation and entrepreneurship since its early days. Over the years, Cleantech Estonia has accompanied a growing number of companies in building a key economic sector that solves environmental and climate challenges while creating economic and societal value. The organization unites and represents cleantech companies, financiers, and end-users around a shared vision: Estonia at the forefront of a clean industrial transformation.
In just 30 years, Estonia has emerged as a global leader in innovation and entrepreneurship. By fostering a strong entrepreneurial culture and creating a supportive regulatory environment, the country has played an important role in developing solutions to tackle pressing environmental and climate challenges.
Cleantech Estonia’s efforts to seed cleantech innovation, through hackathons, business programs, and creating connections between cleantech startups and investors, helped to lay the foundation for something bigger. As the sector gained traction and well-established cleantech companies with big export potential began to emerge, it became clear that a unified voice was needed to represent the sector and advocate for policies that would support its growth. Today, Cleantech Estonia does exactly that.
Smart and clean solutions are regarded as integral to economic prosperity and competitiveness, with cleantech seen as the cornerstone of Europe’s economic and social transformation. Cleantech Estonia aims to support Estonia’s transition from a traditional to a sustainable economy by empowering cleantech innovators, strengthening collaboration, and engaging with policymakers. The organization works actively to raise awareness of the economic and societal benefits of clean technologies, advocating for an environment that supports the adoption of these innovative solutions. By identifying challenges faced by companies and pushing for supportive policies, it plays a critical role in accelerating Estonia’s move to a low-carbon economy.
Cleantech spans multiple sectors, with solutions impacting every part of the economy. The majority of Estonian cleantech companies work in energy (e.g., renewable energy, grid management). Novel foods and agriculture (e.g., plant-based protein production, precision farming), innovative materials (e.g., packaging from biomaterials), circular economy (e.g., recycling innovations), and transportation (e.g. electric vehicles, last-mile solutions) are also represented.
Many of these companies are not only leading the way in sustainability in Estonia but are also recognized globally for their innovation, winning international awards, securing partnerships, and expanding into new markets. Moreover, Estonia is home to renowned applied science universities, and a significant share of its cleantech companies are focused on research-intensive deeptech innovation.
A clean industrial revolution requires strong global collaboration. Recognizing this, the organization has expanded its reach beyond Estonia. In 2021, it launched Cleantech for Baltics, a pan-Baltic think tank focused on accelerating cleantech innovation and funding in the region. This initiative is part of the broader Cleantech for Europe network, which seeks to position the EU as a global leader in the race to net-zero by placing innovation at the heart of public policy.
As the world races to meet climate goals, Cleantech Estonia continues to support cleantech sector growth, driving innovation, shaping policy, and helping Estonia and Europe transition to a sustainable future.
