1. The document summarizes the early history of Kista Science City in Sweden from 3000 BC to 1970 AD, beginning with the area being covered by inland ice and then a sea before emerging from the water. 2. During the Iron Age and Viking Era, farmers and Vikings settled in the fertile area between what is now the small Igelbäcken stream and wooded heights. Runestones from this period provide evidence of early inhabitants. 3. In the early 20th century, the land became a military training ground until being developed into Kista Science City starting in the 1970s as a hub for ICT companies.

1. Inger Björklind Bengtsson
Hilary Parnfors Anders Anjou
9 789163 361159
ISBN 978-91-633-6115-9
FromRuneStonestoRadioWaves

2. From Rune Stones to Radio Waves
THE STORY OF KISTA SCIENCE CITY
HOW A VIKING VILLAGE BECAME SWEDEN’S SILICON VALLEY
2
3
The book was awarded the Olle Engkvist Prize in 2005.
A scholarship fund and translation grant were kindly provided by
King Gustaf VI Adolf’s Fund for Swedish Culture in 2013.
»All major advances are formed in encounters between different groups,
cultures and attitudes. When these are concentrated and allowed to enable
each other in knowledge societies, something important is happening.»
Love Ekenberg, Professor and Head of Department, DSV

3. 9
A magic power rests over the science city. The prehistoric age meets the
modern day right here in Kista. This book tells of a development that stretches
over one thousand years, from the Viking Era to the twenty-first century, with
a strong focus on the modern age. The Vikings settled by the Igelbäcken stream
and communicated their thoughts and ideas with their surroundings using runes.
Today, people communicate using radio waves.
The title of this book could have been The Story of Kista Mobile Valley,
not least since borderless mobile telephony for everyone was born here in the
Igelbäcken valley.Was it just a coincidence that Lars Magnus Ericsson had created
fixed line telephone for the masses just about a hundred years earlier? In any case,
Sweden has been a pioneer within the field of communication ever since.
A number of inventions during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries made
modern telephony possible: Alexander Graham Bell’s telephony in 1876 (human
speech made electric current undulate), Guglielmo Marconi’s radio telephony in
1900 (radio waves carried sound through the air) and Claude E. Shannon’s cellu-
lar systems at Bell Labs in 1948. Wireless communication first appeared in the late
1940s.Themilitaryandmobilegroupsengagedincommunityservicecountassome
of the earliest users. Automated and borderless mobile telephony was born in the
Nordics during the 1980s. The Nordic telecommunications agencies created
NMT, Nordic Mobile Telephony, with the help of Intel’s microprocessors, and
Ericsson’s powerful market organisation took the concept out into the world.
Many political and technical problems have been overcome during the develop-
ment of NMT and GSM,as well as more recent advances such as 4G and 5G (expec-
ted to be ready for use in 2020). During a memorial speech about Östen Mäkitalo
at IVA in 2012, Tomas Haug, Chairman of NMT during the late 1970s, said the
following: »It is commonly thought that the construction of an advanced mobile
system is a pure radio issue. That is completely wrong, since the system is totally
useless without being linked to a fixed line, at least if it is to be used as more than
a simple walkie-talkie connection...« Haug went on to say that »the collaboration
between the fixed network and radio equipment has not been possible in some
countries such as the United States and Japan, largely due to political reasons.«
A few of the fourteen points that the former Chairman of NMT, Håkan
Bokstam, listed in 1971, were particularly decisive – NMT solutions »should not
be patented« and they »should be completely open for all manufacturers to use«.
Moreover, mobile phones should be owned by subscribers.
It was on these premises that mobile telephony came to conquer the world.
This led to the deregulation of the telecommunications market and the end of the
telecommunications agencies’ monopoly on telephones. It was the beginning of
the global digital revolution.
Once pioneering companies such as IBM and Ericsson moved into Kista
during the 1970s, international and Swedish computer and communications com-
panies were quick to follow. This eventually resulted in an explosion of digital
-
»It’s great that a small country like Sweden has got the chance to drive this
global development uniting mobile telephony with the Internet. Silicon
Valley is the cradle of information technology. Kista Mobile Valley is the
cradle of mobile telephony.«
Ulf Ewaldsson, Chief Technology Officer and Head of Group Function Technology at Ericsson
8
introduction – intelligent kista science city
Rune stone at Kista Farm.
Runes were carved into the stones
to describe occurrences and stories
during the Viking Era. They were
placed along roadsides where they
could be easily read by passers-by.
The name »Kista« came from the
Old Norse kvia/kya ( »animal enclo-
sure« or »little pen in the wood«) and
sta (»place”). This former »animal
enclosure« now garners international
acclaim!
The origins of Kista Farm can
be traced back to the eighteenth
century.
The radio waves travel via Ericsson’s
base station in Kista. The frequen-
cies range from 450 MHz (NMT) to
2.6 GHz (4G/LTE). Radio waves are
Kista’s invisible brand identity.
This is where analogue and digital
system technologies were born –
they worked for everyone across
different national borders.
Photograph: Lars-Gunnar Lindfors
NOD is firmly rooted in Kista and preparations are underway for its inauguration in 2014.
»It will be a public meeting place that reflects what is happening within research and develop-
ment in Kista,« says Peter Johansson, business developer for Atrium Ljungberg and the creative
founder of the NOD idea. The building will extend over almost an entire block with different
houses covering approximately 25,000 square metres. The triangular building will symbolise the
trinity of cooperation between business, R&D and society. The rounded corners of the building
will stand in stark contrast to the sharp angular lines of Kista Science Tower and Victoria Tower,
the two other nodes, or junctions, in Kista.
Atrium Ljungberg is expecting around 4,000 to 5,000 people to come to work in and around
the building. Roughly 1,000 visitors are expected to come here every day, which amounts to
almost one million visitors per year. Just next door, about 3,000 new homes are being construc-
ted. Atrium Ljungberg is developing, contracting and managing the building.
Architect: Ari Leinonen, Scheiwiller Svensson Arkitektkontor
Photograph: Atrium Ljungberg

4. school being launched by the Stockholm Education Administration (Utbildnings-
förvaltningen). »The parties involved have dared to build an international area for
research and development within art, culture and technology,« says Ari Leinonen,
CEO and architect at Scheiwiller Svensson Arkitekter. The vision of Kista Science
City and Stockholm as a world class city will become a reality here.
NOD will be an arena where students meet entrepreneurs and companies right in
the heart of their operations. This will stimulate them when choosing their educatio-
nal path. Hotspots are a new concept designed by Atrium Ljungberg and they can
also be found at Farsta Centrum.
Kista’s strategist planners have previously been inspired by Florence – now the
renaissance is moving into NOD, representing a renaissance or rebirth for Kista. In
fact, Renaissance Florence made no distinction between the humanities and science;
this is a later invention. At NOD, innovation will be created in the crossroads bet-
ween art and science. Ideas often emerge by chance, so-called accidental learning,
where people, art, culture and science happen to meet in the same place. Sweden’s
idols of the future are smart, young inventors!
The vision is for Kista Science City and Stockholm to reach world class stan-
dard – and it is all set to become a reality!
The construction of residential buildings are increasing in Kista – Kista Äng
behind NOD has been designated for more housing and Kista Torn will be built next
to Kista Galleria, and is due for completion in 2014/2015. More and more of the
new generation live and work in Kista. Rain Hu who works at the Chinese company
ZTE in Kista Science Tower says: »Many employees at ZTE live in Kista and they
are very happy with the surroundings, the proximity to nature and the closeness to
work. Kista feels modern, like modern towns in China. The centre of Stockholm
is not as modern as Kista. Even the names Kina [Swedish for China] and Kista are
similar«.
This book is based on more than one hundred interviews. Research at Stockholm’s
municipal archives and my own material have shaped its content over a period of ten
years. All persons interviewed have had a chance to review the text written about
them. The book in its entirety has been reviewed by Bernt Ericson, Ericsson’s former
Head of Research. My hopes are that this book may be used as a source of know-
ledge about Kista, not least for educational, cultural and historical purposes.
The interviews conducted by Stockholm City Museum’s reporters Carl
Heideken and Margareta Hjelm during the late 1980s and early 1990s, have
provided me with a great deal of useful material. The HSB housing cooperative’s
magazine Kistanytt (1977-88), published and edited by Kerstin O’Keijn and Eva
Lind, has also provided a great deal of inspiration, as have many other printed
and digital magazines.
Here the story of how it all began...
Inger Björklind Bengtsson
The interior of Ericsson’s new head
office on Torshamnsgatan 21, desig-
ned by Wingårdh Arkitektkontor AB.
All of Ericsson’s operations in the
Stockholm area are now in Kista.
12
introduction – intelligent kista science city
Masterpieces within innovative
technology are created every day in
Kista. A successful idea from one of
Kista’s innovators can be compared
to a really good solo by Miles Davis
or Charlie Parker... (inspired by an
art programme on SVT1)
The following ICT companies
(examples) have been or remain in
Kista: A Brave New World, Appear
Networks, Apple, Agilent Technolo-
gies, Compaq, ContextVision, Data
General, DCM Sweden, Enator/
Tieto/Enator, Enea, Ericsson, Fujitsu,
Hewlett-Packard, Huawei Technologi-
es, IBM, Intel, ICL, Infineon, Lenovo,
Ingram Micro, IQube, Magtec, MCI
WorldCom, Microsoft, Mentor Grap-
hics, Nanoradio, Neonode, Nokia,
Oracle, Philips, PrintDreams, Radio
Design, Rational Software, Repli-
saurus Technologies, Rutronic, Saab
Tech, Samsung, Semco, Screen
Interaction, Siemens, Sonera, Sun
Microsystems, Symsoft, Synopsys,
TagMaster, Technia, Tele2/Comviq,
ÅF, ViewLogic, Wireless System Inte-
gration Sweden AB, Yokogawa, ZTE
THE WATERWAY BECAME A STREAM
A story about Vikings, inland ice, rune stones, farms, fields and
the military.

5. the sea is frothing angrily and waves are crashing against the rocks at
Dovre near Husby. A storm is raging on the Littorina Sea that covers most of
Järvafältet (the Järva field). The drama is unfolding approximately 3000 years
BC.
FROM INLAND ICE TO SEA AND EVENTUALLY ARCHIPELAGO
By around 8500 BC, the inland ice had pulled away from the Stockholm area.
The land began to rise, but water would come to dominate Stockholm and its
surroundings for a long time yet. In around 3000 BC, some time between the
Old and New Stone Age, the highest peaks became visible as skerries. Nils-Erik
Landell (1998) put it as follows: »Thus land is born out of the sea and water-
ways are formed by an incipient archipelago.«
Some of the highest points in Järvafältet – the rocks and large boulders
by the Dovre residential area near Husby and Husby Church – were already
visible in the Stone Age archipelago.These rocks were glacial boulders that had
been carried there by the inland ice. Gradually the mainland began to form. At
the beginning of the Common Era, the water level was about ten metres higher
than today’s sea level, and a long narrow bay flowed up in line with Husby
Farm. All that remains of the extensive waterway today is Igelbäcken, a small
stream running from the Säbysjön lake to the Edsviken inlet.
During the Late Iron Age, in roughly 500 AD, the land rose further and the
waterline was now five metres above today’s. The bay that stretched into the
field was initially passable and this is how the first people came to the area.
However, the water had already begun to dry up during the Iron Age, and
by the Viking Age this former waterway was probably no longer navigable.
IRON AGE SETTLMENTS
Järvafältet is likely to have been visited as early as the Neolithic Age, most
probably due to the abundance of fishing and hunting opportunities in the
archipelago. A few Stone Age objects, such as axes and hooks made of bone,
have been found in the area, as have Bronze Age objects and some pottery. A
sacrificial stone located just north of Akalla Farm indicates that people were
already living here as early as 500 BC.
Iron Age farmers later settled on the fertile pastures between the Igelbäcken
valley and the wooded heights that had appeared as the land rose. The Järva-
fältet area was much appreciated by both Iron Age farmers and the Vikings.
Ancient remains testify to the fact that it was already quite densely populated
at this time. In around 500 AD, there were about a hundred people living here.
The field became a military training ground when the Swedish Parliament
provided the armed forces with the necessary funding to purchase the land in
1905. Military exercises commenced in 1907. The area in question lay between
the parishes of Järfälla, Sollentuna, Solna and Spånga.
Palaeolithic Age: 10 000–4000 BC
Neolithic Age: 4000–1800 BC
Bronze Age: 1800–500 BC
Iron Age: 500 BC–800 AD
Viking Age: 800–1060 AD
The Littorina Sea was the first brack-
ish-water stage of the Baltic Sea.
The Igelbäcken stream (view at
Ärvinge) is a relic from the past. The
stone loach, a rare species of bottom-
dwelling fish, requires clear flowing,
oxygen-rich water, has survived in
the stream despite the rapid pace of
construction work.
Water level above sea level:
Neolithic Age 25 m
Water level above sea level:
Bronze Age 10 m
Water level above sea level:
Iron Age 5 m
Photograph on opposite page
This is what the Littorina Sea probably
looked like as the waves lashed over
what are today known as the Tings-
stenarna in Husby.
Photograph: H Richard Johnston/Getty
Images
14
the waterway became a stream
Töjnan hill (Töjnanberget) is the
highest point in Järvafältet.
»The early history of Kista Science City, from 3000 BC to 1970 AD.«

6. ders of both ancient and military times. This is also the location of the Husby
Runestone (Husbystenen), signed by the rune master Visäte. It was given the
designation U 74 by the Department of Runes. A menhir on the road dates
back to the Bronze Age and there is a raised and unexcavated burial ground
behind the stone. Further on, between Husby Farm, Akalla Farm and the Igel-
bäcken stream, there is a moraine of gravel and stones that was deposited by
the inland ice.
Although Akalla Farm does not have its own rune stone, there is a stone with
cup marks. The rune master Visäte also crafted the so-called Hansta Runesto-
nes (Hägerstalund was previously called Hansta) at Hägerstalund Farm and
the inn that lies there today. There were originally two rune stones (U 72 and
U 73), one of which was discovered lying face down, concealing its inscription.
Arthur Hazelius, founder of the Skansen open air museum in Stockholm that
was opened in 1891, arranged for it to be moved to Skansen, where it remains
today.
SIGVID, EGVID, HOLMFRID and JOVURFRID
The rune stone at Kista Farm stands on the edge of a road that dates back to
the turn of the twentieth century. During the military era, this road was called
Kolonnvägen (lit. column road). However, it is not believed to be the original
location of the rune stone. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, it
was regarded as high status to have rune stones relocated to country and esta-
tes. Nowadays it is prohibited to move such cultural artefacts.
FARMS BUILT ON THE SITES OF ANCIENT SETTLEMENTS
Archaeological finds show that farms were clustered in small villages in
northern Järvafältet during the twelfth century. The earliest written records
of Granby, Akalla and Kista are from 1232, 1323 and 1419 respectively. An
inventory of the area during the sixteenth century shows that five farms were
actively engaged in agriculture.
Towards the end of the Middle Ages, several farms in Spånga and Järva-
fältet were owned by the kingdom’s most prominent noble families: Bonde,
Natt och Dag, Oxenstierna, Sparre, Tott and Trolle. In the 1630s, Carl Carls-
son Gyllenhielm, the Law High Admiral and half-brother of Gustaf II Adolf,
became the beneficiary of taxes from Kista’s skattehemman (taxable home
stead) and owner of Kymlinge and Ärvinge farms. During this time Gyllenhielm
also built Karlberg Palace, and for many years he ensured that the dagsverke
(corvée labour, lit. day labour, an early form of taxation) from the Spånga
farms went to the palace.
There are many long and colourful stories from this period. Gustav Vasa’s
land register states that Ärvinge and Akalla were the largest villages. Häger-
stalund was built during the sixteenth century and in 1682 it was owned
The text on the rock at Granby reads:
»Ingilaug had this rock cut in me-
mory of her son Sigfastr and ..., his
brother.« A hundred metres north
of this rock, a damaged rune stone
block can also be found.
Photograph: Stockholm City Museum
Photograph on opposite page
The rune stone at Kista Farm (U 75).
»Sigviðr had this stone raised in
memory of his father Egviðr/Heg-
viðr and his mother Holmfríðr, and
Jôfurfríðr«
The Department of Runes appoints
a sponsor for each rune stone. This
person is tasked with providing
reports about the stone and taking
care of it by cleaning away under-
growth, branches and tall grass.
Every autumn the stone must also
be washed with water and a soft
brush.
22
the waterway became a stream

7. Kista gav Stockholm framtidstro
I början på 1970-talet var Stockholm en stad i kris.
Arbetslösheten växte, industrin upplevde en svacka och det
var svårt att få tag i kompetent folk. Inte minst saknades
bostäder. Riksdagen hade 1965 antagit Miljonprogrammet
och beslut togs nu om att bygga på norra Järvafältet, södra
hade bebyggts kort innan. Generalplanen blev klar 1970.
Det innebar början till en förändring.
KISTA FILLED STOCKHOLM WITH
HOPE FOR THE FUTURE
At the beginning of the 1970s, Stockholm was a city in crisis.
Unemployment was growing, industry was experiencing a slump
and it was hard to get hold of skilled workers. There was also a
serious lack of housing. In 1965, the Swedish Parliament had
adopted the Miljonprogrammet (Million Programme) that was to
generate a million new dwellings over a ten-year period.
A decision was made to start building housing in northern
Järvafältet. Southern Järvafältet had undergone development
just a short time before. The general plan was approved in 1970,
marking the beginning of an era of change.

8. OPTIMISM IN SWEDEN’S
SILICON VALLEY
Cranes and yet more cranes form a silhouette on Kista’s
skyline during the 1980s. This was the beginning of a new
high-tech age. Cooperation, clusters and synergy effects are
the buzzwords. Is Kista Sweden’s answer to Silicon Valley?
46
kista filled stockholm with hope for the future
»All the world’s cultures are now represented in Silicon Valley.
Everyone working in Silicon Valley is involved in some kind of
business development. It attracts people with an entrepreneurial
spirit.«
Golden Gate Bridge, San Francisco,
Silicon Valley in California 1998.
Photograph: IBB
»Not that there is much silicon
left in Silicon Valley. Virtually all
manufacturing of chips has been
outsourced. Nevertheless, the valley
remains one of the most popular
places for semiconductor manufac-
turers to have their head office.«
Erika Ingvald, Elektroniktidningen
(magazine) 2008
INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY WAS BORN IN SILICON VALLEY
Silicon Valley in California covers roughly the same area as the Mälaren
Valley, although it is hard to define its precise borders. At first it stretched from
Menlo Park to San Jose in the southern part of the San Francisco Bay Area.
Nowadays, many people consider Silicon Valley to incorporate the entire San
Francisco Bay Area, including the University of California, Berkeley. San Jose is
the largest city in the area and is commonly regarded as »the Capital of Silicon
Valley«. Palo Alto is home to Stanford University.
From the end of the nineteenth century, Menlo Park became the venue for
the global technological revolution. Thomas Alva Edison’s experiments resul-
ted in the invention of the phonograph (1877), carbon telephone transmitter
(1878) and carbon filament light bulb (1979). The invention of the light bulb
meant that he became one of the founders of modern electronics, since it laid
the foundations for the development of the radio tube, X-ray tube, TV tube
and semiconductor.
The growth in Silicon Valley was unplanned, unlike in Kista where expan-
sion progressed in line with urban planning maps. Intense experimentation
was underway all over the region in all kinds of simple dwellings such as gara-
ges and hen houses. Inspiration came from Stanford University. In 1939, the
Stanford students and friends, William Hewlett and David Packard, conducted
their first experiments in a garage in Palo Alto. The first product to emerge
was an audio oscillator and it enjoyed considerable commercial success. Walt
Disney was one of their first clients, using the product to optimise sound for
the film Fantasia. Over the years, the Palo Alto Research Center has acquired
legendary status, famed for hatching innumerable ideas.
When Intel later set up its microprocessor operations in the area, Silicon
Valley had already been proclaimed the »Mecca« of the IT industry. Big orders
from the US Defense Department gave Intel, and other companies associated
with it, a massive boost.
At first, access to cheap office space and labour was pretty good. Companies
were able to set up operations without high start-up costs thanks to Stanford
University, and larger companies rented out their land cheaply. The area grew
quickly and long traffic queues later became a major issue. Employee turnover
became so extreme that it was not unheard of for people to switch companies
from one day to the next.

9. KISTA SCIENCE PARK –
THE GLOBAL WIRELESS DEVELOPMENT
CENTRE
Information technology enjoys a real breakthrough during the 1990s.
Mobile telephony and the Internet reach the mainstream and IT
becomes a commonly used term. This new technology changes
global society – it changes everyday life, the home, school, business,
healthcare, transport, communications, banking systems…

10. constructors were working on the same project. Communication occurred via
text, image, video and sound for multimedia.
MultiG (G=gigabit) TelePresence environments could be experienced using
a hood with headphones and 3D glasses. Real-time holography in high-speed
networks with real-time TV and Computer Aided Design (CAD) programmes
found many usage areas, such as distributed tennis matches enabling players in
different locations to play against each other using holographic screens.
The computer creates an imaginary world, a virtual reality. These
virtual environments are in actual fact nothing more than adapted computer
programs with texted script, either in 3D or 4D. The principles for virtual
reality (VR) were developed as early as the 1960s. When computers became
cheaper and more powerful, this technology became very interesting. The
potential usage areas are unlimited: surgeons can use this technology to per-
form keyhole surgery; architects can draw houses and walk around them
before they are built; and robots can perform tasks in environments hostile to
humans.
VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENTS OPEN UP A NEW WORLD
Virtual environments started to be used once the Internet had matured. Now-
adays almost everyone has a »life« on the Internet or in cyberspace on social
networks and online communities such as Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter and
dating sites like Match.com. For secure online shopping, researchers created
»personal intelligent agents«, i.e. smart functions that help us to find goods
and services on the global market. Agents are basically computer programs
with complex functions.
MAN MEETS COMPUTER
Human-machine interaction is an interdisciplinary research area that was
created to help human beings with computers. Navigating a computer demands
a great deal of skill involving lots of searching and clicking. Many specia-
list areas come together to help people in their daily contact with computers:
cognitive psychology, sociology, ethnography, anthropology, film studies, art
and design (Electrumbladet magazine 1995).
THE SWEDISH INSTITUTE FOR SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT – SISU
THE IMPORTANCE OF SOFTWARE FOR SYSTEMS DEVELOPMENT
Janis Bubenko and Rune Brandinger created an advisory board at Stockholm
University’s Department of Computer and Systems Sciences (DSV) together
with Volvo and Ericsson. This resulted in the formation of the Swedish Insti-
tute for Systems Development (SISU) in 1985. Doctoral students wrote their
theses at Ericsson Radio. The close geographical proximity fostered good re-
lations. Some years, entire classes were given jobs at Ericsson. The capacity
7978
kista science park – the global wireless development centREkista science park – the global wireless development centRE
The informal electronic meeting
place at SICS was Grottan (lit.
the grotto). Grottan used virtual
reality systems, such as DIVE and
computer-based videoconferences
via ATM-broadband networks, to
achieve broadband communication.
The equipment consisted of three
large displays and quadraphonic
audio equipment.
Source: Electrumbladet magazine 1998
A digital thermal imaging camera (infra-
red camera) with image sensors that
detect infrared rays (IR) from an object,
i.e. measuring thermal energy. Infrared
cameras are used for error checking,
maintenance, monitoring, searching
terrain and night vision.
Work on IR detectors began during
the IM time as basic research on
Quantum Well Infrared Photodetectors
(QWIP). The products were created in
close cooperation with FLIR Systems
in Danderyd. Today, the company is a
world-leading manufacturer of infrared
cameras and systems. Image sensors
are supplied by the IRnova company.
Esbjörn Hogmark, a mana-
ger at ABB in Kista, shows a
wafer of silicon carbide. The
development project with
silicon carbide was managed
by ABB and IMC at Electrum’s
semiconductor laboratory with
support from Nutek.
The world’s smallest blood pres-
sure sensor being demonstrated
by Edvard Kälvesten (Acreo) – the
inventor. Such blood pressure
sensors were manufactured by
Radi Medical in Uppsala, Sweden.
Radi Medical was sold to the
American company St. Jude
Medical in 2008.
Photograph: Per Westergård
Electronic newspapers in
colour. The research project
was started by Stora Enso,
Agfa-Gevaert and Acreo in
1999, and is now run by
Campus Norrköping
(Linköping University). The
newspapers are made from
polymer electronics. Plastic
transistors, diodes and
lightemitting diodes (LED)
are placed on a substrate of
paper. This creates an
interactive newspaper.
The printers and designers
are located in Norrköping.
Photograph: Acreo archives
SPIN-OFFS AND TECHNICAL INNOVATIONS FROM IM/IMC/ACREO in 1990
Catella Generics, batteries, battery technology. Svenska Grindmatriser, customised analogue and digital ASIC
circuits, Linköping. Synthesia AB, VHDL operations using the Synth tool for high-level synthesis. Nordic Solar
Energy AB, solar cell technology, developed from Electrum, subsequently the solar cell project continued at the
Ångström Laboratory in Uppsala under leadership of Lars Stolt, and Solibro AB was formed. Solibro was sold to a
German publicly listed solar cell company called Q-Cells AG.
The SICS Telepresence system
was displayed at the Telemuseum
in 1991. The pictures shows a
visitor wearing a hood with glasses
to reveal a 3D image. It creates
a feeling of being in an artificial
three-dimensional world. A data
glove recognises a person’s hand
movements. The technology had
been developed by NASA to train
astronauts to do satellite repairs.

11. 8180
kista science park – the global wireless development centRE
to increase cooperation between research and business, to thereby increase
the amount of research being transformed into practical results. Demands for
a whole new culture grew, but industry was more interested in push-button
solutions. SISU often lacked partners to speak to and it was hard to maintain
an interest.
SWEDISH IT RESEARCH NEEDED TO BE COORDINATED
There was an attempt to merge the IT research institutes SICS, SISU and the
Institute for Media Technology (IMT) in 1998. This resulted in cooperation
between several Swedish institutes: SICS, the Viktoria Institute in Gothenburg,
Santa Anna IT Research Institute AB in Linköping and the Centre for Distance-
spanning Technology (CDT) in Luleå. SICS became the head of the SICS
Group and the owner of the Viktoria Institute (co-owner), Santa Anna and the
Interactive Institute. In 2006, steps were taken to merge the research institutes
and Swedish ICT Research AB was founded, which includes the SICS Group
and Acreo.
ACADEMIA – kth
ELECTRONICS – BRIDGING THE SCIENCES
The university’s relocation to Kista had a major impact on its development.
It meant that there were hundreds of research and development engineers
working at different companies within a 500-metre radius of Electrum during
the 1990s. Students had the chance to solve real-life problems, thus preparing
them for their future careers.
»Students were given the chance to make real transistors in the laboratory
using a process from RIFA. The microelectronics education was very advanced
for its time«, explained Mikael Östling. Students were able to follow the fast
developments taking place across the globe within microelectronics, photonics
and physics, and then move these forward.
KTH, Chalmers and Lund together founded a research school for micro-
electronics with operations in Kista. Right from the start there were exchan-
ges with the world’s largest universities – Stanford and Santa Barbara in
California, as well as the University of Tokyo. Between 1996-98, three more
departments for radio electronics were founded. Two new professorships were
also announced: Håkan Olsson (semiconductor materials) and Mikael Östling
(component technology).
RADIO COMMUNICATION SYSTEMS – THE FUTURE FOR KISTA
Radio communication systems research got going in autumn 1989, under the
leadership of Professor Jens Zander at the Department of Radio Communica-
tions Systems Laboratory. This area of research had not previously been prio-
ritised at KTH, but industry pushed it forward. Sweden was at the forefront,
Advanced multimedia wall
SISU’s specialised in customising
business systems with the help of
modern media.
Spin-offs from the SISU
Projectplace (Projektplatsen) and
CNet. Both were the result of EU
projects.
kista science park – the global wireless development centRE
An engineering student dons protective clothing for the cleanroom in the coverall room. In the
laboratory, all the electronics activities at Electrum come together. A large number of students
can be welcomed here. In 1991, 200 students learned how to manufacture an integrated circuit
from pure substrate. A great many more would follow in years to come.

12. 86
A CITY WITHIN A CITY
Kista Science City, a futuristic city made of glass, steel and
concrete, rose out of Järvafältet at remarkable speed. Kista, an
ABC City on the outskirts of Stockholm, was transformed from an
industrial suburb into a city within a city. This is where the science
city grew – a metropolis – a mobile city between Stockholm and
Uppsala, with international companies, top class universities and
attractive residential properties.

13. 118 119
The glazed street in the Electrum building is 100 metres long and 27 metres high – as long as
the southern part of Drottninggatan in Stockholm. »Two extra flights of stairs connect the foyers
on the ground floor, one made from stone with undulating tiled walls and the other shaped
like a shell made from welded steel. Lifts and flights of stairs have been built using simplified
technical solutions, reminiscent of boats and industry.«
Tidskriften Arkitektur (magazine), 5, 1988

14. IBM, TELIA AND ERICSSON –
THE INTELLIGENT SOCIETY AROUND THE
CORNER
IBM personal computers conquer the world and Nordic mobile
telephony (NMT) takes hold in Europe, North America and Asia.
Radio waves made all the difference...
132
In 1981, Tage Ljungberg (now Atrium Ljungberg) and Skanska built a large red brick building in the Skalholt area.
Robert Bosch had started to plan his head office (1982) on Isafjordsgatan and the former Klövern was preparing
to erect an entire building (1985) for Tillquist Process on the corner of Isafjordsgatan and Färögatan. The remain-
ing buildings are RIFA, SRA, the first company hotel along Kistagången (opposite SRA), Ohlsson & Skarne’s pink
industrial buildings along Torshamnsgatan, as well as Agfa-Gevaert’s facilities, now home to Kistamässan con-
ference centre. Kista Science Tower was built in 2001, on the car park area closest to the metro’s cement ramp.
Photograph: Ericsson’s archives, Centre for Business History

15. in three global standards for mobile telephony: GSM for Europe, CDMA for
the United States and PDC for Asia.«
»Now is the time to push forward,« said Lars Ramqvist.
»He was brave. This resulted in us being able to develop these three digital
standards. No other competitor had all three at that time. We had managed
to carve out a very good position for GSM when we set up the first network
in the German firm Mannesmann in 1991. Ericsson won the deal because we
were number one in terms of development. After that, many more followed.«
»Competitors and analysts wondered whether Ericsson could cope with
three systems simultaneously. Analysts on Wall Street asked me lots of ques-
tions. How do you do it? They wanted the details, and the answer was that it
involved a strong focus on R&D. Ericsson Radio doubled its sales every other
year from 1984-2000. The American analogue AMPS system had really got
things going!«
ERICSSON’S MOBILE NETWORK STILL NUMBER ONE DURING THE 2000s
»During the 1980s, the analogue networks AMPS (USA),TACS (UK) and NMT
(Europe) had experienced considerable growth. When GSM was introduced,
there was a slight plateau before it took off. There were a lot of question marks
about GSM. It was too complex; it was too expensive – the question was
whether it would ever work out. In 1994, it was a fiasco!«
This was the same for 3G at first. Once again, mobile phones were the pro-
blem. The Japanese were first to launch 3G in 2001. Ericsson has since sold
its mobile telephone business to Sony. However, Ericsson remains number one
when it comes to networks with only a handful of competitors.
»All the research and development took place near Kista. Kista was the
centre for the development of GSM. In 1998, we focused the entire organi-
sation around the Radio business unit. Many of the managers of this busi-
ness unit became managers of Ericsson. For our R&D, we kept the focus on
Kista and we collected all of Ericsson’s research in Ericsson Research. Before,
research had been spread across different business units.«
During 2007, the number of subscribers doubled from around 100 to 200
million. The WCDMA technology (Wideband Code Division Multiple Access),
which was a continuation of GSM for wideband digital radio communication
with Internet, multimedia and video, had caught on.
It was developed by Ericsson in collaboration with other orgnisations,
and was chosen as the third generation mobile telephony system in Europe,
Japan and United States. It was also approved as a world standard by the ITU
(International Communication Union).
151150
The intelligent society around the cornerThe intelligent society around the corner
GSM was demonstrated in Paris
in 1986 at a competition between
French-German and Nordic teams
with this station. The first GSM tele-
phone, which appeared in 1991,
can be seen on top of the station.
Photograph: Ericsson archives, Centre for
Business History
GSM 1992–2003.
(Jan Uddenfeldt 2002)
Expected distribution of the
number of subscribers per stan-
dard (2001-2008).
(Jan Uddenfeldt 2002)
The acronym GSM initially stood for Groupe Spécial Mobile -- it has since been changed to Glo-
bal System for Mobile Communications.
Ericsson’s first mobile telephones
came from Sonab. It then developed
its own hotline telephones in 1981
and 1983 (at the very back of the
picture). Ericsson mobile telephones
1980-1995: Olivia, Curt, Sandra,
Jane and Emma. The first handheld
devices appeared in 1987.
Photograph: Ericsson archives, Centre for
Business History

16. Kurt Hellström started working at
Ericsson Radio’s mobile telephony
division in 1984 as Marketing
Director in the Far East. As CEO for
Radiosystem (1989) and Group CEO
for Ericsson (1999-2003), he faced
a tough period when the telecom
market crashed and the IT bubble
burst.
Photograph: Ericsson archives, Centre for
Business History
155154
The intelligent society around the cornerThe intelligent society around the corner
THE PEOPLE IN KISTA WERE WILDER
INTERVIEW WITH KURT HELLSTRÖM IN 2003
»It was a real mess when I came here, but it was fun,« says Kurt Hellström.
The organisation was under considerable pressure and there were a couple
of hundred employees. The development of GSM had started and NMT was
under fire. Then the analogue standards for the US and Europe were develo-
ped. Something new was happening and it was interesting.«
»There were fancier people at Ericsson south of the city. In Kista, the people
were wilder and less tame. All the knowledge came from Åke Lundqvist and
Östen Mäkitalo at that time. No version was completely true, because work
is a process and different people contribute at different stages. I have my own
version,« says Hellström.
MOBILE TELEPHONY BEGAN BAck IN THE 1940s
»Everyone thinks that mobile telephony was invented during the 1970s, but
there was already a thesis at Bell Labs about how to build a cellular system
back in 1948. Early on, the mobile telecommunications traffic was directed via
electron tubes [also known as thermionic valves] from cell to cell. Then came
central processing units [CPUs] and microprocessors, which could handle
enormous amounts of data in real time and move telephone calls from cell to
cell. This was possible because of microelectronics.«
»The difference between data communication and telecommunication is
that telecommunication always occurs in real time. With data communication
you can send information however many times you want. The structure of the
data industry is to send packages. Nowadays you can send packages so quickly
that you are tricked into believing that you get them in real time. Packages in
AXE, »electronic program-driven exchanges«, were a breakthrough. Ericsson,
Nortel,Alcatel and Siemens launched their exchanges at roughly the same time.
»Motorola chose a radio exchange, but it has always had problems with it.
AXE, or the mobile version MTX, proved to be the perfect choice for NMT
and GSM. But since we chose this expensive and powerful switch, we were
initially expensive. The expansion, however, was cheaper, for AXE had great
potential. We had orders from telephone companies in the Nordics, the United
States and from Telecom Malaysia.«
MICROELECTRONICS GAVE us the EDGE
»Throughout the 80s, we have claimed new markets and digital mobile tele-
phony was a parallel development. Åke Lundqvist had visions, some of which
were substantial, whilst others were more imaginative. I remember when Åke
said, `In the mid-1990s, in ten years, we will be carrying phones in our shirt
pockets.´ People laughed and thought he was crazy!«
ERICSSON DURING THE 2000s –
THE TELECOM CRISIS BECOMES A
REALITY
The crisis within the
telecommunications industry
during the early 2000s resulted
in major cutbacks at Ericsson.
The cutbacks and redundancies
kept on coming, not least within
Ericsson’s R&D units. The number
of employees was halved and,
at its lowest, the value of a share
was worth no more than a Swedish
postage stamp. The recovery did not
begin until 2003. The share price
quadrupled.
ERICSSON BUYS BROADBAND AND
MULTIMEDIA COMPETENCE FROM
MARCONI
The British Marconi company, which
was founded by the father of radio
communication around the turn of
the twentieth century, was up for
sale. Ericsson acquired Marconi
in 2007 for 16.8 billion Swedish
kronor. Ericsson has since bought a
number of broadband and multime-
dia companies.
The circle is complete! Marconi
was a partner in SRA until 1993
and has now been reunited with
Ericsson.
»Kista goes well if Sweden goes well. Sweden has been an innovative country and there’s still
plenty of strength left,« says Kurt Hellström, Group CEO for Ericsson (1999-2003).
Photograph: Ericsson archives, Centre for Business History
»It was a mess, but it was fun.«
Kurt Hellström, Group CEO of Ericsson 1999-2003

17. THE CORPORATE GIANTS AND THE
COMPANIES AROUND THEM
Kista Science City is a veritable melting pot for businesses new and old.
It is a goldmine for small, innovative software and hardware companies.
There is always something going on in this dynamic science city.
160
ERICSSON HEAD OFFICES IN STOCKHOLM 1884-2013
Ericsson’s first factory was located on
Tulegatan 15 in Stockholmin Stockholm
and it was built in 1884. The industrial era’s
first factories were located in cities. This
oil painting by Seth Nilsson depicts a rear
view of the factory. It hangs in LM Ericsson’s
boardroom at the Museum of Science and
Technology in Stockholm.
Photograph: Nisse Cronestrand, Tekniska Museet
(Swedish National Museum of Science and
Technology)
Industry moved out of big cities – an
LM city was built in Hägersten in a func-
tionalist architectural style. Olle Engkvist
was responsible for the build. It was to be
named Telefonplan (»Telephone Square«)
and the metro was extended here during
the 1960s.
Ericsson moved its head office from
Telefonplan to Kista in 2003. By 2013,
all of Ericsson’s operations in Stockholm
were located in Kista. The picture shows
Ericsson›s new head office in Kista at Tors-
hamnsgatan 21. The building is connected
to the former head office. It was designed by
Wingårdh Arkitektkontor.
The intelligent society around the corner

18. Nanoradio was founded in 2004 and produces low-power wireless LAN chip-
sets that are manufactured in the Far East. Some of the knowledge used at Erics-
son Microelectronics, which ceased trading in 2002, lives on in this organisa-
tion. Nanoradio was bought by Samsung in 2012.
Since 2002, Stockholm Innovation and Growth (STING) has been helping
innovative companies such as Syntune, ObsteCare, myFC and Vocab branch out
onto the global market.
A GOLDMINE FOR MOBILE TELEPHONY
Nokia established its sales office in Kista during the 1980s. In 2001, it focused
its efforts on developing radio base stations at a new facility on Torshamnsga-
tan. Unfortunately, operations had to be terminated due to major interference
from the nearby power station. Today, many mobile companies are joining
forces to improve their competitiveness. For example, Sony bought Ericsson’s
mobile phone manufacturing business in 2011 and Microsoft bought Nokia’s
mobile phone business in 2013. The telecom companies located in Kista today
are Ericsson, Tele2, Huawei and ZTE. Kista is rather like a goldmine for compa-
nies involved in mobile telephony and apps (mobile applications). Almost every
computer company has also developed mobile phones: Microsoft, Apple, Phi-
lips, Siemens, Samsung, HP/Compaq, Huawei, ZTE and Lenovo (for the Chinese
market). Ericsson sold its mobile phone business to Sony in 2009.
SWEDISH INTERNATIONAL TESTS – INTERVIEW WITH ROLF STENBERG IN 2005
INTERTEK SEMKO AB TESTS AND CERTIFIES ELECTRONIC PRODUCTS
One of the world’s largest testing and certification bodies for electronic
products, Intertek Semko AB, has its European headquarters in Kista. It pro-
vides testing of all kinds of products including household appliances, telecom
devices and mammography equipment. There is a special facility for electrical
safety (electromagnetic compatibility, EMC) and radio testing. The first testing
centre in Kista was built during the 1980s and it was known as Svenska Elek-
triska Materialkontrollen (Semko, lit. Swedish Electrical Material Testing). Only
a third of Intertek Semko’s clients in Kista are Swedish, the rest are global. Large
Japanese companies such as Panasonic, JVC, Pioneer and Sharp, as well as the
South Korean company LG Electronics, have their products tested here before
they are released onto the European market.
»The same requirements apply to companies in Russia and Turkey if they
want to reach the EU market. We also do tests for the North American market,
Australia and other parts of the world«.
BUSINESS IN KISTA has been able to flourish thanks to the fact that corporate
giants such as IBM and Ericsson, as well as smaller ICT companies, have relo-
cated here. The 1970s were a decade of mass construction and there was much
more to come later on. Indeed this activity is not expected to level off before
2020. Kista also benefits from the non-IT companies that have established them-
selves there. The Swedish stamp office, a subsidiary of the Swedish postal service
(Posten Frimärken) moved to Helgafjäll in 1979, Agfa-Gevaert (analogue and
digital imaging) moved to Lidarände, and Lorentzen & Wettre set up its produc-
tion of processing equipment for the pulp and paper industry on Viderögatan
2. The German firm Bosch (consumer and car products, partly IT) relocated
to Isafjordsgatan 15 and Hällde Maskiner moved in 1981 into a building at
Skalholtsgatan 4, which is visible from the metro. The company produces and
markets commercial kitchen appliances such as mixers, vegetable peelers, cutters
and hackers.
Some of the earliest computer companies to move to Kista were Hewlett-
Packard (HP), Prime, Sun, Microsoft, Apple, Tandem Computers and Compaq.
The Japanese company Yokogawa Measurement Technologies set up operations
in Akalla on Finlandsgatan 52 in 2001. In 2013, Yokogawa moved out of Kista,
but their instruments are still marketed in Kista by Testpower. Enea moved from
Täby to Kista in 2006. However, over time, many companies have moved away
from Kista (e.g. HP, ÅF, Apple, Neonode and Tieto).
A MELTING POT FOR BUSINESSES
Spin-offs from institutes and universities were appearing as early as the 1990s.
These included Catella Generics, Svenska Grindmatriser, Synthesia AB, Nordic
Solar Energy AB, Projektplatsen, CNet, Transmode, Virtutech and Altitun. These
innovative companies are firmly rooted in both industry and higher education.
Many former Ericsson employees (as well as employees from other large orga-
nisations) now work at these companies as managers, board members or opera-
tional functions. This is how skills are transferred between Swedish companies.
Occasionally, innovative companies have also failed, often due to a lack of
financial capital. Spirea, Dynarc, Optillion and Replisaurus struggled for survi-
val for a long time, while Proximion and PrintDreams (mobile printers) are two
of those who survived. One particularly successful company is Silex, a spin-off
from Acreo (2000), a contract manufacturer of mechanical components using
MEMS technology (Micro Electro Mechanical Systems) for clients within the
biotechnology, optical and telecom industries. PacketFront, which develops
and sells advanced broadband systems, is another successful example. TranSiC,
which manufactures silicon carbide power transistors, was founded by a team
from KTH in 2005. Although the company was sold to the American company
Fairchild Semiconductor in 2011, it is continuing its operations in Kista.
163162
THE CORPORATE GIANTS AND THE COMPANIES AROUND THEMTHE CORPORATE GIANTS AND THE COMPANIES AROUND THEM
HISTORY OF HP
Hewlett-Packard (HP) was founded in
1939 and became one of the world’s
leading manufacturers of compu-
ters, calculators, laser printers, and
test and measurement instruments.
HP acquired Apollo Computers in
1989. Following a strategic align-
ment, Agilent Technologies was
created in 1999 as a spin-off of HP.
Agilent’s main business areas are
test and measurement products, as
well as life science and chemical
analysis. HP and Compaq merged in
2002.
HISTORY OF COMPAQ
During a visit to a bar in 1981, three
engineers from Texas Instruments
(TI) in the United States sketched
their idea for a portable computer
on a paper place mat. Rod Canion,
Jim Harris and Bill Murto left TI and
founded Compaq (Compatibility and
Quality), which was to become the
world’s largest producer of perso-
nal computers and a global leader
within servers. Compaq acquired
Tandem Computers in 1997 and
DEC (Digital Equipment Corporation)
in 1998. Today, Compaq is a brand
within the HP organisation (2002).
HISTORY OF ENEA
Enea was founded by four engineers
from KTH and Stockholm University
in 1968. Their first product was an
operating system for an air traffic
control computer. Enea now makes
software platforms that are parti-
cularly suited to the telecommuni-
cations industry with its stringent
demands on availability and
reliability.
HISTORY OF NOKIA
The origins of this company lie in the
town of Nokia in southern Finland. It
all began with paper mills and
continued with the production of
cables and rubber for car tyres,
boots and galoshes, before moving
into electronics. The Swedish
companies Luxor and Salora were
bought by Finnish companies, and
Nokia participated in the develop-
ment of NMT as a supplier to the
Finnish national telecommunica-
tions agency. The first mobile pho-
nes that they produced were called
Talkman and Cityman. The Soviet
market collapsed during the 1990s
and an economic crisis followed.
Jorma Ollila got Nokia back on its
feet again by 1993. In 2006, Nokia
Siemens Network was founded to
collaborate in building networks.
Nokia was bought by Microsoft in
2013.
FACTS ABOUT INTERTEK SEMKO AB
(2013)
Number of employees in Kista: 350
Offices in 110 countries
Main competitor: Underwriters
Laboratory (UL)
Mobira Cityman NMT 900, 1987
Nokia 1011, GSM, 1991

19. Intelligent creators of culture in
Uppland – Sweden’s most densely
populated landscape
Those clever scientists were not the first to leave their mark on the
land around Kista. The Vikings took advantage of the arable soil
many centuries ago. In 2004, the Swedish Environmental
Protection Agency (Naturvårdsverket) declared the area around the
Igelbäcken stream a nature reserve. Builders have consequently
been left treading carefully so as not to harm the stone loach.
Järvafältet is also home to the rare long-eared owl (Asio otus)
and deer truffle (Elaphomycetaceae). The Royal College of Music
in Stockholm (KMH) has tested the acoustics in the lobby of
Kista Science Tower – and they are superb. Kista Galleria is now
Stockholm’s extended living room.

20. A NEW INTERNATIONAL STOCKHOLM
The new millennium began with the end of the IT boom. Then came
the telecom crash. Yet Kista, the science city between Stockholm
and Uppsala, has since recovered and found new strength.

21. Pär Hedberg is CEO and business
coach at STING. His task is to deve-
lop new Swedish export companies.
He spends his time creating environ-
ments with favourable conditions
for growth companies – incubator
environments.
STING is Sweden’s foremost
business incubator.
Photograph: Electrum archives
193192
A new international StockholmA new international Stockholm
Newly appointed professors within research on entrepreneurship in Swe-
den often say that »something has happened«. New companies have
appeared, which have the potential to become export companies and
perhaps even miljardföretag. Today, the key focus areas within STING are
information and communications technology (ICT), internet/media, medtech
and cleantech. People with innovate technological ideas can be found in com-
panies in Stockholm, as well as at Karolinska Institutet, KTH, Stockholm Uni-
versity, Campus Kista, and within the Swedish ICT organisation with Acreo,
Interactive Institute, SICS and Viktoria. They collaborate with Campus Kista,
universities and research institutes, Campus KTH on Valhallavägen, Karolin-
ska Institutet Science Park in Flemingsberg and Swedish industry.
»The demands are high, the innovation needs to be unique with a high
level of technical innovation to handle patenting,« according to Hedberg.
At STING, there is help available from highly qualified business coaches
with a great deal of industry experience: Magnus Rehn, Ivar Strömberg,
Olof Berglund, Raoul Stubbe, Peo Nilsson, Ludvig Linge, Gisela Sitbon and
STING Capital’s investment expert, Martin Gemvik.
A third of the STING companies come from higher education and two
thirds come from the business world.
Swedish ICT VISION
CREATING A SUSTAINABLE AND BETTER LIFE FOR EVERYONE WITH ICT
Swedish ICT was formed in 2005 and it is one of four research institutes
that make up RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden). RISE is owned by the
Swedish state (60 percent) and two industrial stakeholder associations,
FMOF and FAV (40 percent). Hans Hentzell is CEO of Swedish ICT.
The four Swedish ICT Research institutes are: Acreo (hardware and elec-
tronics), SICS (software and computer engineering), Interactive Institute
(interaction design and visualisation) and Viktoria (sustainable transport).
These research institutes all focus on ICT, i.e. information and communica-
tion technology. Swedish ICT’s head office is located in Kista and it has ope-
rations in Eskilstuna, Gothenburg, Karlstad, Hudiksvall, Kista, Linköping,
Lund, Norrköping, Piteå, Umeå, Uppsala and Västerås.
INTERVIEW WITH CEO OF SWEDISH ICT HANS HENTZELL in 2011
»We are helping to build the future knowledge society with these »bricks«:
information technology, microelectronics and optics. This new society
is characterised by great variety and a high pace – only our imaginations
can limit its development. For example, biological systems are becoming
increasingly common.Combining electronics and proteins will provide us with
undreamedof possibilities to ‘repair’ biological functions that people are
lacking or have lost.«
»The demands are high, the innovation needs to be unique«
Pär Hedberg, founder and CEO of STING, chief architect of the innovation system
US President Barack Obama has a close look at the fuel cell charger. The photograph was taken
during Barack Obama’s visit to KTH on 4 September 2013. The PowerTrekk fuel cell charger was
created by myFC, a STING alumni company. It is a revolutionary charger that runs on water and
is based on Swedish fuel cell technology. From the left: Göran Lindbergh (researcher at KTH),
Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt, US President Barack Obama, and KTH Reseacher Rakel Wre-
land Lindström and Carina Lagergren. The President is informed about KTH’s advances within
the fuel cell area.
Photograph: Peter Larsson KTH/pressHans Hentzell is CEO of Swedish ICT
and Chairman of Acreo and SICS.
Photograph: Acreo archive

22. FUTURE FRIDAY AT ELECTRUM
Photograph on opposite page:
»What was most fun was weightless-
ness and seeing Earth from space«,
Christer Fuglesang said about his
first space adventure, when he
visited Future Friday. He studied at
Teknis and said that he had “had fun
for six years”. Since 1992, Fugle-
sang has been part of the European
Space Agency’s (ESA) astronaut
programme. He regards the climate
issue as one of the major challenges
that technology needs to solve.
Yoshi Akais, a researcher at the
Interactive Institute, demonstra-
tes his experimental music using
crispbread. The crispbread is used
on a record player instead of a vinyl
record. Can you imagine what it
sounded like?
A new international Stockholm
212
A new international Stockholm
213