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More Antti Vasara’s thoughts on video
Deep tech is changing the forest sector
MARJA BERISA, Photos: Minna Kurjenluoma
Fabricating egg whites from fungus. Turning wood into textile fibres. Creating protein from air. The Finnish product development spectrum includes innovations that sound like science fiction but are already at the commercialisation stage. In the past few decades, digitalisation has changed our world but Antti Vasara , CEO of the VTT Technical Research Centre of Fin- land, says we can expect an even more revolutionary period. He is talking about the deep tech breakthrough, where innovations stem from the latest scientific discoveries. “Deep technologies are developed by growth companies whose business is based on the commercialisation of scientific and tech- nological advances by the creation of new products. They offer unique and revolutionary solutions to global problems. They are not simply improving existing solutions. They are also producing entirely new solutions that often revolutionise an entire industry,” says Vasara. Unlike digital start-ups, deep tech usually includes the con- struction of physical technology or products – such as protein production plants or quantum computers. This means deep tech growth companies do not just measure their production in bits but in atoms as well. It all started with a calculator Vasara’s employment history is impressive. He has a doctorate in engineering physics, and his accomplishments include managing the growth of Nokia and participating in the European Commis- sion’s working groups on technology strategy. He discovered his interest in technology at a young age.
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