Estonia is committed to keeping its innovative edge, investing €11M to expand the Applied Research Center at Metrosert (the National Metrology Institute of Estonia).
The government has approved this capital increase to launch three cutting-edge research areas: drone technologies, hydrogen technologies, and autonomous vehicles. These will be instrumental in bringing more smart industry to the country and ensuring Estonia’s competitiveness.
“While Estonia excels in developing new technologies, one of our biggest challenges has been the lack of testing capacity to reach industrial scale,” explains Erkki Keldo, Minister of Economy and Industry. “This investment will accelerate high added-value research and development by creating support infrastructure in three new areas, helping to bring technologies from laboratory to practical production.”
The selected focus areas were not chosen randomly: Metrosert conducted in-depth market analysis and consulted with Estonian companies to identify the most commercially promising fields.
Bridging science and business
Established in 2023, the Applied Research Center operates as a research and development unit of Metrosert. Its mission is to support Estonian companies in developing knowledge-intensive products and services that can succeed internationally.
“We work closely with companies, universities and research organizations to ensure our services and infrastructure meet their needs,” says Aigar Vaigu, Chairman of the Board of Metrosert. “Applied research helps increase the competitiveness of our companies and the Estonian economy as a whole.”
Estonia is buzzing with uncrewed aerial innovations, but there are more opportunities to capture. Metrosert will provide expertise in drone technologies, testing, and certification services. Rainer Kivimäe, Head of Metrosert’s Drone Technologies Division, emphasizes that this rapidly growing field is strategically and economically important to Estonia.
“We are focusing on creating important R&D directions and building laboratory capabilities that cover the entire life cycle of drones,” Kivimäe explains. The infrastructure will include electromagnetic compatibility testing, climate chambers, and field laboratories.
Another focus is energy abundance. Metrosert’s hydrogen technology initiatives will create and maintain an ecosystem that supports Estonian companies in developing internationally competitive products and technologies. This will complement the rapidly developing Hydrogen Valley initiative.
Dr. Rainer Küngas, Chief Technology Officer at Stargate Hydrogen, says that Estonia could become a hydrogen technology exporting country rather than just importing green technologies. “A very important part of the hydrogen technology development process is thorough testing of products under operating conditions to ensure reliability and safety—this is where Metrosert’s Applied Research Center plays a key role.”
Last but not least—self-driving vehicles. In cooperation with the Estonian Transport Agency, Metrosert wants to become a leading European hub for testing and development of autonomous vehicles, pushing their EU-wide certification.
State’s commitment to innovation
This €11M investment follows an earlier €5M allocation to launch biorefining as the first line of action in 2024, enabling new activities in wood chemistry and biomass refining. In total, the Applied Research Center will focus on five areas, including health data, alongside the other four specialized fields.
To make sure there will be more established companies benefiting from the additional research and testing capabilities, the government has also launched a large-scale investment incentive, offering up to €20M reimbursement for major projects.
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