Funding boost for Bridge research
Funding decisions have now been made in the latest call from The Bridge. A total of SEK 7.8 million will be allocated to four new research projects aimed at driving innovation and sustainable development across the forest-based value chain.
“We’re very pleased to enable additional research initiatives that can generate new knowledge and accelerate sustainable development,” says Kristoffer Segerholm, representing Södra in the project committee.
The autumn 2025 call attracted 13 project proposals, with a combined requested budget of approximately SEK 30 million. Following a competitive evaluation process, funding was granted to four selected projects.
“With so many strong proposals, we’ve had to make tough choices. We now look forward to collaborating closely on these selected projects,” says Linda Wilkens from IKEA.
The funded projects span a wide range of topics – from wood architecture and AI-driven supply chain analytics to investments in research infrastructure. Notably, the scholarship programme for master’s students in forestry and innovation will receive renewed support for another round.
Funded Projects
The following projects were awarded funding in this round:
- Establishing Next-Generation Forest Research Infrastructure
At the Attsjö Super Test Site, exploring water and carbon dynamics in southern Swedish Scots pine forests.
Project lead: Johan Fransson | Funding: SEK 3.9 million - The IKEA and Södra Scholarship – A Key Factor in Attracting Qualified Students Funding: SEK 1 million
- Wood Architecture for Competitive Timber Structures
Project lead: Thomas Bader | Funding: SEK 1 million - FORECAST: AI-Driven Integration and Forecast of Forest Supply Data for Sustainable and Climate-Resilient Value Chains
Project lead: Amilcar Soares Junior | Funding: SEK 1.9 million
The committee also decided to endorse a smaller project – Reinforcement Learning for Stochastic Optimization of Sawmill Yield (Jonas Nordqvist) – which will be funded by the Faculty of Technology.
About The Bridge
The Bridge is a strategic collaboration where business needs and academic expertise meet to co-create solutions – through funded research positions, support for education, and investment in joint research projects. IKEA, Linnaeus University and Södra together aim to drive knowledge development that strengthens both competitiveness and societal benefit, with the forest value chain as a central arena.
Learn more about The Bridge partnership through this link.