The green transition and climate crisis create market needs that no entity can solve alone. Collaboration occurs in innovation hubs that provide a community, spaces that promote cooperation, and a clear mission.
Such is the Green Line being built along the Western Metro, where Crazy Town EriCa will also open at the end of 2025. The Green Line is a shared brand that helps actors in green chemistry, circular economy, and clean technology attract talent, customers, and investments.
Sustainable Development Ecosystem 30 Minutes by Metro
The Green Line connects the world’s leading industry players, namely experts, research, startups, and large companies. These include, for example, Europe’s largest open bio and circular economy piloting center VTT Bioruukki and Finland’s leading innovation university Aalto University. At the Otaniemi campus, thousands of researchers and students are involved in early-stage startup services and programs that strengthen an entrepreneurship-friendly culture, implemented by entities such as Startup Sauna, Aaltoes, and MIMIR. Startup accelerators VTT Launchpad, Aalto Startup Center, and Kiuas help promising companies move forward.
Along the metro line, there is also the Keilaniemi headquarters cluster and numerous other locations where larger companies, such as Kemira, Metsä, Fortum, Huhtamäki, Metso, and Neste, commercialize expertise for global markets. Over 1500 technology companies and nearly 50% of the Helsinki Stock Exchange’s turnover come from companies located in Espoo, offering global customer and partnership opportunities.
Center for Research-Based Growth Entrepreneurship
Espoo has emerged as one of Europe’s leading hubs for deep technology (deep tech), i.e., research-based growth companies and sustainable entrepreneurship:
– Finland’s deep tech leader: 32% of venture capital is directed to deep tech startups
– Over 100 new startups annually: Most of Finland’s unicorns are born in Espoo
– 6th most patent applications in Europe
– Thousands of experts from secondary education to doctoral level: Aalto University, University of Helsinki, Metropolia University of Applied Sciences, and Omnia
– Global events: Slush, Arctic15, NORDEEP are the most significant startup and investor events taking place in Espoo and the capital region
EriCa Green Chemistry Park – a new hub along the Green Line to help leverage opportunities
Professional communities are places where new innovations emerge. They connect like-minded people and promote collaboration. This social capital – networks, trust, and interaction – is the currency of the future, enabling access to human capital: skills, knowledge, and ideas. These, in turn, transform into businesses, commerce, and funding.
This is made possible by EriCa Green Chemistry Park, which will open in the fall of 2025. It will serve as the physical cornerstone of the Green Line in Finnoo, right next to the metro station. Crazy Town operates the community and helps leverage the opportunities of the “Green Line” along the metro line.
EriCa offers
– Shared workspaces and laboratories with a membership fee at Crazy Town EriCa
– Private R&D spaces for startups, scale-ups, and companies
– Collaboration opportunities with actors along the Green Line
EriCa is designed to be agile and open. For example, its shared laboratories lower the threshold for early-stage teams to test, pilot, and develop.
EriCa fills an important gap in the green innovation value chain. It provides new players access to infrastructure that was previously only available to large corporations. Crazy Town, Finland’s leading builder of business communities, operates EriCa and is responsible for the community’s development.
From labs to global markets
All companies and actors share the same challenge – how to attract talent, customers, and investments?
The Green Line and EriCa as part of it help solve this together. EriCa will open at the end of 2025, and new programs and services are already being prepared. Now is the right time to get involved.
If your company is interested in EriCa membership, please contact:
Hele Kaunismäki
hele.kaunismaki@crazytown.fi
+358 50 559 0374
https://crazytown.fi/sijainnit/erica/
