Michael Wood, US Ambassador to Sweden is on a mission to identify Swedish innovations that could benefit from cooperation with the American private sector.

Already last spring, Parans was elected by the US Embassy in Stockholm as one of 30 Swedish cleantech companies that the ambassador Michael Wood would promote to US venture capital firms. To better understand and promote Parans on upcoming meetings, ambassador Wood visited Parans headquarters in Gothenburg on Feb 5th.

Ambassador Wood was curious to know how the idea was born.
– "I was thinking of how I as a child played with a magnifying glass to concentrate the sunlight into one point" answered the inventor Bengt Steneby. After a thorough go-through of the system: the solar panel, the fiber optics and the luminaires, Mr Wood informed himself on Parans current business model, objectives and challenges. Mr Wood also informed Parans on President Bush's recent public speech where he stated that, amongst other actions, Federal government operations reduce must total energy use in Federal buildings by 30 percent by 2015. In this work, the Parans system can be one key solution according to ambassador Wood. Other segments that Parans was recommended to address were universities and LEED buildings.

To be included on this list, called One Big Thing, is a feather in the hat for Parans and has resulted in additional media attention as well as attention by US Venture Capital firms. As Parans chairman Per Lindström says; "To enter and properly be able to market and distribute Parans on the US market with its high demand for Parans products, we need an American partner". After finishing up the hors-d'oeuvres, Parans was satisfied with the informative and personal visit. After all, to establish a first ground for connections with partners in the US, who is better suited than the US Ambassador to Sweden?