Posts Tagged ‘Estonia’
The Baltic Sea is not the alternative – it is the future of cruising
Cruising is entering a new phase. As travel trends shift toward authenticity, sustainability and emotional value, Northern Europe – and the Baltic Sea in particular – is increasingly aligned with the expectations of tomorrow’s cruise passengers. Across the travel sector, demand is moving away from overcrowded destinations and toward places that offer cultural depth and a sense of genuine discovery.
In this context, the Baltic Sea stands out not because it is spectacular in scale, but because it is coherent in character. Its destinations share a broadly similar planning culture, social stability and relationship with nature. For cruise operators, this creates itineraries that are efficient to operate yet rich in content, without the growing friction associated with over-tourism. One of the Baltic’s defining strengths is easy access. Many ports are located close to city centres or directly integrated into small towns, allowing passengers to explore on foot rather than through long transfers. This reflects passenger preferences identified by Cruise Lines International Association, which show growing satisfaction with ports offering walkability, easy access and authentic local environments. Whether in larger cities such as Helsinki, Tallinn or Stockholm, or in smaller destinations like Kotka and Kalmar, proximity and immediacy play a central role in shaping the shore experience.
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Originally published on 26 Jan
Read MoreEstonian EdTech Flashka secures €1M, reaches 1M users in first year
The AI boom is changing the learning practices, and the Estonian startup scene is making a mark on it. This month, Tallinn-based AI startup Flashka has raised €1M in pre-seed funding led by Outlast Fund, with participation from Ulixes Capital Partners (UCP) and Vento Ventures.
Founded in 2023 by Stefan Djokovic, David Djokovic, and Simone De Marchi, Flashka has developed an AI-powered study platform that helps university students master complex subjects through automated flashcards, quizzes, and personalized learning tools. It focuses on spaced repetition, a learning technique that boosts retention with adaptive schedules, reducing cramming. It can be used with any subject, or for language study.
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Originally published on 20 Jan
Read MoreEight Baltic Sea electricity TSOs publish offshore system study to promote coordinated sea basin planning
The electricity Transmission System Operators (TSOs) of eight countries bordering the Baltic Sea today published the first comprehensive regional system study for offshore network infrastructure and offshore wind, marking a significant step toward coordinated sea basin planning in Europe.
The TSOs of Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Sweden – organised in the Baltic Offshore Grid Initiative (BOGI) – developed a study that moves from electricity transmission corridors to potential projects for the 2040-time horizon. The results show that the Baltic Sea region can become a clean energy hub, with around 13 GW of new cross-border interconnectors and up to 50 GW of additional offshore wind identified by 2040. These connections include point-to-point links between countries and strategic offshore nodes such as Bornholm, which could serve as future hybrid hubs. The market modelling indicates that these interconnectors would operate with high utilisation throughout the year and significantly reduce system costs, price peaks and CO₂ emissions.
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Originally published on 22 Jan
Read MoreMarket participants are invited to provide feedback on the Nordic–Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project
The implementers of the Nordic–Baltic Hydrogen Corridor project — the European gas transmission system operators “Conexus Baltic Grid” (Latvia), “Gasgrid Finland” (Finland), “Elering” (Estonia), “Amber Grid” (Lithuania), “GAZ‑SYSTEM” (Poland) and “ONTRAS” (Germany) — have launched a market survey, inviting market participants to express their views by completing a questionnaire on the cross‑border hydrogen infrastructure development project.
At this stage, market participants are invited to take part in shaping the development of the cross‑border hydrogen network by providing their perspectives on the creation of the Nordic–Baltic Hydrogen Corridor, which will strengthen Europe’s energy security and support the transition to a climate‑neutral economy.
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Originally published on 16 Jan
Read MoreCybernetica to develop a crisis-resilient Government Work Platform for Estonia
Cybernetica has won a procurement by the Government Office of Estonia to develop a prototype of a crisis-resilient work platform for the Government of the Republic of Estonia. The next-generation solution will replace the government’s existing session management and e-Cabinet systems, consolidate workflows related to government meetings, and ensure compliance with modern security and continuity requirements.
The project to develop the technological prototype of the government work platform will run for 15 months. During this period, Cybernetica will also deliver a comprehensive implementation roadmap and a cost forecast for the full-scale solution.
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Originally published on 16 Jan
Read MoreRAIKU Packaging selected for L’Oréal’s €100 million Sustainable Innovation Accelerator
Global beauty company L’Oréal announced the launch of its new Sustainable Innovation Accelerator, a new program aimed at investing €100 million over 5 years to find, develop, pilot and scale breakthrough technologies addressing the company’s and industry’s sustainability-focused challenges. Out of more than 1000 applicants worldwide, Estonian company RAIKU Packaging has been selected as one of just 13 companies to join the L’Oréal Sustainable Innovation Accelerator, with an acceptance rate of 1%.
RAIKU has developed a 100% natural packaging material that offers luxurious aesthetics and excellent shock absorption. The material is one of the lowest carbon footprint materials in the world as the company has brought to the market a radically more efficient production process than traditional industries reporting over 90% resource reduction.
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Originally published on 19 Jan
Read MoreBabcock and Frankenburg launch ambitious effort to deploy a next‑generation counter‑drone system
British aerospace and defence firm Babcock and Estonian defence company Frankenburg Technologies have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to jointly explore the creation of a new and affordable air‑defence solution, prompted by the growing threat posed by one‑way attack drones.
As part of the MoU, Babcock will develop a cost-effective, containerised platform for launching Frankenburg’s new low-cost missiles, which it is manufacturing at pace, specifically to defend against one-way attack drones.
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Originally published on 15 Jan
Read MoreSmartCap invests in Taaleri Energia’s infrastructure fund
Ellex in Estonia advised SmartCap Green Fund on its investment into Taaleri SolarWind III, a renewable energy infrastructure fund managed by Taaleri Energia.
SmartCap committed €25 million to accelerate the development and operation of onshore wind, solar and battery energy storage assets across the Baltics, Nordics, Poland and select markets in Europe and the U.S.
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Originally published on 14 Jan
Read MoreEstonian Government approved a development plan to make the energy sector more reliable, affordable and cleaner
Today, the Government approved the National Development Plan of the Energy Sector until 2035 (ENMAK 2035), drafted by the Ministry of Climate. The plan sets the goals of ensuring energy security, increasing national competitiveness, and facilitating the transition to a clean energy economy.
Preparation for the plan began in 2021. The final document provides an overview of how Estonia’s energy sector reached its current state, the steps to be taken leading up to 2035, and a vision for 2050. It also establishes general and sub-objectives and planned activities for renewable energy, gas supply, oil shale energy, as well as heating and cooling.
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Originally published on 8 Jan
Read More578 applications, 115+ companies and €12.8 million raised – Tehnopol Startup Incubator 2025 wrap-up
The new year is already well underway and the next cohort of specialised accelerator programmes is about to kick off. Before 2026 fully gains momentum, it’s a good moment to look back: what did 2025 look like for Tehnopol Startup Incubator, and – most importantly – what kind of impact did it have on our startups and the wider ecosystem?
2025 was a fast-paced year by the numbers. We received 578 applications across our accelerator programmes, and 115+ companies joined our programmes during the year. A clear trend is that new cohorts are becoming more mature from day one: teams enter the programme with sharper focus, more realistic market validation and a clearer development roadmap.
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Originally published on 7 Jan
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