Photo of Mats Eklund

Mats Eklund

Professor

I am a generalist that sees environmental considerations as drivers for innovation and growth, constituting the “backbone” of the welfare society.

Biogas solutions and green innovation through industrial symbiosis

My mission is to facilitate development and dissemination of sustainable solutions involving cross-sector collaboration, like biogas solutions and green innovation through industrial symbiosis.

I am the director of the transdisciplinary Biogas Research Centre where I focus on knowledge integration and exchange between scientific disciplines and between academy and industry. The aim of the centre is to advance resource-efficient biogas solutions through research, interaction and communication. It builds on the collaborative arena formed by around 20 private and public organisations together with eight research groups from political science to molecular biotechnology.

Industrial symbiosis is the science of valorising neglected resources through collaborative approaches. These resources, sometimes called by-products, waste or excess heat can often be used locally. The research about these processes includes uncovering activities as well as dissemination through development of a national network and resource centre for Industrial symbiosis.

From environmental history to industrial symbiosis

The interplay between human activities and the environment is in the center of my research. My early research focussed on environmental history, industrial material flows and their dynamics. After my PhD, I have continued to study flows, stocks and their corresponding impacts in different contexts under headings like environmental impact assessment, substance flow analysis, environmental systems analysis, infrastructure materials management, waste and recycling strategies, urban and landfill mining and industrial symbiosis in the forest industry. 

Long-term collaboration with industry and Swedish cities

Society’s institutional conditions have a major impact on the conditions for development of new and more sustainable industrial practices. I am engaged in the public discourse regarding conditions for companies relying on secondary resources for their business. A lot of the research benefit from my long-term relations with companies like Stena metall, Tekniska Verken, Econova, Biototal, E.ON and several Swedish cities that ensures relevance and impact of the research.  

Teaching

I teach mainly in the areas of biofuels for transport, industrial symbiosis and industrial ecology on the engineering programmes. In the earlier years of the programmes I introduce the areas of natural resources and large technical systems. 

In research education, I guide and supervise a number of PhD-candidates on their journey of becoming independent researchers.

Collaboration and commitments
  • Board member of Econova, an environmentally driven company in the areas of recycling, energy and garden with a 650 million SEK turnover.
  • Initiator of and responsible for strategic collaboration between Linköping University and the companies Stena Metall and Tekniska Verken.


Publications

2024

Axel Lindfors, Mats Eklund, Anna Brunzell, Erik Erjeby, Tomas Hirsch, Jonas Ammenberg, Stephanie Cordova, Roozbeh Feiz, Marcus Gustafsson, Maria Johansson, Emma Lindkvist, Thomas Prade, Anna Schnürer, Karin Tonderski, Sepehr Shakeri Yekta (2024) Världens bästa biogassystem: Ett BRC innovationsprojekt (Report) https://dx.doi.org/10.3384/9789180759069
Alex Enrich Prast, Mats Eklund (2024) Mobility's future should be science-based, not only electric Energy for Sustainable Development, Vol. 80, Article 101440 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.esd.2024.101440
Marcus Gustafsson, Stephanie Cordova, Niclas Svensson, Mats Eklund (2024) Climate performance of liquefied biomethane with carbon dioxide utilization or storage Renewable and sustainable energy reviews, Vol. 192, Article 114239 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2023.114239

2023

Stephanie Cordova, Marcus Gustafsson, Mats Eklund, Niclas Svensson (2023) What should we do with CO₂ from biogas upgrading? Journal of CO2 Utilization, Vol. 77, p. 102607-102607, Article 102607 (Article in journal) https://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jcou.2023.102607
Mats Eklund (2023) Introduktion till stora tekniska system Miljöteknik: för en hållbar utveckling, p. 181-187 (Chapter in book)

Research

Co-workers

News

En grupp byggarbetare som står på taket av en byggnad.

07 October 2026

From residual flows to new resources – energy researchers encounter industrial symbiosis at Händelö

What if what is left over from one operation could become a resource for another? The Graduate School in Energy Systems visited Händelö to see how industrial symbiosis works in practice – and what it takes to succeed.

Man lecturing in factory.

06 October 2026

Rapid growth brings challenges for the biogas plant in Vårgårda

Production has doubled since the plant began operating. The biggest challenge for the biogas plant in Vårgårda is not producing more biogas. It is finding enough customers in the local area.

Man lecturing.

30 September 2026

Biodiesel by-product becomes biogas

Glycerol is a by-product of biodiesel production and can be used as a feedstock for biogas production. Adesso Bioproducts therefore plans to build a biogas plant adjacent to the chemical industry cluster in Stenungsund.

Man in front of screen.

28 September 2026

Turning fish industry waste and emissions into a circular success

t began as an initiative to tackle local waste problems. Today, Rena Hav has developed into an extensive circular system encompassing biogas, wastewater treatment, fertiliser, fish feed and land-based salmon farming.

En grupp människor som står och lyssnar på en person.

25 September 2026

The building blocks of the chemical industry are found in the gas

Stenungsund is home to Sweden’s largest chemical industry, at the end of the gas grid in western Sweden. Here, carbon atoms in natural gas and biogas are transformed into valuable substances needed in almost everything we use in everyday life.

Man speaking in front of group. Rain. Umbrellas.

25 September 2026

He wants to make protein from grass – and biogas is the key to getting there

Organic farmer Johan Christensson is working with other farmers to establish a production system for protein from grass on Sweden’s west coast. It all starts with a biogas plant.

Organisation