“It should be genuinely important,” “It’s what you do that gets done,” and “work should be fun, otherwise it’s no fun at all.” Åsa Burman’s mottos may seem obvious, but anyone who thinks about them realizes they often bear repeating. During her eleven years as director, Lighthouse developed into THE Swedish collaboration platform for maritime research and innovation.

Today, Lighthouse is naturally seen as Sweden’s collaboration platform for maritime research and innovation. That was hardly the case more than eleven years ago when Åsa Burman, who has now left her post as director, started at Lighthouse on October 1, 2014.

“There were neither structures nor interaction, and I understood that researchers often compete for research funding. Lighthouse’s goal, however, was to promote collaboration, and once we got started, we created a culture where researchers and research organizations could complement each other instead.”

But how could Lighthouse, which had until then been a regional Gothenburg-based center of expertise, become a unifying force at the national level? Åsa Burman had three months to get actors in other parts of the country on board, such as KTH and Linnaeus University, before the collaboration platform was to be launched on January 1, 2015.

“There were many ideas and thoughts in the industry, but there was no agreement on what role Lighthouse should have and how the operations should be managed. During the autumn of 2014, I spent a lot of time trying to understand what all parties, both existing members and those we wanted to involve, could actually agree on. It quickly became clear that there was a willingness to collaborate. People believed that Lighthouse could highlight the maritime sector’s research and innovation needs, and that more resources were needed to enable this. We had to start from there,” says Åsa Burman.

The more people got to know each other, the easier the work flowed in Lighthouse’s program committee—the body that directs the focus of the research and innovation Lighthouse drives. From being characterized by suspicion and position-guarding, the committee work became enjoyable. As Åsa often says, “work should be fun, otherwise it’s no fun at all.”

“It turned out much better than I thought. I’ve worked as a manager for many years before and have rarely seen such engagement. The program committee consists of about 20 people spread across the country. The majority attend all meetings even though no one is actually required to do so—they come because they want to. Up until I left, we had 97 meetings.”

Everyday work mostly moves slowly forward. It repeats itself. At the same time, time flies, and eleven years pass in the blink of an eye. Sometimes, a look back is needed to understand what has really been accomplished. Because that is what counts. You can have as many and as impressive visions as you want, but in the end, as Åsa says, “it’s what you do that gets done.”

So what about 97 research reports, managing the Swedish Transport Administration’s industry program Sustainable Shipping, developing a national agenda for maritime research and innovation, vice chairmanship in the EU’s technology platform Waterborne, nearly 750 popular science articles, and about 30 naval architects completing the Lighthouse trainee program? Add to that numerous seminar days, webinars, and meetings in Lighthouse focus groups that were arranged. And that’s still not everything. From a financial perspective, it has delivered significant bang for the buck.

“We started with very little money. It was enough for a few preliminary studies. But we decided early on that collaboration was central to Lighthouse and therefore required—and still requires—more than one research organization or more than one company to collaborate on projects. This has created ripples: smaller projects have grown, and not everything has to be driven by us. We don’t even need to be directly involved. What matters is that things happen. We’ve managed to create an incredible amount of collaboration,” says Åsa Burman. 

In 2019, Lighthouse was commissioned to run the Swedish Transport Administration’s industry program Sustainable Shipping, which runs for ten years. After a few financially unstable years, the staff was expanded with a coordinator to complement Åsa and the existing communicator. Since then, the program office has mostly consisted of three people.

“Besides getting collaboration going, it has also been very fun to read and comment on all the good reports produced within Lighthouse, which we’ve also been able to disseminate well.”

She recalls several reports as particularly significant. For example, one on the Swedish flag, which actually started even before the war in Ukraine. Lighthouse was also early in analyzing ammonia as ship fuel in a preliminary study in 2019.

“Also, our work with hydrogen together with Uppsala University has been both fun and exciting. There was strong collaboration between Uppsala and Gotland Tech Development, which we complemented with both smaller studies and larger projects where RISE and IVL also participated. Similarly, we contributed in wind and foiling—small projects that can give a real boost. And not to mention antifouling! It started with a small preliminary study. Now there’s a whole team at Chalmers working on it.”

She also considers the very first report Lighthouse produced to be important. In 2015, there was a lot of talk about autonomous and self-driving ships, something the report, which focused on increased onboard automation, also addressed. At the same time, the results showed that very little had actually been implemented or was available.

“This still largely applies, whether we’re talking about vehicles or commercial shipping. Lighthouse has continued to work in the area of smart ships, but with a focus on decision support for increased safety and more energy-efficient operations,” she says, continuing:

“Similarly, the report on the future need for ship officers, published in 2023, was significant. It scientifically showed how many needed to be trained each year to meet demand. Afterwards, the ship officer programs in Gothenburg and Kalmar received more resources.”

Lighthouse also represents Sweden in the EU’s technology platform Waterborne. Åsa Burman was vice chair for a time.

“I wish for greater Swedish engagement in Waterborne. You can make a difference, but you have to be a member and participate actively in proposal development, which industry and research actors in many other countries do. The EU also seems to be increasing its funding of the maritime research program, which makes it more important than ever, not just for the money but for development. We’ve sometimes experienced proposals from southern Europe on research needs for technology already available in northern Europe.”

The future? Personally, Åsa Burman looks forward to more time in the saddle and refining her golf swing. But the word retirement barely exists in her vocabulary, and she hopes to continue helping in the industry here and there.

“In shipping, we must continue working on energy efficiency in all areas. That’s what has contributed most to reducing climate emissions so far. So it’s super important. To attract people to work onboard, we also need to work more on work environment and conditions. And of course, fuel and propulsion issues are important. Hopefully, sails can be developed as a good solution for many while various alternative fuels become available. I have no desire ever to see nuclear fuel onboard a commercial ship. I don’t understand how that would be sustainable or economically advantageous compared to the alternatives,” Åsa Burman continues:

“In the time we live in, geopolitics, uncertainty, and tensions will influence development. At the same time, I believe policy and regulatory instruments, an area we’ve also worked on extensively, will have a big impact. Today, there is simply no way for alternative fuels to compete with untaxed fossil fuels. There’s often talk about developing business models for alternative fuels, but what model makes anyone pay twice as much? It has to pay off elsewhere. Oil, coal, and natural gas will never run out. If we are to replace them, we must actively steer away from them.”