Distinguished Fellow Karsner Honored by King of Sweden

Alexander “Andy” A. Karsner, a distinguished fellow at the Council on Competitiveness, received the official insignia and designation of Royal Commander of the Polar Star-First Class from King Carl Gustav of Sweden, which is highest honor that the Kingdom of Sweden can bestow upon foreign nationals.

The recognition was for “outstanding and unprecedented expansion of the historic ties” between the United States and Sweden in the fields of energy R&D, technology collaboration and commercialization, environment conservation and addressing climate change for Karsner’s work as the ninth U.S. assistant secretary of energy for efficiency and renewable energy.

In attendance for the ceremony were the Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden, the Minister of Energy and Enterprise, U.S. Secretary of Energy Dr. Steve Chu, the Assistant Secretary Designate David Sandalow, as well as other state officials from Washington, D.C., and Stockholm.

During Karsner’s tenure as assistant secretary of energy for efficiency and renewable energy, the Swedish parliament appropriated matching funds to a new transatlantic collaborative that formed the model for what has come to be called IP3, or International Public Private Partnerships. IP3 is a move beyond cold war silos and traditions of national energy research and development and deployment.

Given the urgency of action to address both national and global environmental challenges, this new program has been widely heralded as a breakthrough model of serious international commitment, and a quantum leap beyond unfunded MOUs.

IP3 has resulted of millions of new dollars for universities, industries and entrepreneurs in both the United State and Sweden, funding programs such as cellulosic biofuels, diesel truck hybridization, renewable energy storage, district heating and cooling, and industrial efficiency through nanotechnology.