How does an industry keep renewing itself in turbulent times? In the Finanzblog of Schweizer Holzrevue (issue 4/5 2025), Stefan Zöllig, timber engineer, Chairman of the Board of Timber Finance, member of the management of Lignum Bern and initiator of the project, introduces the new Timber Startup Incubator.
Outlet
Schweizer Holzrevue
Published
May 5, 2025
Start-ups as insurance
Zöllig points out that every product goes through a life cycle. The dangerous phase is when a product still delivers good returns but hardly anything is invested in development any more. Companies without a pipeline of new products risk decline, as Nokia and Kodak have shown. Radical ideas should therefore be developed in separate vehicles and tested on the market.
Start-ups as an “insurance premium” against future developments.
A hub for the timber industry
The Timber Startup Incubator (TSI) was set up on the initiative of Lignum Holzwirtschaft Bern. It identifies and connects start-ups working with timber and supports them from the first idea to early growth. Its office at the Bern University of Applied Sciences, Department of Architecture, Wood and Civil Engineering, guides the path to a market-ready product. The TSI focuses on technology readiness levels 4 to 7, between research and market, where many new solutions fail. It is backed by BFH, Lignum Holzwirtschaft Bern, the Swiss Wood Innovation Network and Switzerland Innovation Park Biel/Bienne.
How Timber Carbon sees it
The TSI's stated vision is to keep CO₂ out of the atmosphere in buildings for the long term. Timber Carbon, launched in 2026 as a spin-off of Timber Finance, shares this goal. We quantify, certify and monetise the carbon removed in mass timber buildings as carbon removal credits on the voluntary carbon market. Our Build biobased page explains how developers can get started.
Topics
Source
Schweizer Holzrevue
Swiss trade magazine for the timber industry
