BOARD OF DIRECTORS

The CEO and driving force behind the project is Dr Björn Gillberg who has worked with R & D on gasification technology since 1975 in partnership with Arthur Tamplin, Ph.D., a noted biophysicist (former head of division at the Rand Corporation and Livermore Lawrence Radiation Laboratories, California and the Natural Resource Defense Council, Washington D.C.). Dr Gillberg has also successfully acted as Environmental Controller for two of the largest construction projects ever carried out in Scandinavia (such as the SEK 17 billion Öresunds Bridge between Sweden and Denmark, and the SEK 9 billion project City Tunnel in Malmö, Sweden). Dr Gillberg has received several honorary awards for his long lasting service to the environment such as the IKEA stitching foundation prize. In 1991 he was elected to the UN 500 Global Roll of Honor and in 1999 he received an honorary doctorate at Lund University, Sweden. He has been a member of the board since 2001 when the company was founded. Together with his wife, Marianne, Dr Gillberg owns 47 058 A-shares and 2 400 B-shares in VärmlandsMetanol, and also controls 94 118 A-shares in VärmlandsMetanol through the Miljöcentrum Foundation.

VärmlandsMetanol’s Board of Directors can show for an impressive track record. Members have been chosen based on their skills and major accomplishments in different sectors relevant to the project.

Chairman of the Board of Directors is the distinguished professor Håkan Hydén, Professor Emeritus in Sociology of Law at Lund University and Associate Professor in Civil Law at the same university. Until recently, he was a visiting professor at Halmstad University within the research programme TRAINS, Transformation, Innovation and Norm Sciences. Hydén is a visiting researcher at universities in both China and the United States.

He has an extensive international network of researchers from around the world and, in that capacity, has coordinated a major book project, the Edward Elgar Encyclopedia in Sociology of Law, comprising 266 contributions by 246 authors from 40 countries. Hydén is an elected member of the World Academy of Art and Science.

He has produced an extensive body of work, including articles and books, some of which have been published in languages other than Swedish and English, such as Portuguese. His book on Norm Science has been translated into Chinese.

Hydén has served as a member of the board of Oñati, a research centre in northern Spain, as well as on the board of the International Organisation for Sociology of Law. He also has experience of board work in the Swedish limited company Labs2.

Håkan Hydén owns 300 B-shares in VärmlandsMetanol.

Other distinguished Members of the Board:

Mr. Sture Sonebrink is an entrepreneur active in the forest industry. Mr Sonebrink is one of the co-founders of VärmlandsMetanol. He is also the owner of one of the largest private forest companies in Sweden. He has been a member of the board since 2001 when the company was founded. Mr. Sonebrink owns personally and through his companies 94 118 A-shares and 6 033 B-shares in VärmlandsMetanol.

Gunnar Westlind is a Construction Engineer. As a 16-year-old he started his practical experience as a bricklayer in the Steel Industry. During this time, he participated in building the last blast furnace for Hagfors Steel works. Since 1967 he has been working in the steel industry at Hagfors Järnverk, Degerfors Järnverk and Bofors AB as project manager in construction engineering. In the last 30 years Gunnar has worked as a Consultant for Tyréns, Viak, Imak and Scandiaconsult. Currently he is a Senior Consultant Manager at Structor AB in Örebro.
His long Consulting experience also include expert advice for the plant development and feasibility studies for VärmlandsMetanols. He personally owns 811 B-shares in VärmlandsMetanol and 811 B-shares through Viby Invest AB.

Deputy Board Member

Minna Gillberg holds a Ph.D. in Sociology of Law (1999) and has worked as a researcher at Lund University and the University of Oxford. Minna has focused her work on the green transition and has served as a special adviser to the EU Commissioner for the Environment. She has also worked for several years in the European Parliament, where she followed the legislative work of the Committee on the Environment.

She has also worked for the Federation of Swedish Farmers (LRF), developing strategies for a bio-based economy. Minna currently works for Avfall Sverige as a public policy adviser with responsibility for EU affairs.

Minna Gillberg owns 3,000 B-shares in VärmlandsMetanol.

Updated 2026-07-07