Kendal Fritzell and Hans Birkedal have been awarded Forum for Social Innovation Sweden's 2025 Forum for Social Innovation Sweden's Scholarship for their groundbreaking innovation, Schaktflow. This AI-powered tool has the potential to transform the entire construction sector.
Sweden faces major challenges when it comes to managing excavated material. This affects both the environment and the economy in the country’s municipalities. Inefficient material management involving unnecessary transport leads to high costs and increased carbon dioxide emissions. Although there is often both a supply of and a need for excavated material within the same municipality, there is a lack of effective systems for matching these supplies and demands. Municipalities pay to transport away usable materials while simultaneously purchasing new materials. At the same time, increasingly stringent requirements are being placed on climate reporting and cost control within the construction and civil engineering sector.
Schaktflow is a digital system that combines AI-based analysis of technical documents, advanced calculation modules for costs and carbon emissions, and a geographic information system to visualize and optimize material flows between projects. An innovation that can minimize transport distances and emissions for municipalities and reduce their costs.
“The innovation lies in the fact that municipalities own the tool themselves and can use it on an ongoing basis, which reduces the need for external consultants. The system digitizes and automates a previously fragmented and resource-intensive process, making it possible to transform complex technical documents into clear decision-making materials,” says Kendal Fritzell, who founded Schaktflow together with Hans Birkedal.
“When material flows become visible, it becomes possible to plan across project boundaries. We also help users put a price tag on what various climate measures actually cost. What’s good for the economy is often good for the climate as well,” says Hans Birkedal.
The Significance of the Göran Bredinger Scholarship
Kendal Fritzell and Hans Birkedal, along with their company Rexcel Technologies AB, have been awarded the 2025 Göran Bredinger Scholarship in collaboration with Schaktflow. The scholarship is worth 50,000 Swedish kronor. Together with Göran Bredinger and Dieden Group AB, Forum for Social Innovation Sweden at Malmö University has been awarding the Göran Bredinger Scholarship since 2014 to a social entrepreneur who is addressing a societal challenge.
“This is a fantastic scholarship. We are grateful that Göran is investing resources in this—not only the scholarship funds but also the drive and energy he brings to these entrepreneurs. It is a privilege for Malmö University to award this scholarship. Through this initiative, we are building bridges between academic institutions and working to promote social enterprises and innovation across the country.” Forum for Social Innovation Sweden an important national platform, and it is crucial that we collaborate at the national level on these issues,” says Caroline Wigren-Kristoferson, Vice President for Collaboration and Innovation at Malmö University and Forum for Social Innovation Sweden's .
For Kendal Fritzell and Hans Birkedal, the Göran Bredinger Scholarship provides not only valuable early-stage funding, but also access to knowledge, experience, and an invaluable network of contacts.
“The grant gives us the opportunity to develop sustainable standard contracts and further refine optimization models that many municipalities are seeking. In addition, the mentorship and guidance from Göran Bredinger opens doors to strategic partnerships and future funding,” says Kendal Fritzell.
Göran Bredinger, who is an entrepreneur himself, finds it rewarding to serve as a mentor.
“It’s truly inspiring to meet and support young entrepreneurs. With Schaktflow, Kendal Fritzell and Hans Birkedal demonstrate that digitalization, innovation, and social engagement can go hand in hand to solve some of the greatest challenges of our time. The scholarship is a recognition of their work—and an investment in a more sustainable future for all of Sweden,” says Göran Bredinger, an entrepreneur himself who established and funds the scholarship.
From idea to reality
The founders came up with the idea for Schaktflow during a master’s course at Linköping University. With backgrounds in industrial economics and engineering physics, as well as experience in machine learning, Kendal Fritzell and Hans Birkedal saw an opportunity to use digitalization and AI to solve a real-world social problem.
Since its launch in the summer of 2025, Schaktflow has already been implemented in the municipality of Norrköping and is now also being tested in other municipalities and municipally owned water, wastewater, and energy companies.
“The tool has demonstrated significant savings—both financial and environmental. Municipalities can create their own climate reports in just a few minutes at a fraction of the cost of existing consulting services,” says Kendal Fritzell.
Has a clear vision and ambition for the future
The system is scalable and can be easily implemented nationwide, and eventually even internationally. The founders have a clear vision of driving digitalization and sustainability in the construction sector. They are working to establish Schaktflow as the standard tool for municipal waste management in Sweden. The ambition is to create a platform that not only streamlines waste management and reduces climate impact and costs, but also contributes to professional development and strengthens the professional role of those working with waste management in municipalities.
The jury's statement
Sweden faces major challenges regarding the inefficient management of excavated material, which leads to high costs and increased carbon dioxide emissions. The 2025 Göran Bredinger scholarship recipients, Kendal Fritzell and Hans Birkedal, who founded Rexcel Technologies AB, have developed Schaktflow, a digital tool that uses AI and advanced algorithms to help municipalities plan, optimize, and monitor soil management. The system enables significant climate benefits and cost savings, reduces the need for consultants, and provides users with a better basis for decision-making. Schaktflow has already demonstrated great potential in pilot projects and aims to become the standard for municipal waste management in Sweden, with a view to expanding into international markets. Through innovation and a strong commitment to society, the founders are contributing to a more sustainable and efficient construction sector.
How Schaktflow Works
- An AI model interprets technical documents and extracts data relevant to material handling—information that has previously been time-consuming to compile manually.
- Algorithms, which have been reviewed by the Department of Industrial Environmental Engineering at Linköping University, calculate carbon dioxide equivalents and costs.
- Users can adjust the parameters and generate their own analyses and reports based on the data.
- A GIS module provides an overview of projects, landfills, and quarries for internal material matching and optimization of material flows.
Learn more about the Göran Bredinger Scholarship and past recipients.
Watch a video featuring Kendal