Input from innovators across Denmark

Seven member clusters from Innovation Networks Denmark contribute to making High Tech Summit a truly national event.

Anders Laustsen, Project Development Manager, Inno-Sec & Laura Møller, Strategic Project Manager, InfinIT

During the last two decades, Innovation Networks Denmark has become an established part of the national innovation scene. Funded by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science, the purpose of the created clusters is to always bridge academic research with industry in order to tackle specific challenges, sometimes with a geographic anchoring. The number, names, and scopes of the networks have varied somewhat over the years, due to changes in the urgency of the various challenges, and societal developments.

Currently, 17 innovation networks exist. Seven of these have chosen to contribute to High Tech Summit 2019, adding value to the tracks and themes, while also enhancing the geographical basis of the event. Esbjerg, Aalborg, and Odense are some of the Danish cities which host clusters under Innovation Networks Denmark.

Danish Healthtech

Innovation Network Danish Healthtech is a new unifying national network within health technology. The ambition is to serve as a national cluster and hub for innovation and business development in healthcare, homecare, and social services. Also, Danish Healthtech operates as a national entry point for international companies looking to enter the Danish market.

Danish Healthtech is a national collaboration between four business clusters: Welfare Tech, LifeScience Innovation, Medtech Innovation Consortium, and Copenhagen Healthtech Cluster, which all work with their respective key areas within healthcare and homecare.
The network also includes five Danish universities: DTU, University of Copenhagen, University of Southern Denmark, Aarhus University, and Aalborg University, as well as two GTS institutes in Advanced Technology: Force Technology and Danish Technological Institute.

Innovation Network for Security

The scope of the Innovation Network for Security (Inno-Sec) is to bridge the gap between companies, knowledge institutions, and authorities to bring innovation into play.
Inno-Sec offers matchmaking between companies, researchers, the public sector, technological service providers and other partners. Furthermore, the network funds development projects with its partners, arrange conferences, seminars, and workshops on themes of interest for primarily Danish SMEs, and also works with fundraising and project management.

Inno-Sec assists companies in finding new partners for collaboration on both small and large-scale research and innovation projects in Denmark and internationally.
Inno-Sec is managed by CenSec, established in 2007 as a defense & security oriented cluster. CenSec counts more than 130 members, typically companies with cutting edge skills in manufacturing, electronics, software development & services. In 2018, CenSec was approved by the Ministry of Higher Education and Science to also become a national Innovation Network for Security – Inno-Sec. Anders Laustsen, Project Development Manager, Inno-Sec, elaborates:
“Inno-Sec is participating at High Tech Summit 2019 to promote our many initiatives within Defence, Space & Security. It is also a great opportunity to meet new business partners – both companies, students, researchers, and public authorities.”

Innovation Network for Environmental Technology

Innovation Network for Environmental Technology (Inno-MT) exists to ensure that member companies are among the most innovative and competitive companies in Denmark and globally.

Inno-MT communicates, tests and develops new technology within four focus areas: Soil Resources and Nutrient Cycling, Clean Air Technology, Efficient Resource Use, and Water Treatment and Water Supply. A key activity in Inno-MT is the funding of innovation projects. Members are able to apply for financial support to kick-start their innovation process. Typically, a project can receive funding in the 100,000-400,000 DKK range.

Formed in 2010, the network currently has 364 members, spanning across GTS institutes, universities, public authorities, and private companies. Inno-MT’s secretariat is located at CLEAN in the center of Copenhagen.

Energy Innovation Cluster

Originally named Offshore Center Denmark and having offshore oil and gas as its main focus, over the last decade this cluster, headquartered in Esbjerg, has developed it’s scope to include other types of energy innovation. This broader scope was reflected in changing the name to Energy Innovation Cluster.

Wind energy being a Danish stronghold, it is natural that the Energy Innovation Cluster is engaged in research and development within both offshore and onshore wind energy. The focus includes areas like logistics, installations, service & maintenance, foundations, wind turbine technology, electrical infrastructure, and protection of the environment.

Further, the integration of wind energy and other types of renewable energy has led to new challenges faced especially by the power system operators. The Energy Innovation Cluster is active in the development of solutions that help integrate fluctuating energy production into the system, also, energy conversion and storage are addressed, thus supporting the green transition in the Danish energy system. More than 500 companies and more than 270 individual members are part of the cluster.

Innovation Network RoboCluster

RoboCluster is an innovation network with a focus on robots and drones. Over recent decades, Denmark has established a dynamic environment for the development of robots and drones, which are technologies in high demand and with the potential for solving societal challenges. Robot technology is central to industry, with application continuing to rise. At the same time, new applications are found. An example is the use of drones for visual inspection and aerial photography. Such new applications demand innovative solutions.

RoboCluster offers companies a platform for the development of technologies, products, and processes that promote a more competitive, productive, and green Denmark.
The network is anchored in eight partners: University of Southern Denmark (SDU), DTU, Aalborg University, Aarhus University, Design School Kolding, Force Technology, The Danish Technological Institute, and Developing Fyn. Further, a range of private companies are engaged through knowledge sharing and joint development projects with academic partners.

The Danish ICT Innovation Network

The ambition of the Danish ICT Innovation Network, in short InfinIT, is to support the overall digital development in Denmark. InfinIT strives to be the country’s leading ICT network for bridge building and knowledge sharing between businesses and the most competent researchers in digitalization and data-driven business development.

Digitization is key to Danish growth and development. This is reflected in government initiatives including the Digital Hub Denmark and SMV Digital. Both of these strategic national efforts are strategic partners to InfinIT, as the network works with digitalization and implementation of new technologies within several private companies. More specifically, InfinIT will be active within six specific themes during the next two years: Internet of Things (IoT), Big Data, Artificial Intelligence, Cybersecurity, Usability and Design of User Interfaces, and Processes and Business Development.

Further, InfinIT has entered cooperative agreements with several other Danish Innovation Networks, as it is obvious that ICT is imperative for several other types of innovative development. In other words, it is the aim of InfinIT to increase ICT-driven innovation in a number of sectors and industries.

“Being part of High Tech Summit is a natural step for InfinIT given our scope, which is matching researchers and enterprises keen on implementing digitalization and cutting-edge technologies. Further, the main themes at the event match our own priorities for 2019-2020,” says Laura Møller, Strategic Project Manager, InfinIT.

Innovation Network for Smart Energy

According to government policy, Denmark is to become CO2 neutral in 2050. Further, the EU 2030 target, adopted by Denmark, is a 40 percent decrease in CO2 emission by 2030 compared to 1990. The Innovation Network for Smart Energy (Inno-SE) addresses this societal challenge.
Inno-SE targets Danish companies, especially SMEs, which manufacture and develop solutions within smart, integrated energy systems and related solutions which may contribute to increased energy efficiency and transition to a fossil-free energy system.

For the upcoming efforts, Inno-SE has chosen five focus areas: Integrated energy systems and digitization, Intelligent building applications and energy behavior, Power electronics, Energy storage, andHeat pump, and cooling technology.

The goal of Inno-SE is to disseminate the latest research-based knowledge to Danish energy companies and to facilitate collaborations and projects between knowledge institutions and companies. The network has access to facilities in all Danish regions and to the country’s leading technical universities and GTS institutes active in the development of energy technology.