Research into green energy solutions

07.06.2021 l More news

Danish universities led by DTU and GreenLab Skive are further strengthening their collaboration to develop and demonstrate the energy systems of the future - with the help of a grant from VILLUM FONDEN. 

VILLUM FONDEN is granting DKK 20 million over a three-year period to boost a new national research and demonstration platform associated with the GreenLab Skive green industrial and energy park.

The grant will make it possible to strengthen university collaboration and carry out innovative research, including the scaling of a number of small projects into major national and international initiatives. The purpose is for private foundations, regional initiatives, and companies—in cooperation with the Danish universities—to create green energy solutions that can be exported.

The research and demonstration platform will be inaugurated on Monday 7 June at GreenLab Skive. Invitees include Minister for Higher Education and Science Ane Halsboe-Jørgensen as well as representatives from DTU, GreenLab Skive, and VILLUM FONDEN.

“We’re marking a new huge step for the DTU/GreenLab Skive collaboration, which will create an inspiring environment for students, researchers, and businesses working together to accelerate the green transition,” says DTU President Anders Bjarklev. 

“With a new national research and demonstration platform at GreenLab Skive, our researchers and students will have unique access to testing, developing, optimizing, and demonstrating energy optimization and storage projects. The collaboration is a chance for our students to work closely with businesses and experts from all over the country. Furthermore, I hope that the research activities will serve as stepping stones for large-scale national and international projects that can help address some of the sustainability challenges faced not only by Denmark, but by the whole world.” 

In February, DTU and GreenLab Skive entered into a strategic collaboration agreement based on their shared ambitions for both educational activities and a number of joint national and international research, innovation and demonstration projects to be based in Skive.

As part of the agreement, a research and demonstration platform is now being established to intensify the efforts to intelligently connect sustainable energy production with distribution, storage, and consumption. DTU will play a leading and coordinating role in the enhanced research collaboration.

Through a symbiosis between the businesses based at the industrial park, its facilities and infrastructure, GreenLab Skive is ensuring that surplus energy and resources are shared and utilized optimally. Sector coupling is crucial to realizing the climate goals, and the collaboration enables DTU and GreenLab Skive to scale up research in this particular field.

“The new grant from VILLUM FONDEN makes it possible to accelerate GreenLab’s research programme. Collaboration with the Danish universities is the engine that will ensure the scaling of GreenLab’s green solutions. We have a concept that can be repeated all over the world and pave the way for a new green export adventure. Our collaboration with the universities is key to the plan of taking the technologies from demonstration scale to large scale,” says CEO of GreenLab Skive Christopher Sorensen.  

In addition to DTU, Aalborg University, Aarhus University, and the University of Southern Denmark are also part of the energy and research collaboration. The research visions, the demonstration potential, and the collaboration in general are perfectly aligned with the values of VILLUM FONDEN.

“For many years, VILLUM FONDEN has prioritized activities that address climate and energy challenges in different ways. Much of our support has been in the form of funding for curiosity-driven basic research at the Danish universities,” says Chair of the Board Jens Kann-Rasmussen, VILLUM FONDEN. 

“It’s a great pleasure to be able to build on what has already been achieved, and to help bridge the gap between university research and scalable green technology through our grant to DTU and GreenLab Skive. Innovations often result from a combination of curiosity-driven and mission-driven research, so we have high expectations for their enhanced cooperation.”

DTU and GreenLab Skive are already collaborating on energy storage in stone and green electro fuels (Power-to-X) designed to replace fossil energy in heavy transport and industry, as well as the development of optimization models for the sizing and operation of the integrated energy system. And ambitions are for many more activities within integrated and flexible energy networks.

In addition, following the recent approval of GreenLab Skive as an official regulatory test zone, it has become possible to test new technologies and innovative business models in practice with the aim of alleviating the congested power grid and accelerating the green transition.