COWI gives top marks to Energy Cluster Denmark

In a new evaluation, Energy Cluster Denmark’s innovation model receives top marks from COWI for establishing and implementing collaborations between almost 50 small and medium-sized companies and knowledge institutions.

This is mainly due to the unique approach to creating real innovation and new solutions, where it is the companies’ needs and challenges that are at the center: “The unique thing about this project is that it is demand-driven on all parameters. The ideas arise in the industry and are linked to a specific development need. There is one or more (often large) potential end customers behind each development project. The project’s innovation model thus ensures demand and ownership and produces very concrete solutions to market challenges. ” it is stated in the report prepared by COWI for the Danish Business Authority.

The evaluation also emphasizes that it is an advantage to have a neutral organization that is responsible for project management, as the innovation in the cluster requires competing companies to collaborate: “The collaborations would not have happened without Energy Cluster Denmark as a platform and facilitator, and is often between competing companies. ”

Energy Cluster Denmark acknowledges the positive assessment of the demand-driven approach to innovation: “We believe that concrete demand-driven innovation is the way to develop companies in the energy cluster through very concrete collaborations and concrete results in our innovation projects. In our projects, the new energy technology solutions are commercialized and implemented after the end of the project for the benefit of the green transition and the companies’ competitiveness, ”says Glenda Napier, CEO of Energy Cluster Denmark.

Demand and innovation go hand in hand

In COWI’s evaluation of the overall project framework, which in total consisted of more than 10 innovation collaborations, the participating small and medium-sized enterprises say first and foremost that these innovation projects would never have been launched without the program. It has been crucial that Energy Cluster Denmark has facilitated the composition of a team of companies and knowledge institutions, ensured progress and not least ensured the commitment and involvement of some of the energy cluster’s large companies.

The participants also emphasize that the teams are composed in such a way that all participants win by participating in the project and have acted as equal partners, rather than external suppliers. For small companies, the innovation model means that the companies get access to collaborate with the large companies and that they get a sharply adapted innovation collaboration, which is specific to the individual company and adapted to a future potential large key customer.

Read the evaluation here.

The project is co-financed with DKK 13.3 million. DKK from the EU Regional Fund.

Contact: Head of Communications & Events, Thomas Ebdrup at teb@energycluster.dk or 29727685.