Airmaster Grows on the Back of Innovation Projects: “It Gave Us the Courage to Aim Higher”

For many years, Airmaster has been known for decentralized ventilation: small, autonomous ventilation units in each room with heat recovery. An alternative to large central systems with long ducts running through the building.

Now the company is taking the next step. The decentralized approach is still the core, but on top of it Airmaster has developed a new product platform where ventilation can be combined with a reversible heat pump that can both cool and heat a room. Everything is controlled by a modular control platform developed in-house by Airmaster.

“We are moving from only delivering ventilation to delivering the complete indoor climate in the room. That includes air quality, temperature and comfort,” says Erik Bjørn, Head of Technology & Innovation at Airmaster.

Soft Funding Gave the Courage to Aim Higher

The engine behind the development is an ETI project from 2020 facilitated by Energy Cluster Denmark and later followed by, among others, EUDP and Elforsk projects. In these projects, Airmaster tested a new control logic and began to take ownership of both software and electronics.

“It gave us confidence and muscle. It meant that we dared to go for something more ambitious – to build our own control system and electronics. Without that soft funding, we probably wouldn’t have dared to make the leap at the same pace,” says Erik Bjørn.

In the projects, Airmaster has developed advanced control based on Model Predictive Control, which uses weather forecasts and energy prices to control both ventilation and heating/cooling as energy efficiently as possible. The next step is to add machine learning so the units learn the building’s patterns – for example data on when people are in the room, how the sun hits, and when it pays off to pre-heat or pre-cool.

“When we know it will be hot at two o’clock in the afternoon, we can start cooling in exactly the right amount the night before. That is the difference between classic control and smart control,” he says.

From 10 to 20 Employees in the Development Department

The journey has changed not only Airmaster’s products, but also the company from the inside. During the process, the development department has grown from 10 to 20 employees, and Airmaster now has both its own programmers and its own electronics development.

“We have a completely different capability now. When the control system and electronics are our own, we can develop, test and adapt solutions to customer needs much faster. It has become a whole new leg of the business,” says Erik Bjørn.

Next Step: Price, Scaling and Growth

The new platform is already in operation in a smaller number of installations, where Airmaster has confirmed that the technology works in practice. The task now is to make the solution ready for broad rollout.

“We have moved from proving that we can do it to working on how we make it a good business. Both for us and for the customers. Now we are fine-tuning price and scalability. The goal is for the new platform to become our standard going forward,” says Erik Bjørn.

With support from innovation projects in the energy cluster, Airmaster has thus taken the leap from classic decentralized ventilation to a scalable platform for total indoor climate – and at the same time doubled its development capacity. The decentralized idea remains, but it has been upgraded with heating, cooling and intelligent control.

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Aegir Insights is taking a significant step in its development with the expansion of its Aegir Quant™ software. The tool now goes beyond offshore wind to include onshore wind, solar PV, energy storage, and hybrid energy systems.

With this move, the company shifts from being an offshore wind specialist to offering a full-spectrum decision-support tool across renewable technologies.

According to CEO Scott Urquhart, this expansion provides the market with a unified and standardized way to evaluate projects across technologies; a solution increasingly in demand as energy systems grow more complex and hybrid projects emerge as a key part of future energy infrastructure.

“The next phase of Aegir is about empowering the decision-makers shaping the energy transition”, Scott Urquhart says:

“By broadening Aegir Quant’s capabilities across all major renewable technologies, we’re helping investors and policymakers capture new value and build resilience in the clean-energy system.”

Building on collaboration

Over the past several years, Aegir Insights has established a global position as a provider of investment intelligence to developers, suppliers, investors, and public authorities.

The new version of Aegir Quant™ combines detailed techno-economic modelling with financial analysis, enabling stakeholders to benchmark, optimize, and finance next-generation projects with greater confidence.

The expansion builds on REALISE; a two-year research and development effort carried out in close collaboration with Vattenfall, the Technical University of Denmark (DTU), and Energy Cluster Denmark funded by EUDP, a program under Denmark’s national energy agency.

The partnership helped mature and validate the technology and is a fine example of how collaboration can accelerate progress in the green transition:

The REALISE project provided a solid foundation, with the combined work from industry and academia. We are now collaborating with forward-thinking partners across Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific to apply the expanded Aegir Quant™ capabilities to real-world portfolios — focusing on bankability, portfolio optimization, and system resilience.” says Rikke Winther Nørgaard, CCO at Aegir Insights.

With the updated software, Aegir Insights aims to become the natural reference point for investment decisions in a sector where integration, flexibility, and system understanding are essential — and where hybrid solutions combining wind, solar, and storage may hold the key to higher returns and a more resilient energy system.

“Hybridization is redefining the economics of renewables and strengthening global energy resilience. From the point of starting the REALISE innovation project two years ago, we have seen ever increasing interest and adoption of hybrid renewable + storage projects.As this is just the beginning of the trend, we are excited to continue cooperating closely with developers and investors to improve bankability and returns on hybrid projects”says Scott Urquhart, CEO at Aegir.

02.18.26From offshore wind to full renewable energy systems

The Danish startup Gridturn, which extends the life of used electric car batteries by converting them into certified battery energy storage systems (BESS), has been awarded EUR 75,000 in support from the Women TechEU program.

The support is given to female-led European technology companies with the potential to deliver significant innovation and sustainable transformation – and it is precisely this combination that makes Gridturn CEO Louise Witt Sengeløv happy:

"There is definitely no queue for the ladies' room when you go to energy-related conferences! There are few women in tech, but it is just a barrier that is extra motivating to break through. The support is a nice recognition and very inspiring for further work," she says.

Challenging the status quo

Gridturn's solution reduces waste and the need for new materials. This is what is needed:

"40 percent of the world's conflicts since the 1960s are related to the fight for raw materials. 90 percent of our biodiversity loss is related to raw material extraction, and we recycle far too little. In Europe we are at 12 percent circularity, in Denmark we are down to 4%. We must succeed in changing that," she says:

"At the same time, it is important that we make it economically sustainable. And yes, it may be difficult, but we have to do better and challenge the status quo," she says.

Gridturn's solution is to extend the life of electric car batteries so that they also have value when they are no longer suitable for electric cars:

"The range is crucial for a car battery, and therefore a reduction to 80 or 85 percent capacity effectively helps to retire the battery. But even with 80 percent capacity, the battery can still function and bring value if you place it in a different context. The batteries will do very well in our system. The ideal senior life," she says.

From waste to infrastructure

Gridturn recycles the batteries into battery energy storage systems (BESS), which integrate with existing energy solutions and help optimize consumption and balance the electricity grid.

This results in significant CO₂ savings, and the circularity is optimal: waste is turned into energy infrastructure.

Gridturn is now entering the market with a certified and scalable product line. A significant development for a startup that has been part of the Beyond Beta accelerator course in Energy Cluster Denmark.

“We hold the key to Europe’s future energy independence. By recycling batteries, we create a solution that is both greener, integrable and economically sustainable. I also hope that our journey can inspire more women to start deep tech companies – my two daughters are a big part of the motivation to lead this development,” says Louise Witt Sengeløv.

In addition to the funding, Gridturn will have access to a European mentoring and acceleration program that will strengthen business, technology and scaling.

02.12.26Gridturn receives European tech grant for groundbreaking solution for recycling electric car batteries

In order to examine the condition of wind turbine blades, inspections of blade damages are usually carried out when the turbine has been stopped. In the AQUADA-GO project, the partners have developed a drone technology for automated, contact-free, real-time blade damage detection, while the turbine is spinning. Inspections that are done without stopping the turbine’s normal operation can help save turbine downtime. Now, for the first time ever, the operational concept has been successfully demonstrated offshore.

“We have proven that it is possible to autonomously inspect offshore wind turbines with a drone of a certain size equipped with a visual camera, while the turbine is in operation. This is a major accomplishment for us. We have worked on everything from developing drone software and hardware to mission planning and online data infrastructure. Now, we have a commercially ready solution that can be tailored to wind farm operators’ needs and make inspections easier, faster and more cost-effective,” says Jesper Smit, CEO, Quali Drone.

Drone-based blade inspection delivers significant savings

The core idea of the project is to combine drone technology with thermography and computer vision, enabling detection of surface damage and potential subsurface fractures on operational offshore wind turbine blades. This saves wind farm operators considerable costs due to increased efficiency, while also reducing CO₂ emissions and improving inspection safety.

The new technology has been successfully demonstrated several times onshore by the project partners, which, in addition to Quali Drone and RWE, include Statkraft, TotalEnergies, DTU and Energy Cluster Denmark. Most recently, the solution has been demonstrated offshore with visual drone footage of blade damage on the surface at Rødsand 2 Offshore Wind Farm, operated by RWE since 2010 and located south off the coast of Lolland, Denmark.

“For the first time, we have successfully carried out a drone inspection of offshore wind turbines in operation. This is good news for the entire wind industry. Through the technology developed in AQUADA-GO, we can see the potential of monitoring blade conditions without stopping the offshore turbine. This could help to increase efficiency in our production of green electricity and to further improve safety for our employees. By using drones for autonomous inspections, we expect that downtimes and costs can be significantly reduced in the long run,” says Marcus Mejborn, General Manager of Rødsand 2 Offshore Wind Farm, RWE.

AQUADA-GO technology and AI model show great potential

The project is based on the AQUADA technology developed in DTU Wind Energy’s laboratory. DTU has developed an AI model that helps the drone automatically identify wind turbine blade abnormalities to indicate critical damage using AI algorithms and infrared imaging. The AI model, which is trained and improved with new inspection data each time the drone is deployed at wind farms, shows great potential.

“We have developed an AI model that uses deep learning algorithms and computer-vision technology based on thermomechanical models to assist the drone in detecting blade defects – both on the blade surface and below it. We have tested the technology multiple times at onshore wind farms operated by DTU, RWE and Statkraft, and each campaign has fed the AI model with new data that has made it better. We are very pleased with the results and see great potential for future implementation within the wind industry,” says Xiao CHEN, Associate Professor and Head of Section, DTU Wind and Energy Systems, and Project Technical Lead in AQUADA-GO.

Facts about the project

The AQUADA-GO innovation project runs from 2022 to March 2026 with a total budget of DKK 17,796,010 and is supported by EUDP – the Energy Technology Development and Demonstration Program. The project partners include Quali Drone, the Technical University of Denmark, RWE, Statkraft, TotalEnergies and Energy Cluster Denmark.