North Sea project has created 1,700 international SME

Strong matchmaking, new networks, more intelligent port areas and an international MBA programme. International Energy Cluster Denmark project has yielded results.

What happens when Energy Cluster Denmark joins forces with offshore wind clusters from some of the world’s leading wind power nations to develop joint business, test facilities and training?

A lot!

October brought and end to the Inn2POWER project, in which a consortium of offshore wind clus- ters from Belgium, Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom worked together to develop wind power innovation and cooperation across the North Sea for common benefit and development – not least between SMEs in the respective countries.

After four years, the results show that the project has driven the establishment of international contacts and collaborations across the North Sea:

• National and international B2B events have been held, with the three Danish events alone having more than 300 participants and close to 800 new meetings. In total, inn2POWER B2B meetings in Denmark and abroad generated 1,700 meetings between SMEs and laid the foundation for 11 transnational collaborations.”The concept and programme are simply the best international activity we have been in- volved in.” – says Jesper Dybdahl, DSV
• A database of test facilities has been established – with more than 100 different test facili- ties across the North Sea made available to both small
  and large companies. See more at www.testfacilities.eu“We are building a supermarket for test facilities, where we match test needs with test fa- cilities” – says Eric Putnam, Force Technology
• The North Sea’s strong wind power value chain has been brought together in a Company Directory and Networking Tool, where more than 550 Danish companies and more than 7,000 company relationships have been meticulously mapped, ensuring simple and effec- tive access to potential sparring partners. See more at www.inn2power.eu/mapping“With the directory, we can easily find partners that have the skills to validate exactly what we need. This is a clear benefit.” – says Mads Kirkegaard, PolyTech
• Offshore Wind Energy MBA, OWEMBA; a brand new, international MBA programme aimed at the offshore wind industry. Developed in close dialogue with 13 leading compa- nies in the energy industry and with more than 70 registered course participants www.owemba.com – a new continuation of the programme has just been granted funds from the ERASMUS pool.“The Offshore Wind Energy MBA certainly has value as an investment in the company and its employees. It’s a way to ensure that our employees remain the best in the industry.” – says Ronnie Vindbjerg Pedersen, MHI Vestas
• Strategic Innovation of the Port Area – a series of workshops dedicated to ports and logis- tics has created a unique forum for innovation and identified three new innovation pro- jects to ensure that the value chain around the Port of Esbjerg is at the forefront of the in- dustry’s innovation needs. The project has led to the concept being rolled out in a cross- Nordic project funded by Nordic Innovation, “NOW Ports – New Offshore Wind Ports in the Nordics” with the involvement of the Port of Rønne and other leading Danish companies. Read more on the Nordic Innovation website: www.nordicinnovation.org/programs/new-offshore-wind-ports-nordics

“It is incredibly valuable for us as an infrastructure provider to get input from the people who work with these things in everyday life. This collaboration is where innovation hap- pens”. – says Dennis Jul Pedersen, Port of Esbjerg

You can read more about Energy Cluster Denmark’s international projects on our website. And please do not hesitate to contact project manager Gustavo F. de Luna gfl@energycluster.dk/tel. +45 4214 9175 if you are interested in any of the above-mentioned activities.