innovation strategy
A National Cleantech Exploratorium There is no better growth environment in the world for developing cleantech companies than Denmark, according to a new analysis. Long-term political focus, early investment in research and trusting collaboration are some of the secrets of Denmark’s success. But there are still difficulties with obtaining financing for good ideas and achieving commercial results on a global scale. By Bjørn Kassøe Andersen and Thomas Alstrup
Denmark has become the world’s hottest hot-
bed for the development of cleantech companies. This is the conclusion of the comprehensive analysis, Global Cleantech Innovation Index 2012. According to the analysis, which was carried out by Cleantech Group and the WWF, Denmark has “a unique combination of a supportive environment for innovative cleantech start-ups, evidence of those start-ups emerging as well as a strong track record of companies commercialising their cleantech innovations and scaling them up to widespread market adoption, particularly in wind.” In the index, Denmark places significantly higher than other well-established cleantech pioneers, such as Israel, Sweden, Finland and the USA. danish products and business models are much more This excellent placadvanced and mature than ing is confirmed by what we see from domestic Patrick Stanton, who US companies. works as a business Patrick Stanton advisor to Danish
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Copenhagen Cleantech Journal
cleantech companies in California: “The Danish players across all sectors believe in doing something about climate, water and energy. This means that a lot of interests pull in the same direction. It gives Danish companies many more opportunities to develop, and it also means that their products and business models are much more advanced and mature than what we see from domestic US companies.” But every rose has its thorn. Patrick Stanton also points out that Danish cleantech companies face a lot of significant challenges when they set forth into the world: “With a home market that is relatively small, Danish companies start exporting very early. As a consequence, they sometimes don’t have the resources that are required to succeed in a new, bigger and more complex market. For example, if you want to target US power companies and sell them some very specialised and advanced products, it can take several years of continued effort and marketing pressure before you generate any turnover.”