Cleantech market in Denmark

Denmark is characterized as having one of the world's most advanced clean technology markets. The country is internationally recognized for their:

• wind energy
• biking
• low-carbon energy production
• happy population and consistently the highest rankings in global ease of doing business and quality of life indexes

Companies like Ørsted, Vestas and Danfoss call Denmark home, but the country is also home to oil and gas production, non-green fuel consumption and lack of expertise in green fuels.

Key opportunities for Canadian cleantech companies in Denmark:

• Denmark is investing heavily in carbon capture and storage projects
• World's largest power-to-x (p2x) facility being built
• Denmark has the European Union's largest oil and gas extraction market

Notable challenges for Canadian cleantech companies in Denmark:

• Denmark is a world leader in cleantech and incumbent companies are very skilled
• Cultural preference to buy regionally, locally and nationally
• No major port in the country

Denmark business landscape:

• Funding can be hard to get for startups
• Almost everyone speaks English, but that does not mean that it is a preference to do so
• It is easy to move around the culture, infrastructure works well and public services are usually of high quality
• High levels of trust in public authorities and low levels of corruption

Upcoming projects and events

• International Water Congress
• World Maritime Technology Conference

Summary

Denmark is a small and stable market where green technology has been centered politically and socially since the 1970s. Danish companies are world-class within clean technologies - particularly within wind energy, district heating and low-carbon building and design. Canadian companies can be successful in the market by partnering with incumbent companies, if they have something innovative and different which is not already available. Carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) and hydrogen are areas where Canada has a lot to teach Denmark and these technologies are not as advanced in Denmark, compared to Canada. Denmark is home to many major players within clean technologies and these companies tend to be quite open to meeting, if you have the right product or solution.

For more information on cleantech in the Danish market, please contact Richard.higginson2@international.gc.ca.