Biotechnology focus area for a greener Greater Copenhagen
Greater Copenhagen is an association of 85 municipalities and four regions on both sides of the Öresund. Some of the objectives are to create the best conditions for cooperation and joint development of green solutions and to invest, create innovations and attract workers. In addition, the ambition is for the area to be a global centre for sustainable growth and green transport. In this context, the Nordic Bio Solution Hub network operates, which works with new solutions in biosolutions and Life Science.
- We estimate that new solutions in Life Science have the potential to reduce over 800 million tonnes of carbon dioxide by 2030. The possibilities within Life Science are many and they can, for example, contribute to increased circularity and the development of green fuels, enzymes and foods with reduced carbon dioxide emissions and climate impact, says Nicolai Vædele from Greater Copenhagen Green.
What has been seen within the Nordic Bio Solution Hub is that Denmark and Sweden have strong positions in biotechnology in terms of research, innovation and production. On the Danish side, Life Science is an important part of Denmark's GDP with an export value of more than DKK 140 billion. However, in order to compete with the United States and Canada in particular, Greater Copenhagen sees the need for a common Nordic centre for biological solutions.
- Nordic Bio Solution Hub will strengthen cooperation in the field of biosolutions throughout Greater Copenhagen and through this, among other things, contribute to solving climate challenges in agriculture, food, transport and plastic and textile production through innovation and better testing opportunities for biotech operations, explains Christian Beenfeldt, Project Director for Knowledge Hub Zeeland.
IN Nordic Bio Solution Hub aims to facilitate collaboration between large companies, start-ups, knowledge institutions, public organisations and authorities both in legal matters, financing issues and in how to effectively document and market biotechnological solutions, such as alternative proteins for food and feed, new biomaterials, bio-based pesticides and so on.
In Biotechbyn/Biotech City Kalundborg is Scandinavia's largest biotech production facility with a strong process industry and an extensive complementary industry with highly specialized operations. Pharmaceutical company Novo Nordisk is one of the companies in Kalundborg and they produce products for the treatment of severe obesity and are also the world's largest insulin producer. As many as 30 million patients worldwide use medicines from Novo Nordisk's production facilities. Another activity is Novozymes which is a world-leading provider of enzymes and microbial technologies. Novozyme's production facilities are used for bio-innovation that can, for example, enable higher crop yields in agriculture, washing at lower temperatures, energy savings in manufacturing processes and renewable fuels.
Kalundborg Symbiosis is the world's first industrial symbiosis with a sustainable angle for production. The main principle is that a residual flow in one enterprise becomes a resource in another. The area is also home to Denmark's largest refinery. Kalundborg Refinery, Chr. Hansen which is a global, differentiated life sciences company developing natural ingredient solutions. There is also Knowledge Hub Zeeland which is an association and partnership created to support knowledge, education and development in the region and which additionally serves as the secretariat to the Alliance Biotechby with the ambition to create a regional biosolutions and life sciences hub.
On the Danish side, the Nordic Bio Solutions Hub will support the development by building on the extensive industrial infrastructure in the Biotech village of Kalundborg.
- We want to create access to pilot and demonstration facilities in the Helsinki metropolitan area, which represents a critical gap in the Scandinavian value chain for biological solutions and is a major market barrier for new companies in the area, says Nicolai Vædele, adding that Greater Copenhagen is working to connect the innovation ecosystems in Sweden and Denmark. Here, increased cooperation between Danish and Swedish businesses and knowledge institutions within biosolutions can be an important factor for increasing sustainable growth that can help place our geography on the world map.
Now work continues to see how the Swedish side of the strait can be linked to that found in Denmark. To investigate what future increased cooperation might look like, a working group has been started with Per Persson, senior advisor, Katarina Scott, Future by Lund, Carina Johnsson, Region Skåne, and Josefin Ahlqvist and Emma Nordell, both from Lund University.
- We have seen that we complement each other on the Swedish and Danish sides of the strait, this applies both in academia and research, says Per Persson, senior advisor. Together we can build a stronger unit in the field.
Photo: Greater Copenhagen