Denmark has launched four green mission-driven research and innovation partnerships with the purpose to assist Denmark achieve the goal of 70 % reduction in greenhouse gas emissions in Denmark by 2023 and net-zero emissions by 2050 as well as to increase the competitiveness of Danish companies and industry.
The four green partnerships, established in 2021-22, bring together the country's top researchers, companies and organizations to bring Denmark to the forefront in the fields of capture and storage or use of CO2; Green fuels for transportation and industry (Power-to-X etc.); climate- and environmentfriendly agriculture and food production; and circular economy with a focus on plastics and textiles. Four green areas that the parliamentary parties have designated based on Danish strongholds.
In 2023, Innovation Fund Denmark has been given additional funding for the Innomission partnerships, and this call is part of investing this funding. For further information, see the below links.
Read more about the Innomission programme here.
In order to further strengthening the strategic research effort in the four green missions initiated by the distribution of the Research Reserve agreement in 2021, further funding in 2023 has been offered to consolidate and expand the effort in the four existing Innomission-partnerships. The aim of the funding
is to realize the goals in the Innomission roadmaps both in the shorter and longer term.
The funding is distributed in the three different calls as seen here below:
- Building the capacity of the Innomission-partnerships – impact
DKK 40 million – deadline 24th of August 2023. - Consolidating and expanding efforts in the four Innomission-partnerships – a) roadmap gaps and b) uptake of innovative ideas and partners.
Minimum DKK 160 million – call deadline 25th of October 2023. - Collaborating and creating synergy across the four Innomission-partnerships.
DKK 100 million – call deadline 25th of October 2023
The purpose of call 3 is to support collaboration and synergies between the Innomission-partnerships.
The focus is on roadmap overlap and challenges that are common for two or more partnerships, e.g.business models, cross mission resource management, systemic analysis, regulatory obstacles, impact measurement and assessment, etc. as well as mechanisms to coordinate across missions in order to
reap the synergies between missions.
The call follows the two-phased process described in the guidelines.
As shown in figure 1, the first phase will be a competition between the four Innomission-partnerships, but where two or more partnerships define joint themes, and the second phase is a competition within each theme. Each theme must have a lead partnership that is in charge of phase 2 and subsequent follow-up on projects. The potential involvement of the other partnerships in phase 2 and follow-up, must be described in the application.
Call 3 - Phase 1
Innovation Fund Denmark calls for applications from two or more of the four Innomission-partnerships, addressing themes for common challenges and proposed synergies across two or more Innomissionpartnerships. The phase 1 application should sketch themes, reasoning and budget for the ensuing phase 2 call. In the application the following must be described: description of themes wished to be funded, purpose, impact and budget.
Theme: a clear description of the thematic boundaries for the funding, and a description of the requirements for project applications in phase 2. The selection process should be described in overall terms, and details about the process will be expanded in the investment agreement between the partnership and Innovation Fund Denmark. Finally, all themes should have a lead partnership that will act as the administrator of the funding and the projects funded by the specific theme.
Purpose: a description of the purpose of the proposed investment themes, connected to the roadmaps of the missions, and why these investments are important to the partnerships in order to impact the long-term (2030/50) climate goals. Themes for proposed investments must be specifically addressed
and derived from the mission roadmaps.
Impact: substantiation of expected impact and contribution to overall partnership goals, and strategic goals for climate, environment, and biodiversity, and potential for increased value creation in Denmark and international opportunities. Need for impact and possible outcome and impact for each theme.
Budget: The application should state the budget for proposed specific investments, and total investments (see section 5. Budgetary rules), and justify the size of the budget in relation to the assessment criteria.
The activities can cover the whole value chain from research to implementation and support of SMEs/start-ups.
The partnerships apply for funding to distribution in phase 2 with a specified distribution between projects and activities, expected results and possible impact.
The deadline for applications is 25th of October 2023, 12:00 CET and the final decision for phase 1 is expected to be in December 2023.
The funds will be in open competition between the four Innomission-partnerships and assessment of applications will be in accordance to assessment criteria described in section 4.
Call - Phase 2
In phase 2, each Innomission-partnership will announce a call(s) for research and innovation projects within the themes for which the funds have been allocated. This call(s) for project applications must be announced in Q1 2024. The calls are to be published by the partnership secretariats.
In phase 2, the Innomission-partnerships BoD are responsible for the process of investment, based on the approved themes of phase 1 application, and an investment process that follows the Innomission guidelines 2023. All projects will have to undergo a state aid regulation check by Innovation Fund Denmark before initiating the work.
When assessing the applications for phase 1, emphasis will be placed on the application clearly describing what is the basis for the selection of themes, and how needs and impact in the various areas have been assessed.
Applications are assessed based on the following criteria:
Quality of effort
- That it is clear how the themes are selected in relation to the overall challenges described in the partnership's roadmap, securing a strategic fit between the partnerships’ priorities and goals.
- That it is clear how the effort engage a diverse set of stakeholders, and contribute to the uptake of new ideas and partners within the partnership.
- That there is a clear description of how the activities support synergies between at least two partnerships.
- That there is a clear description of how the projects will increase collaboration across mission areas.
- That it is clear how the effort relates to and creates synergies to relevant efforts at national and international level, and are based on current or potential Danish strengths.
Impact
- That the expectation for output and impact within the themes, both in the short and long term, is well described.
- That it is plausible that the project generates societal and/or economic impact for Denmark by reducing greenhouse gas emissions, strengthening the environment and nature and/or through increased competitiveness for Danish business and industry.
Quality of execution
- That a clear plan for the use of the funding is presented, including a clear plan for how to attract new partners to the projects.
- That the budget for the individual themes is realistic and well argued.
- That it is clear how the funds applied for relate to and complement the already funded activities.
The budget for phase 1 is a total budget for each theme, and should not contain detailed information on the distribution of different types of expenditure, but it is important that it is clear how much is allocated to the individual themes. In phase 2 the project applications should include details about cost structure in accordance with the Innomission guidelines.
For questions regarding formalities, the Innovation Fund Denmark Investment Officers can be contacted. Please pay attention to that Investment Officers or other employees of Innovation Fund Denmark are not allowed to answer specific questions regarding projects or ideas.
The following Investment Officers are contact persons during this Innomission-partnerships 2023 call:
René Bang Madsen
Phone: 6190 5071
E-mail: rene.bang.madsen@innofond.dk
John Greany Sørensen
Phone: 6190 5061
E-mail: john.greany.soerensen@innofond.dk
Morten Kinggaard Svendsen
Phone: 6190 5037
E-mail: morten.kinggaard.svendsen@innofond.dk
Louise Dybdahl Pedersen
Phone: 6190 5086
E-mail: louise.dybdahl.pedersen@innofond.dk
