New project will pave the way for sustainable energy infrastructure in the EU

A new research project aims to solve a century-old challenge in designing and manufacturing high-power magnetic components, paving the way for more resilient, sustainable, and cost-effective Made-in-EU production. This breakthrough will support Denmark’s ambitions for electrification and green transition. The Innovation Fund Denmark has invested DKK 27.6 million in the project.

Magnetic components, invented in the 1820s, have become critical infrastructure for processing every single electricity in our society. The new GreenMag project aims to revolutionize the design and manufacturing of high-power magnetic components, making them more resilient, sustainable, and cost-effective, while ensuring Made-in-EU production. This initiative aligns with the Denmark’s and EU’s ambitions for electrification and the green transition. The Innovation Fund Denmark has invested DKK 27.6 million in the project.

GreenMag builds on innovative ideas that have been partially tested in previous projects at lower power levels. Now, project partners are excited and optimistic about achieving GreenMag’s ambitious goals at high power levels.

“The potential impact of GreenMag is only limited by our imagination. Denmark has been at the forefront of electromagnetism since H.C. Ørsted’s discovery in Copenhagen in 1820. By combining magnetic components with planar technologies—using printed copper boards—we can develop more sustainable and affordable solutions for wind turbines and other electrification applications. This will be a milestone for Danish innovation in magnetics, as well honoring the 200-year-old legacy of H.C. Ørsted, says Hongbo Zhao, Assistant Professor at Aalborg University.

“The GreenMag project addresses a crucial need in the global green transition within electrification and the electric car market. The project has the potential to strengthen Europe's supply chains and competitiveness, which speaks to the current geopolitical situation and the necessity of strategic independence in Europe. We look forward to following the project and the impact that comes from the investment, says Cecilie Brøkner, CEO of Innovation Fund Denmark's Director

A solution to a century-old and highly emerging challenge

For decades, integrating planar technologies into high-power magnetic components has been considered a major challenge. No viable solutions existed, and few dared to claim it was possible. However, with recent proof-of-concepts, GreenMag now aims to develop and prototype the world’s first megawatt-level planar magnetic components. These will be rigorously tested and compared with state-of-the-art solutions in real-world electrification systems.

The potential of sustainable and cost-effective high-power magnetic components is enormous, as global demand continues to rise. Additionally, to ensure a resilient supply chain in securing the electrification units, EU must locally produce these critical components—not in the future, but starting today.

Denmark will further lead way

Over the years, Denmark’s technological and manufacturing institutes have built strong expertise in researching and producing high-power magnetic components. GreenMag further leverages this knowledge to create the world’s first prototypes using planar technologies.

The project’s goal is to develop an entirely new design and manufacturing approach for high-power magnetic components using low-cost, easily manufactured printed copper boards. The prototyped components will be tested in real-world electrification systems, offering:

  1) Enhanced sustainability

  2) Lower production costs

  3) Superior performance to existing solutions.

A strong partnership at EU-scale Innovations

GreenMag has a strong collaboration between Aalborg University (AAU) Department of Energy, Technical University of Denmark (DTU) Department of Electrical and Photonics Engineering, Kohsel A/S, KK Wind Solutions A/S and Trafolo Engineering SIA.

Together, these partners cover the entire value chain, from design and manufacturing to real-world applications of high-power magnetic components in electrification systems. By combining efforts, they will demonstrate the world’s first high-power magnetic components using planar technologies—scaling up to 4 MW and beyond.

Facts

Innovation Fund Denmark's investment: DKK 27.6 million.

Total budget: DKK 40.6 million.

Duration: 4 years

Official Title: GreenMag - Green High-Power Planar Magnetic Components for More Affordable and Sustainable Electrification

Om partnerne
 

• Aalborg University – A world-leading institute for researching power electronics and their components, especially renewable energy applications
   
• Technial University of Denmark – A world-leading institute for researching conventional planar magnetics and their applications in data centers
   
• Kohsel A/S – A Danish company that has 55 years of experience and 500+ employees dedicated to designing and manufacturing magnetic components for various applications
   
• KK Wind Solutions A/S – An A.P. Møller Holding-owned Danish company, with thousands of employees and billion-krone annual revenue, that powers 70% of offshore wind turbines by providing the world-leading electrification integration solution
   
• Trafolo Engineering SIA – A Latvian company providing world-leading digital solutions in design and simulating high-performance magnetic components.