A key part of Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster's objectives is to create the best conditions for fostering new business ventures by supporting new ideas within existing companies as well as start-ups. To facilitate this process, four projects are currently underway:

Cleantech Accelerator

The Cleantech Accelerator programme ensures that start-ups get on the fast track to knowledge, skills and relevant players.
There are four focus areas in the Cleantech Accelerator programme:

Products & technology
Helping companies identify customer value and ways of differentiation

Market insights
Providing the start-up with relevant knowledge and an overview of the market

Business modelling
Assistance in modelling a profitable business

Resources
Aiding companies in effective ways to manage scarce resources

Start-ups are assisted in establishing a strong cleantech network as well as in testing their products.

Interested parties looking to establish a cleantech company are invited to "start-up camps" where these topics are taught. Furthermore, companies are provided with a contact person to help put lessons taught at the camps into action.

Tech Trans

Helping ideas from universities overcome the dreaded "valley of death"

Many of the best cleantech solutions are developed at universities and research institutes. Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster's Tech Trans initiative aims to help these ideas pass through the steep "Death Valley", primarily by gap funding.

Funding the gap - from research to commercialisation
A large proportion of university research is never picked up by industry and transformed into actual products to be marketed.
The research conducted at universities usually centres around
early-stage technologies, and government funding is often limited to this stage. Typically, funding comes to a halt when a research project reaches a point of commercial potential as industry partners and venture funds frequently find technologies
at this stage too risky to take on.

This "gap" between research funding and commercial funding is often referred to as "Death Valley". Because of the gap, many of the potentially groundbreaking solutions are never picked up by industry or get to form the basis for a new promising business venture.

The gap funding initiative
The purpose of Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster's gap funding initiative is to timely identify potential projects and aid the process of commercialisation. As such, the funding is earmarked for university research projects, and allows for researchers from the University of Copenhagen and DTU to apply for additional funding to further develop promising research projects until these are ready to be adopted by industry, be it as a spin-off, spin-out, or as a new start-up. This also entails forming a closer relationship between research institutions and the cleantech industry.