In your opinion, what role will the cleantech industry play in Denmark in the future?

Lykke Friis
"There is no doubt that there will be a growing number of global investments in cleantech in the future.  As such, there is a high growth potential for Danish cleantech, which we must exploit.

In Denmark, we cannot compete with the large public investments seen in other countries. We must therefore be among the leaders in energy efficiency and renewable energy and make Denmark known as a green growth laboratory for research, development and innovation of green technologies and solutions.

The Danish cleantech industry is certainly already in the forefront, both in terms of smaller, innovative green-growth companies - and of course larger corporations already operating on export markets."  

What is the biggest challenge facing the continued development within the industry?

Lykke Friis
"One of the major challenges close to my heart is to ensure that we continue to have the best green minds to become one of the world's leading cleantech countries. Therefore, I have, among other things, taken steps to bring together the headmasters of Danish universities, to discuss how we make Denmark a green IQ nation.

And the same topic is on the agenda at the Green Dialogue Forum where I meet with the Science Minister and other dedicated people."


Why do we need a cleantech cluster?

Lykke Friis
"One of the main conditions for growth in the cleantech industry is close interaction between research, business and government. A cluster like Copenhagen Cleantech Cluster provides an invaluable forum for networking and dialogue between government, knowledge institutions and the industry."


What can the political arena do to stimulate the industry's conditions?

Lykke Friis
"As politicians, it is one of our most important tasks to ensure sound, long-term framework conditions for the business community. This applies throughout the value chain - from research and development to demonstration and market maturation to commercialisation on the global markets.

Therefore, we have also put aside 210 million DKK for Green Labs DK to help companies get passed the "Death Valley" and on to the global markets."