DI Bio

🎶 Money, money, money. 🎶 Danish biosolutions startups are world-leading, but lack one fundamental ingredient – venture capital. ... and they need lots of it.   Earlier this year, all of the ecosystem celebrated that ALGIECEL and founder Henrik Busch-Larsen secured 50 mDKK in equity funding.   This was a major achievement, stressing the potential of their biosolution, but there was a catch: 100 % of the funding came from UK investors. 0 % came from Danish investors.   Zero.   We have a problem in Denmark, as we are spearheading the global biorevolution, while risking losing our smartest minds and innovative biosolutions, if founders are forced outside of Denmark to secure the capital to grow.   This was also some of the conclusions, which the Danish Teknologisk Institut with Anne Christine S. Hastrup presented in their insightful report:   ❌ Lack of capital: A full 57 % of early-stage biosolutions companies cite limited access to funding as their biggest challenge.   ❌ Scaling production: 35 % point to difficulties in scaling production as a significant barrier.   ❌ Slow processes: Regulations and lengthy approval procedures in the EU make it difficult to bring new technologies to market quickly.   And that’s why we need a Danish strategi for biosolutions to address these problems, providing a clear roadmap for how we can keep the smartest minds in our pond.   Let’s better the world with biology. No time to waste. 

1.6 million green jobs in Denmark by 2036. 🚀 Yes, the future looks bright, but we need much more skilled labor, if we are to deliver the biorevolution.   “It’s difficult to predict, and especially the future”, as the Danish proverb goes.   Nevertheless, the European Commission has recently launched a study to assess the future requirements in the Danish workforce towards a circular and resilient economy.   The study is a trophy of data points, showcasing the strengths and the potentials of the Danish economy:   💡 Biosolutions jobs already today constitutes 5 % of industrial employment (1 p.p. out of total 19 p.p.)   💡 By 2036, Denmark expects to employ a total of 1.6 million green jobs – an increase of 25 % from today   💡 Today, the study estimates that biosolutions sector takes up 24,000 jobs, while by 2036 the sector will employ 30,000 people – a growth of 23 % over the years   💡 The sector is characterised by a large share of highly-skilled workers, with increasing need for: (a) Deep technical skills, such as big data, artificial intelligence and machine learning combined with knowledge and expertise in biotechnology, and (b) Soft skills, such as circular business models, circular principles, project management, stakeholder engagement   💡 Recruitment of employees with the right skills is challenging, but it is mitigated through international recruitments which is absolutely essential for our sector And much, much more...   At DI Bio, we look forward to deliver the biorevolution, as Denmark is upgrading and adjusting our educational policies to go green. There's no time to waste if we are to reach our green ambitions. 💚

Visibuilt won the prestigious Danish Design Award - but we already knew that Line Kloster Pedersen was a winner, right? 😉 Biosolutions is once more taking center stage. Yesterday night at Danish Architecture Center, the design community gathered to celebrate the achievements of Danish innovators and industrial designers. Design is what binds our society together, making an inert object into a valuable, almost livable solution. Visibuilt's visiBIT does just that. Visibuilt aims to revolutionize the asphalt industry by developing a fungal binder to replace bitumen, the fossil-fuel-dependent binder currently used in asphalt production. Bitumen’s heat-sensitive properties make asphalt production energy-intensive and reliant on oil. This challenge is global, as asphalt is produced similarly worldwide, presenting a significant opportunity for sustainable growth. That's why Visibuilt was awarded the Young Ideas Award, addressing a major global challenge in a beautifully simple way. A huge congrats to Line and her team. You gals and guys are the real rockstars. 🚀 Photo credit: nicolaj springborg.

What’s the State of Bio?   This is your chance to get ahead of the competition. 🚀   We're still buzzing from the incredible Danish Biosolutions Summit in October! A massive thank you to everyone who made it such a success.   Now, we're gearing up for something bigger in the new year. Mark your calendars for State of Bio 2025 – DI Bio's annual meeting on 6 February 2025 at Danish Industry, starting at 13:00.   2024 was a landmark year for the biosolutions sector, but we're just getting started. From refining regulatory frameworks to enhancing access to capital and scaling up facilities, 2025 is set to be an exhilarating journey.   State of Bio 2025 is your chance to dive deep into the latest biosolutions insights. Learn how Denmark will navigate its EU presidency with exclusive insights from a leading Ministry of Business official. Stay informed on the EU Biotech Act with direct updates from Hans Ingels, Head of Unit at the European Commission.   This event is where visionaries and practitioners meet, offering a unique platform for inspiration, networking, and building valuable connections. Open to universities, investors, NGOs, authorities, embassies, and other relevant guests.   Seats are limited, so don't wait—sign up now! Register via the comments.

🙌 Historic CO2 agreement on Danish agriculture - Now it's time for a national growth plan for biosolutions 🚀 Today the Danish government presented its historic agreement on CO2 tax on Danish agriculture – also known as the Green Tripartite (“Grøn trepart”). DI - Dansk Industri and DI Bio were key organizations landing the compromise back in June, where today’s text is the political agreement building on top of this proposal. In short, that means Danish farmers will be taxed based on their CO2 and nitrogen emissions from 2030, while being incentivized through subsidies to green their production through various ways. For biosolutions startups and companies, this historic agreement presents two avenues of interest: ✅ If you are producing or developing a product that has the potential to lower CO2/N emissions from the primary sector, the use of your solution could be incentivized for farmers. ✅ The Danish government has promised that a national growth plan for the biosolutions sector will be formulated based on the green tripartite, so that work starts now. At DI Bio, we will keep fighting for improving framework conditions for Danish biosolutions startups and companies alike, and this work doesn't end here - it is merely starting. Let's build the future framework for the globally-leading Danish biosoluions sector today. There's no time to waste.

What do circus tents and skunks have to do with innovation? 🎪   These two smiling faces know it.    Meet Søren Houmøller of 1st Mile - Project Financing. He just concluded an exclusive seminar on innovation management.    A vast number of innovation projects fail, which could have been avoided if they just had consulted Søren first.    In essence, innovation is human nature. It’s our defence against changing times and our driver to do good. Without innovation, humans would most likely be dead by now (or living without central heating, whatever is worst).    That’s why Mikael was honored being invited,  learning simple, but powerful dogmas:   ✅ Innovation is a local need - all units and divisions need to do it to optimize the business.    ✅ Innovation needs a thriving ecosystem. You can rarely conquer the world alone (disregard the few historical figures who actually succeeded).   ✅ And the skunk part? Empower your employees to be innovative through tools and mandates.    That’s how a US aerospace company during WW2 got to buy a circus tent to get some secrecy, setting up shop next to a smelling neighbor, coining the term “skunk work” by coincidence.    Next time you are doing something crafty at work, call it skunk work and hopefully you’ll get some leeway from the boss. 

Who's driving the global, green biorevolution? Ester Baiget is one of them 😎 As JFK immortalized, victory has many parents (while defeat is an orphan). The same thing goes for the global biorevolution, as the CEO of Novonesis Ester Baiget has just been announced as one of TIME's Top 100 influental climate leaders. As an biosolutions association working closely with many of Novonesis' representatives in Denmark and throughout the world, DI Bio applauds the leadership of Baiget. She is passionate, visionary, and dedicated as only a selected few executives. But, Novonesis is also lucky to have an amazing global organization, working to better the world with biology and delivering the visions of their leadership team. This recognition is truly a team effort. We are truly honored to support the whole organization of Novonesis and counting them as one of our closest members. Congratulations on the achievement! Onwards and upwards. 🚀

🎵 "Go west, life is peaceful there. Go west, in the open air..." 🎵 The Pet Shop Boys were right. Almost. As the ground is shifting under the Transatlantic relationship, we will still need to go west. Our future lies in continuing our sales and partnerships with other regions. Not just to boost our economy, but to deliver the global biorevolution. But... a bit more west, than what you are thinking right now. In Korea, there is strong desire to attract foreign biosolutions companies. To this effect, the Korean authorities are offering fast-tracked establishment processes, favorable tax conditions, a well-educated workforce, and a general ambition to advance biosolutions. In DI Bio, we are therefore hosting a webinar in collaboration with our DI Korea office and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, KOTRA, about the opportunities for establishing biosolutions companies in Korea. The webinar will take place on Tuesday 19 November 9.00am to 10.00am (CET). Sign up below by commenting or by DM'ing Mikael Wraae Valsted. Extra points for quoting other relevant pop musicians, when signing up. See you soon!

”Quick and dirty”… is not usually the advice you get from Danish Industry, we reckon.   A night to remember!   Our very own Mikael had the privilege of moderating an exclusive event at Kost Studio this Monday afternoon.   The aim of our mashup was to give you, founders and soon-to-be entrepreneurs, the best cards on your hand, when you are to scale your innovative food startup.   Building a food startup is complex and the normal rules of entrepreneurship do not apply, so to provide valuable guidance we had invited leading founders and investors:   💡 “Make it quick and dirty” was the advice by Gerit Tolborg of Chromologics (an accomplished entrepreneur, who has raised 13 mio. EUR, so obviously not too quick’n’dirty) – you’ll need to perform a ton of analyses and approvals, so choose your battles on what to spend your money on.   💡 ”Be bold!”, as there was no shaking on the hands of Randi Wahlsten, who is going through the decision of scaling their production by 100x. Matr Foods is going to make a mark on our Nordic cuisine, so do follow their journey.   💡 “No one wants to pay a green premium”, was the simple, but expensive advice from Bodil Sidén of Kost Capital. You’ll need to focus on changing the food system, but doing it cost-effective.   💡 “Derisk your business”, as Sara Sande of Danmarks Eksport- og Investeringsfond provided insights in how investors’ decide and evaluate. Investors are all about taking commercial risks, but you will need to derisk your technology, before you can get them onboard.   Thank you Kost Studio for hosting and providing the perfect setting. Thanks to Alex of DI Startup for being textbook wingman, and not least, thank you a TON to Helena for making the magic happen.   Let’s do this again! 🚀

📢 News announcement: World-class startup communities to be established in Denmark 📢   Denmark is spearheading the biorevolution with leading spinouts from universities and accelerators.   But… we still lack fundamental conditions to reach the full potential of these entrepreneurs. This list includes access to funding, tax codes, funding, tech transfer, more funding, and not least physical facilities.   Now we are amending that.   Present at BII today, the Minister for Business Affairs Morten Bødskov announced a joint investment agreement with a range of leading Danish foundations, including the Novo Nordisk Foundation, to fuel the establishment of new world-class communities.   The startup facilities are reserved for entrepreneurs within the biosolutions sector and other Danish positions of strengths.   The investment will ensure:   ✅ Mapping and assessing challenges in Danish incubation environments - proactive mandate for the Danish Business Authorities to deliver solutions ✅ Opening the doors for public co-payment in investments by foundations - including new pilot/demonstration facilities ✅ Paving the way for permanent incubation environments, when the foundations have de-risked the initiatives Thank you Morten Bødskov for your leadership and to the foundations for their investment. This shows that we are taking strides these days to improve the conditions of entrepreneurs, and that our government is listening when you are speaking.   And thank you Line Kloster Pedersen of Visibuilt for showing the way on how to keep improving the sector. We need entrepreneurs like you! Use your voice. Participate in the debate. Join the community of DI Bio. We are here for you. 🌱