They have until August 2023 to develop research-based solutions that address the three challenges. The teams that come up with the best solutions, or makes most progress on the way towards a solution, will be rewarded DKK 9 million to implement the solution technologically and commercially. In total, there is DKK 27 million for all three challenges.

“This is the first time that Denmark has used a competition of this size as a strategic driver of research and innovation. The new element is that they have to compete in solving concrete challenges that have been set at the start. And the winners are judged on whether their solution has the potential to move from the research phase to the commercial phase. In another words, whether it’s possible to commercialize the solution,” says Tommy Ahlers in the press release and continues:

“Finally, Green Challenge is a way to show how important our researchers are when it comes to solving some of the big challenges we are facing as a society.”

When the solutions are delivered in August 2023, an international panel will judge them. Among the assessment criteria are:

• The expected reduction of climate and environmental impact.
• The quality of research and innovation, e.g. the level of research, novelty value in relation to state-of-the-art technological performance and progress compared to previous best practice.
• The possibility of whether the solution will work on a broad scale within a manageable timeframe, e.g. the size of a potential global demand, and expected market price compared to existing alternatives and the risk/realism of the project.

The winners will be announced by the end of 2023.

In the coming months, the ministry’s Green Challenge will be open for enrolment, and concrete rules for participation and the construction of teams will be launched. Furthermore, the evaluation criteria will be described in more detail, as well as the rules on how the reward should be used.