Collaboration

Andel becomes business partner in the development of Risø

A collaboration between DTU and Roskilde Municipality to develop Risø into a global hotspot for sustainable energy is now being expanded with new partner Andel. The partnership is called the Risø Gateway.

Roskilde's mayor, Tomas Breddam (left) signs the cooperation agreement with Andel's CEO Jesper Hjulmand and DTU's president Anders Bjarklev. Photo: Andel/ Andreas Brandrup Elkjær.

Tuesday 19 March 2024

Since 1958, Risø has played an important role in Danish research and development of new energy technologies. In this spirit, DTU and Roskilde Municipality entered into a new agreement in autumn 2023 on the development of Risø, which includes an education environment with up to 400 MSc students, student and research housing, and an innovation and business park with space for 4,000 workplaces.

On Tuesday 19 March, Denmark’s leading energy and fibre network group Andel will be added to the partnership, which in future will be called RISØ Gateway. With Andel onboard, a unique alliance is established between university, municipality, and energy company, which—with each their own societal role, experience, and competences—will develop the RISØ Gateway into a global, dynamic hotspot for sustainable energy and energy systems.

“The ambition is to bring research, education, and the business community together to make Risø a unique innovation environment where future energy solutions can be tested, market tested, and scaled up,” says DTU President Anders O. Bjarklev.

World-class research and development

The Risø Gateway will thus accommodate world-class research and education. Among other things, DTU has decided to move two study programmes comprising around 400 MSc students to the area by 2030—and an adjacent development area of approx. 530,000 m2 has also been designated as a new innovation and business park. Here, business partner Andel will contribute with their experience in bringing new green technology to the market.

“We live in a time where we as a society are challenged by climate change, war, and a supply crisis. So there is a need for new visions, alliances, and concrete solutions that can pave the way for a greener future. In particular, it is absolutely essential that we develop more climate solutions and energy technologies that can be scaled up and create significant results in close collaboration between research, businesses, and customers. At Risø Gateway, we hope to create the ideal conditions for this,” says Jesper Hjulmand, Group CEO in Andel.

Anchoring green companies in the region

With Andel’s entry as a partner in the project, RISØ Gateway will be strongly and directly rooted in the business community. This aligns with the partnership’s mission to create welfare and growth through the development of future-proof energy solutions. At the same time, the collaboration strengthens Roskilde Municipality’s ambition to attract investments, create local jobs, and offer more educational activities in the Roskilde area.

“With Andel as a partner, we are taking our ambitions to the next level. There is a huge potential for us to strengthen Zealand as a hotspot for green companies. This could boost the climate, the economy, and the desire for action. I’m very excited!” says Tomas Breddam, Mayor of Roskilde.

Learn more about the ambitions behind Risø Gateway in this video from November 2023, when DTU and Roskilde Municipality signed the strategic partnership agreement, which in spring 2024 will be expanded with Andel as business partner.

Concrete ambitions

The partnership has a shared ambition for Risø Gateway to become an attractive meeting place between students, researchers, and companies within the fields of energy systems, hybrid energy, biosolutions, digitalization, and security. It plans to do this by:

building on and optimizing an already internationally recognized research environment with world-leading testing and laboratory facilities
creating a diverse business environment that is attractive for start-ups, scale-ups, and established companies, and where companies can hand-pick the candidates of the future and access research results that can help innovate and scale up their business
creating connections between universities and educational institutions all the way down to primary school, where educational institutions collaborate, complement, and inspire each other
creating an attractive educational environment for students with several MSc programmes and continuing education activities
promoting regional development by attracting investments, creating local jobs, and offering more educational activities.

The parties behind Risø Gateway

Roskilde Municipality

Risø is one of the largest and most important development areas in Roskilde. The area has the potential to contribute significantly to the municipality’s green transition strategies as well as the development of the municipality as a city for business and education. Based on a partnership-driven approach to urban development, the municipality wants to develop the Risø Gateway, where the physical environment and the energy systems that supply the area will constitute great examples for the development of new, more sustainable and biodiverse urban areas.

DTU

As part of the strategy DTU i hele Danmark, DTU has decided to move MSc programmes to Risø, with an expected annual intake of 200 students by 2029. With Risø Gateway, DTU wants to create an attractive educational and research environment where it is possible to work with both theory and practice in laboratories and workshops. And where new technologies can be tested and demonstrated in practice, in collaboration with commercial players.

Andel

Andel enters into the strategic partnership to contribute to the development of technological solutions that will promote the green transition, regional growth, education, and employment as well as a digital transformation of society.

Contact

Anders Overgaard Bjarklev President Rektoratet Phone: +45 45251000 Mobile: +45 20761512 DTU-rektor@adm.dtu.dk