Green tech for the blue industry
If Tergy Sagava wins Danish Tech Challenge, the prize will be used to perform a demonstration of their biofuel onboard an ocean vessel this year.
”The demo, in collaboration with our lead customers, is key to achieving full commercial validation and secure offtake agreements with shipping companies. This allows us to then fully focus on scaling up production and delivering more biofuel to the market,” Jan Wilske explains.
An off-take agreement means that a customer commits to buying a certain volume of the fuel at a given prize for a specified duration. This is particularly important for attracting investors and scaling the business.
For Anemo Robotics, participating in the Danish Tech Challenge is as much about raising awareness of the biodiversity crisis we face as it is about winning the grand prize:
“The problem with biodiversity is that it is difficult to measure and quantify. Our goal is to make it transparent and measurable so people can understand how important it is,” says Nejc Novak, adding:
“We have a busy summer ahead, scaling up to implement 25 new camera systems. If we win the competition, we’ll use the funding to help us reach our next milestone of deploying 50 cameras. This means expanding the sales effort and building the right team to push our vision forward: creating autonomous marine biodiversity monitoring stations."
Optimal conditions for growth
Participants in Danish Tech Challenge go through a five-month growth programme with workshops, sparring and training. Startups gain knowledge in 10 disciplines, such as product development, team dynamics, IP and sales, which are fundamental for them to grow and go to market.
“The Danish Tech Challenge helped us bulletproof our business, especially by securing lead customers and onboarding Adam Nielsen, a maritime decarbonisation expert with 20+ years’ experience in the maritime sector,” Jan Wilske says about the benefits of the programme.
The startups focus on societal challenge they are solving and their technologies’ impact and the products’ go to market strategy.
“One of the biggest takeaways from the Danish Tech Challenge has been the expansion of our network with incredibly skilled entrepreneurs who are both inspiring and have helped us solve more than a few problems,” says Nejc Novak, whose team consists of seven members, including two marine biologists who help create the biodiversity reports.
The growth programme culminates with a final where six startups, including Anemo Robotics and Tergy Sagava, pitch their business idea at an award show on April 8, 2025 at Microsoft in Lyngby. The winner will be selected by an external jury.
