Clean

“You are not selling technology – you are selling confidence.” That was one of the takeaways when Tech Tour Water Tech 2026 brought together 36 carefully selected startups and scaleups and almost 50 investors in Aarhus. Six companies were named this year's Top Presenters, and a special recognition went to the Danish scaleup SmartBrønd and CEO Jeppe Mariager-Lam. We were there as a partner for the fourth year running. Read who was named this year's top presenters, and what the keynote speaker from Glanua had to say about scaling in the water sector 👇 https://lnkd.in/e8HJbMJk

Today, two members of Clean, ERLEtek and GLYON, are taking the stage at the VITO4STARTERS pitching competition at Love Tomorrow summit in Belgium. 🎤🎪 Selected as two of just ten finalists from across Europe, they will present their solutions alongside some of the continent's most promising deeptech startups. The winning startup will be fast-tracked into an accelerator program, and receive tickets to the world-renowned Tomorrowland festival, a perfect place to celebrate. Their participation also highlights the value of collaboration across networks. This opportunity reached Danish innovators through the International Cleantech Network (ICN), following a tip from fellow ICN member Flux50 in Belgium. It's a great example of how international cluster collaboration helps connect companies with new opportunities beyond national borders. We wish ERLETek and Glyon the best of luck in today's competition and look forward to following their pitches. 🍀

𝗧𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗼𝗻𝗲 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗲𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲𝘀 𝘂𝘀 𝗦𝗢 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝘆.🌿🇧🇷 Seven Danish SMEs were in Brazil back in June. And they came home with new relationships, concrete collaborations, and a much stronger understanding of what's possible between Denmark and Brazil. But let us start from the beginning – because the story behind it is honestly just as good as the result. It all started on the Friday before most of Denmark went on Easter holiday. Our colleague Maria, who's based in Brazil, called Sheila in Copenhagen. Maria wanted to create an "Innovation Camp Salvador," using SITUS 2026 – a major international conference on sustainable tourism, taking place in Salvador – as the perfect opportunity to connect Danish SMEs with local partners. Meaning we had less than two months to get the companies physically in Brazil. Then things moved fast: we had to open an application round BEFORE all of Denmark left for holiday. Communications and the data team were faster than you can say "wastewater treatment." and Martin got the opportunity published. Now we just need the companies. And honestly – that's often the hard part for us. Recruiting the right companies isn't always easy. And we did not have much time. But this is where the real magic happened: an email went out to the project managers across Clean, and everyone just ran with it. Within a day, so many colleagues had pitched in that we suddenly had a group of companies ready to go. (Well, once our finance team has taken care of all documents and made sure everything is in order of course) So how did it go, you're wondering? As Amin from 42 Organic says: "The trip became incredibly valuable, both professionally and personally. I returned home with new relationships, concrete discussions, potential partners, and a much stronger understanding of the opportunities that exist between Denmark and Brazil." Along the way, a Danish tree was planted in Salvador – a small but meaningful symbol of a partnership we hope will keep growing. You can read the full story here: https://lnkd.in/e2rE_bmk And whether you're sitting in a beach chair right now or still at your desk, this is good news either way. Thank you for the incredible company to the companies who joined us: 🌿 42 Organic 🌿 All In On Green ApS 🌿 Transform af 1994 ApS – Danish Rootzone Technology 🌿 Leapcraft 🌿 New Loop 🌿 ReefCircular 🌿 Copenhagen Business School   Innovation Camp Salvador was co-funded by Virksomhedsudvikling Danmark through the Danish Board of Business Development and the European Union.

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗺𝗲𝗿 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝗽—𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁, 𝗔𝘂𝗴𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝘀 𝗴𝗼𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻 𝗵𝗼𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿. 🔥🍗 Not just because of the weather. TechBBQ is back on 27–28 August, and we're already getting ready for two days packed with bold ideas, breakthrough technologies, and conversations that could spark the next big collaboration. For more than a decade, Clean has brought Denmark's water and environmental innovators to one of the Nordics' biggest tech events. This year is no exception. This year, we're bringing together some of the most exciting startups from our ecosystem - drums, please 🥁🥁🥁🥁 💧 Aqua Alarm – real-time drinking water monitoring. 💧 Bubtex – increasing oxygen levels in water. 💧 CETO Innovation – smarter water infrastructure through pipeline data. 💧 FlowMinerals – extracting valuable minerals from seawater. 💧 HyKin Energy A/S – pumping water without electricity or fuel. 💧 MicroChange – removing phosphorus from water. 💧 Stonereefs – restoring marine ecosystems with 3D-printed reefs. 💧 Vāsuqi – purifying water using light. ♻️ Labelless – replacing clothing labels with smart QR codes. ♻️ Building With Microbes ApS – growing biological building materials from construction waste. ♻️ Cirqle – making reusable cups the easy choice. ♻️ Co2laborate – developing carbon capture solutions. ♻️ KONKRET. – turning construction waste into urban furniture. ♻️ DISSOLVA – recycling textile waste while removing harmful chemicals. ♻️ GLYON – portable textile recycling. ♻️ NewRetex A/S – sorting textile waste for high-quality recycling. 🌍 CARA Cooling – turning heat into sustainable cooling. 🌍 Envira – using satellite data to assess climate risks. 🌍 ForestValleyCare ApS - helping protect forests and heritage sites from wildfires. 🌍 Smartsense – monitoring indoor air quality. We're excited to be back at TechBBQ and look forward to two days of great conversations, new connections, and inspiring innovations. We hope to see you at the Clean stand! 🔥 Clean's activities at TechBBQ are co-financed by the European Union and are part of Virksomhedsudvikling Danmark. 🇪🇺

🌊 Recognised by the European Commission. Driving circular solutions for the Baltic Sea. We're proud to share that Circular Ocean-bound Plastic (COP) – a project under the Interreg South Baltic Programme has been featured by the European Commission as an example of how cross-border cooperation can turn marine litter into circular opportunities. The recognition highlights how innovation, collaboration and circular thinking can help tackle one of the Baltic Sea's shared environmental challenges. Together, the project has: ♻️ Collected and analysed more than 37,000 pieces of riverine litter 🔬 Assessed the recycling potential of the collected plastic 🌍 Demonstrated that riverine plastic can become a valuable resource instead of ending up in the Baltic Sea At Clean, we're proud to contribute to a project that brings together partners across Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland to develop practical circular solutions with real environmental impact. Read the European Commission feature here: https://lnkd.in/dreR2g5B The COP project is an Operation of Strategic Importance (OSI) under the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2021–2027 and is co-funded by the European Regional Development Fund.

📬 Welcome to the very first edition of Clean News & Opportunities. Inside, you'll find a handpicked selection of stories from the past few months, including our latest Clean Insights report, along with highlights from across Denmark's Water and Environmental Cluster. ☀️ We hope you enjoy the read, and wish you a wonderful summer.

PFAS er på mange måder en lærebog i, hvordan et teknisk fremskridt kan udvikle sig til et samfundsproblem. 💧 Stofferne er udviklet, fordi de kan noget, som få andre materialer kan: modstå varme, vand, fedt, kemikalier og slid. Derfor findes PFAS i alt fra industriudstyr og tekstiler til emballage, elektronik, maling og brandslukningsskum. Men hvordan løser vi en udfordring, der spænder over hele værdikæden? ➡️ Hvordan kan vi måle og monitorere bedre? ➡️ Hvordan fjerner vi PFAS fra komplekse strømme som slam og perkolat? ➡️ Hvordan destruerer vi stofferne sikkert, så vi ikke bare flytter problemet? ➡️ Hvordan udvikler vi PFAS-frie alternativer, der fungerer teknisk, økonomisk og i stor skala? ➡️ Hvordan undgår vi, at substitution blot erstatter ét problem med et nyt? Clean ser PFAS som et uoverskueligt problem, der skal gøres håndterbart. Derfor styrker vi indsatsen på PFAS-området for at understøtte udviklingen af nye løsninger, der kan bidrage til at løse en af de mest komplekse miljøudfordringer, vi står over for. Som en del af indsatsen er der netop åbnet en tematiseret ansøgningsrunde, hvor virksomheder og vidensinstitutioner kan samarbejde om at udvikle, teste og modne løsninger med potentiale til at komme tættere på markedet. 👉 Læs mere om baggrunden for indsatsen i vores nyhed: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ej6XN7hC 🇬🇧 In English: https://lnkd.in/ebcpRji7 👉 Er du interesseret i at søge? Læs om ansøgningsrunden på Virksomhedsguiden: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/ep_bxhjy

𝐒𝐞𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐂𝐔𝐒 𝐚𝐭 𝐬𝐜𝐚𝐥𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐝𝐢𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐟𝐫𝐨𝐦 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐢𝐭. Our colleague Martina Cristino Hayez just visited the Netherlands as part of the CO2 Vision NeXt project. At Porthos and Tata Steel, participants got a first-hand look at how CO₂ transport and storage infrastructure and industrial decarbonization are moving from plans to reality. 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐚𝐰𝐚𝐲? Building a low-carbon future is not just about technology. It's about creating strong partnerships across the entire value chain. Through CO2 Vision NeXt, Clean works to connect Danish CCUS actors with leading international initiatives, helping create new partnerships, innovation opportunities, and market access across Europe and North America. Thank you all for an amazing delegation. 🙌 Green Hub Denmark: Michael Stie Laugesen & Thilde Møller Larsen Port of Aalborg: Rikke Drustrup @DTI: John Kjær Olicem A/S: Troels Skov Moestrup Square Advisory ApS: Kristine Wille Hilstrøm Cementir Holding N.V.: Juanita Gallego Dávila Aalborg Portland A/S: Isabella Glindvad Hansen

💧 Three days. Hundreds of ideas. One direction. Most innovation projects start with technology. This one started with conversations. Engineers. Utilities. Researchers. Municipalities. Technology providers. Experts. Different backgrounds. Different perspectives. One shared challenge. Over three days, the ReCircWater Design Sprint transformed complex stormwater challenges into concrete concepts for the next project pilot. Because better water solutions rarely come from one organisation. They come from collaboration. Read the story: 🔗 https://lnkd.in/e7TEerXg Clean is part of the ReCircWater project, which brings together partners from Denmark, Sweden, Poland and Lithuania: Novafos (DK), Sweden Water Research (SE), Uniwersytet Gdański (PL), Gdansk Water Foundation (PL), ZWiK Szczecin (PL), and Klaipeda University (LT). The project is co-funded by the Interreg South Baltic Programme 2021–2027 under the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) and is approved as an Operation of Strategic Importance (OSI).

𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗽𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰 𝗶𝘀 𝗮𝗹𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘆 𝗼𝗻 𝗶𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗮𝘆 🌊 It just has not reached the ocean yet. That is the point of ocean-bound plastic. Before it becomes marine pollution, it is often still possible to stop, trace and recover it: in cities, rivers, stormwater systems, harbours, shorelines and flood-prone areas. In our new Clean Insights report, 𝗢𝗰𝗲𝗮𝗻-𝗕𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝗣𝗹𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝘀: 𝗙𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗸𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗥𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗶𝗿𝗰𝘂𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗢𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆, we look at why plastic leakage is not only a cleanup issue. It is also an infrastructure, documentation and value-chain challenge. The report explores: - Where leakage happens - Why stormwater, rivers and urban activity increase the risk - How hotspot mapping and monitoring can guide action - What it takes to turn recovered plastic from waste into feedstock - Where companies can help build circular solutions The real opportunity starts upstream: before plastic reaches the sea, loses value and becomes harder to recover. Read more and download the report here: https://lnkd.in/ezzmSq36