In its new form, the business pool has so far helped the Danish business community to save more than 46,000 tonnes of CO2 annually, figures from the Energy Agency show. More than half of the grant pool's funds have now been pledged following strong demand. It is very satisfying that the funds come out quickly and contribute to the companies' green transition, the Energy Agency believes.
The Danish business community has boosted the green transition to the benefit of the climate and energy supply. This development is supported, among other things, by the Business Pool, which opened in a new and improved version on 1 November 2022. The pool provides subsidies for almost all types of projects that save energy or CO 2 from energy-related emissions.
New figures from the Danish Energy Agency show that the Business Pool in its new form has overall helped companies to save more than 46,000 tonnes of CO 2 annually and that applications have now been made for more than half of the total funds in the pool this year, which is 385 million DKK. Rikke Reumert Schaltz, head of office at the Danish Energy Agency responsible for the Business Pool, welcomes the development:
"The business pool was set up to help Danish companies save energy and CO 2 , and it is very satisfying that the grant pool precisely contributes to accelerating the companies' green transition, reduces energy consumption and helps the companies to make significant green investments."
Arla is one of the companies that has received support from the Business Pool for large innovative energy-saving projects. This includes one of the world's first high-temperature heat pumps in a drying tower for milk powder production.
Morten Vagner, who is Energy & Sustainability Manager in Denmark at Arla AMBA, says:
"Arla's ambition is to become climate neutral by 2050. As a step on the way, we must reduce our direct and indirect emissions of CO 2 e by 63 percent on Scope 1 & 2, before the end of 2030 compared to 2015. We have initiated a long series of measures to reduce our climate footprint. We are pleased with the support from the Business Pool, which has helped to enable investments of considerable size and accelerated green development and innovation.”
The application process has become less complex
The Business Pool was first established with the Energy Agreement 2018 as a subsidy pool for Danish business of a total of DKK 3.5 billion, which runs until 2029. The rules for the Business Pool were changed on 1 November 2022 to make the application process less complex.
This has increased the speed from application to the realization of the energy-saving projects, says Morten Vagner:
"Our experience is that the pool has become easier to apply for than before. This makes the process from application to grant somewhat easier, which means that the projects will be realized more quickly, so that we can reduce CO 2 e-emissions.”
Rikke Reumert Schaltz emphasizes that the Danish Energy Agency has just worked extensively to accelerate the application process without compromising on the documentation requirements that are necessary to receive support.
"We know that Danish companies have the ambitions and the will to adapt and reduce their climate footprint. The Erhvervspuljen must contribute to help along the way. We are experiencing great demand from companies and look forward to continuing to convert the pool's funds into concrete energy and CO 2 savings.”
