Its mission centres on enhancing renewable energy production, transformation, storage, and utilization. Through its innovative SymbiosisNet™, GreenLab enables companies to share surplus energy and resources, fostering a holistic and efficient industrial ecosystem. The park’s collaborative model, involving diverse site partners, has garnered international recognition and serves as a potential blueprint for
similar initiatives in the UK.
Exploring Ownership, Mission, Operations, Partnerships, and Replication Potential in the UK
Established in Skive, Denmark, GreenLab is a green and circular industrial park dedicated to advancing the green transition of industry. It functions as a technology enabler and mission-driven research facility, focusing on the development and demonstration of integrated energy systems.
GreenLab’s mission is to develop and demonstrate integrated energy systems that improve the production, transformation, storage, and utilization of renewable energy. This is achieved through sector integration and the creation of a circular economy within the industrial park.
The ownership structure includes a combination of public and private stakeholders committed to the green transition. The park collaborates with various partners, including companies located within the industrial area, innovation and technology partners, and research and educational institutions.
”Sector coupling is the key to an efficient, resilient energy system – eliminating waste and cutting costs.”
Simon Kerr, EnergiRaven
GreenLab collaborates with a diverse range of partners, including companies operating within the industrial park, innovation and technology partners, and research and education institutions. These partnerships are integral to the parks ecosystem, contributing to the development and demonstration of integrated energy systems.
- GreenHyScale: An EU-funded 100 MW Power-to-X project aiming to explore large-scale production of green hydrogen. In 2023, Green Hydrogen Systems delivered the first 6 MW electrolysis module to GreenLab, which is currently being tested.
- Stiesdal SkyClean: Utilizes agricultural residues to produce green fuel and capture CO2, converting half of the carbon in the residue to biochar and the other half to oil and gas.
- Vestjyllands Andel’s Starfish Factory: Produces sustainable protein for animal feed by using waste heat to dry and process invasive starfish, offering an eco-friendly alternative to soy.
- Quantafuel: Upgrades plastic waste into valuable raw materials for new plastics through chemical recycling, emphasizing circular economy principles.
- Unwasted: A relocated British company producing high-performance, 100% recycled panel boards.
- GreenLab Skive Biogas: A partnership between E.ON and GreenLab Skive Biogas Leverandørselskab a.m.b.a., supplies biogas to Denmark’s public gas network. Over 70 local farmers contribute 500,000 tons of livestock manure and green biomass annually, producing 23 million cubic meters of biogas.
- NOMI4S: GreenLab’s and Skive’s recycling station that handles waste in an environmentally and resource-conscious way.
Operational Model and Energy Sharing SymbiosisNet™
GreenLab’s SymbiosisNet™ is an intelligent network of energy and data that allows companies within the industrial park to share surplus energy and resources. This system facilitates sector integration, enabling the efficient utilization of renewable energy and reducing waste.
GreenLab employs a holistic approach known as sector coupling, which involves integrating various energy sectors to optimize resource allocation, consumption and minimize CO2 emissions. By viewing the energy system as an interconnected whole, GreenLab enhances efficiency and sustainability.
Green Energy Generation and Sharing
The park utilizes renewable energy sources, including wind and solar power, supported by an 84 MW hybrid wind and solar park. This infrastructure supplies sustainable energy to the companies within GreenLab.
GreenLab is actively developing systems to supply heat to local green heat grids. A notable initiative involves the installation of a 6 MW prototype electrolyser as part of the GreenHyScale project. This facility is designed to produce green hydrogen, and the excess heat generated during the process is planned to be utilized for a new district heating system serving local communities.
Additionally, GreenLab has partnered with Rondo Energy to implement a 100 MWh heat battery system. This initiative aims to supply green heat to site partners, such as GreenLab Skive Biogas, reducing their CO2 emissions by up to 80%. The technology stores renewable energy as heat, which can be distributed to site partners and potentially to local district heating networks, replacing fossil fuels and significantly reducing CO2 emissions.
Replication Potential in the UK
Denmark’s GreenLab industrial park showcases how circular economy principles can transform industries. By enabling companies to share and monetize excess resources like heat, syngas, and biomass, GreenLab creates an efficient, low-waste ecosystem that significantly cuts carbon emissions. Its focus on interdisciplinary projects in energy technologies, Power-to-X, bio-economy, and circular economy accelerates progress in the green transition, offering a sustainable industrial model that balances economic growth with environmental care.
The UK, aiming for net-zero emissions by 2050, is in a good position to adopt GreenLab’s model. This effort requires strategic planning, including policy support for renewable energy, building infrastructure for integrated energy systems, and fostering industrial clusters ready to collaborate. Investing in renewable energy generation and storage is key to meeting the energy needs of such industrial parks. Updating electricity pricing and transmission systems can open new opportunities for sector coupling and the development of ‘Green Energi Havens.’ These havens, possibly located on former industrial sites near major cities, could become central to a renewable-led economy, creating synergies between industrial sectors, providing green electricity for hydrogen and e-fuel production, and supporting emerging industries like vertical farming and sustainable protein production.
