Søren Houmøllers speech at Copenhagen Climate Solutions

Søren Houmøllers speech at the conference Copenhagen Climate Solutions, September 25th, 2007, Copenhagen, during the “Investment in cleantech”-session.

My view as panellist will be how we can create the clean energy and environmental technologies for the future and approach the global market with them. But we do, however, have large deficits in our competences.

In Denmark, the wind turbine adventure serves as a successful case. We conquered the world with our technology and people often state that we should repeat and copy that success.

What if we are not able to do that? What if the rules of the game have changed and our way does not work any more? What if other nations are running fast past us while we are busy padding our own backs and admiring our own previous successes?

The problem we have in Denmark is that we are unable to move new ideas to the global market. A preferred way of bringing winning technologies to the market is venture capital. The trust a venture capitalist shows a company by investing in it shows that the technology, the team behind, the market and the financial numbers all qualify the idea. This means a higher success rate, also because the investor adds capital and management.

In Q3 2006 venture investors in Silicon Valley invested $300m – or close to DKK2bn – in cleantech. In the same period of time investments in Denmark totalled less than DKK50m – or only a few percent of the Silicon Valley investments. And in 2006 the total global venture investments in cleantech reached $8.1bn. Analyses show expected venture investments of more than $100bn until 2012.

In this context it is hopelessly naïve of us to think that we would be able to win any race for new solutions. We need to add much more effort here.

The new rules of the game are:

• Create and maintain an excellent knowledge base through research, development and testing
• Add innovation, ie the ability to make a business on the technology
• Add capital and management

Unfortunately, we severely lack the two latter ones. That is the mission of our company, 1st Mile: To add innovation and prepare technologies for venture capital, so that we can bring the new solutions to market and win the quest for new businesses. We know that if the idea is good, the team competent and the business plan of good quality, we will find the money easily.

For Denmark, it is crucial to understand that we can leverage on our green image and global respect, on our high level of knowledge, and our previous successes, but that we are at great risk of losing out on the future possibilities, if we are not able to add innovation and entrepreneurship to our competences.

Thank you for your attention.