Skylab Pilots Ends With Success

Wednesday 5 March 2024

Market volatility and strained supply chains have become part of everyday life. Luckily, the foundation of the Danish industry and overall economy is solid, and last year, the competitiveness of the Danish industry was ranked as one of the best in the world.

The economic growth is not only driven by large multinational corporations but also by small and medium-sized enterprises and innovative Danish startups that play a vital role.

"It is important that we, in Denmark, don’t put our eggs in one basket. Because even though the economy – and exports – are particularly driven by the large Danish companies, the undergrowth of small and medium-sized businesses must also thrive. They must constantly renew themselves and stand strong. This is where, among startups and smaller companies, that Denmark's future growth companies and innovation beacons are found," says Mikkel Sørensen, Director of DTU Skylab.

Powered by the Danish Industry Foundation

Growth and innovation have been the focus at DTU Skylab, which today presents an in-depth evaluation of the 3-year deep tech acceleration program, Skylab Pilots.

Skylab Pilots was created in collaboration with the Danish Industry Foundation, which, among other things, works to spread new technologies in the Danish industry. In this light, the foundation has supported the initiative with almost 10 million Danish kroner.

"The ambition from the start has been to create a new model for how partnerships between universities, tech entrepreneurs, and the many small and medium-sized companies in Danish business life are thought about and organized. On one hand, we have concrete challenges that need to be solved in a busy everyday life to ensure future competitiveness. And on the other hand, we have researchers and startups with knowledge that can solve these challenges. The magic happens when the two sides of the equation collaborate. Now there are some real-life experiences to build on," says Director of Development Charlotte Kjeldsen Krarup from the Danish Industry Foundation.

She hopes that many different actors can use learnings from the project in and around Danish industries in the future.

Accelerating A Medtech Startup

The program aimed to support the Danish startup environment through collaboration with companies, researchers, and students. Among others, the medtech company Exo360 greatly benefited from this.

"We were looking for technology talents when we joined the program. That’s why we applied for a spot in Skylab Pilots. The idea was that we would find our Chief Technical Officer, and DTU is a good place to search because we work with so-called smart materials, which, in our domain, can ensure even better treatment of bone fractures. Moreover, through a strong collaboration with Prototal Damvig, we could significantly elevate our product,” says Mads Terndrup, CEO and co-founder of Exo360.

He continues that the program and the partnership with Prototal Damvig have been crucial for their rapid development:

“Just four weeks after the first day in the program, we were granted permission to test our prototype at the Panum Institute. That was half a year faster than we had anticipated."

Exo360 uses, among other things, 4D print materials that enable doctors to help heal broken bones more rapidly to the benefit of the patient. Through the Skylab Pilots project, the two companies, Exo360 and Prototal Damvig, have developed advanced casting methods, where Prototal Damvig's expertise in additive manufacturing played a vital role in the product development at Exo360. Furthermore, the company has obtained permission to test prototypes on real people.

Skylab Pilots was powered by the Danish Industry Foundation and was made with nationwide implementation and scaling in mind by making the platform and methodology applicable to other knowledge-based institutions in Denmark.

Read more about Skylab Pilots and the new evaluation here.