“I was very moved when I visited Ukraine in December 2023, because I could see that Ukrainians were terrified that the US would not provide money for their defence. They were afraid of losing. And that touched me in such a way that I decided to spend as much time as I could in Ukraine.”
This is why Esben Gadsbøll, a prominent Danish entrepreneur and initiator of the industry association Danish Tech Startups, is now a co-founder of Defence Innovation Highway, an innovation project between Ukraine and the Nordic countries. Here, he can contribute what he knows best: building bridges that foster innovation.
“There is a terrible war going on right now – and it is by far the most innovative war since World War II. The worst-case scenario is now, in effect, a reality: the United States and southern Europe have withdrawn from the war. That leaves us with 10-11 countries in Central and Northern Europe supporting Ukraine,” he says.
That is precisely why he believes it is so crucial to forge closer ties.
“There are many talented minds in Ukraine, and there are also many talented people in the Nordic countries. Our vision is to connect them so that it is not only Ukrainian minds that have to find solutions.”
The problem is urgent, and we need to pick up pace. That is why Esben Gadsbøll is delighted to have found a new, close ally in the Defence Tech Denmark program, which aims to foster new Danish defence companies.
Defence Tech Denmark to boost development
Behind Defence Tech Denmark are the Danish Industry Foundation, Innovation Fund Denmark, and EIFO, which have joined forces to drive innovation in the defence sector in a new way. The program will run for three years with allocated DKK 200 million. DTU Science Park and Danish Technological Institute run the program in collaboration. The money will be used to support companies in two ways:
One is for startups, which receive advice and networking opportunities through the program to help them gain a foothold in the market. The other is for Small and Medium Enterprises that already have products in the civilian market that can be transformed for defence purposes. Defence Tech Denmark will significantly increase the number of defence companies in Denmark, says Signe Blad Johnsen, CCO in DTU Science Park and one of the ideators behind the program.
“Over three years, 72 start-ups and SMEs will go through the program. For the first round, more than 150 companies applied, and we selected 27. It shows a strong interest among companies in entering the defence industry – a trend that can largely be attributed to the current geopolitical situation,” she says.
Quick innovation is crucial
For obvious reasons, it is difficult to build trust and networks in Ukraine right now, but with local Ukrainians on the team and a long-term commitment, Esben Gadsbøll and Defense Innovation Highway have succeeded. It makes them a strong partner in facilitating meetings between Ukraine and the Nordic countries in practice.
Last year, the project organised nine delegation trips to Ukraine, involving several hundred participants. Through Nordic Tours, the association invites Ukrainians to visit the Nordic countries. The overall objective is to establish connections for innovation across start-ups, industry, investors, and academia.
“We are doing a lot to support innovation in Ukraine. Their pace of innovation is unprecedented in Europe since World War II. It’s Silicon Valley on steroids. We need to help fit that into a Danish context, where we have a lot of talented people, but where things just move much more slowly,” says Esben Gadsbøll.
He explains that Denmark has top-tier experts in key areas such as drones and radio communications. However, they do not necessarily work with Ukraine today. Defense Innovation Highway is trying to change that. All this is being done to strengthen innovation so that Europe can defend itself against Russia. According to Esben Gadsbøll, the war must be won through innovation.
“It went from being a very classic war at the beginning to three out of four casualties being caused by drones. These technological game changers can influence the war – if they are developed quickly enough, they can have a huge impact. From AI to lasers and all kinds of innovative solutions,” he says.
He still believes that innovation needs to be higher on the agenda, otherwise we will end up in the classic mindset.
“We live in a world that has difficulty understanding innovation, that it is almost always small, startup companies that create radical innovation. It’s the same in the defence sector – so the money isn’t being earmarked to the extent that it needs to be. Much of what is succeeding in Ukraine is happening despite the fact that they have no money. We still live in a world where many people think we should just build more tanks. That’s is not how we’re going to win this war,” he says.
"We need to accelerate defence innovations"
There is great potential for collaboration between Defence Tech Denmark and Defence Innocvation Highway. While Defense Innovation Highway creates connections, Defence Tech Denmark has a network and a local driving force behind it in the form of the business community in Denmark. And companies are ready to contribute in a completely different way than before the war.
The growing interest reflects a broader shift in how companies and innovation environments view the defence sector. Denmark has strong capabilities in developing advanced technologies, but connecting these innovations with defence needs requires dedicated platforms and collaboration across the ecosystem.
“Programs like Defence Tech Denmark play an important role in bridging that gap by helping startups and SMEs translate cutting-edge technology into solutions that can strengthen defence capabilities,” says Signe Blad Johnsen and continues:
“We focus quite a lot on connecting statups and SMEs with the right connections, that can help bring their technology to market. Groundbreaking technologies are already being developed by startups and research environments. With initiatives like Defence Tech Denmark, we can help ensure that these technologies are accelerated and applied where they can make a real difference.”
Defence Tech Denmark
- Defence Tech Denmark is a programme designed to strengthen the defence industry through innovation from start-ups and SMEs. The programme aims to promote a wide range of key technologies such as AI, drones, sensors, energy and space technology.
- The programme consists of two main tracks: an acceleration track for start-ups and a transformation track for SMEs, where they receive help to transform civilian products for defence use.
- The programme was founded and is financed by the Danish Industry Foundation, the Innovation Fund and EIFO. It is run by DTU Science Park and the Danish Technological Institute.
Defense Innovation Highway
- Defense Innovation Highway is a platform that strengthens cooperation on defence innovation between Ukraine and the Nordic countries. The initiative connects entrepreneurs, technology companies and defence representatives to accelerate the development of dual-use technologies.
- The platform builds bridges between Ukrainian and Nordic tech innovators to share knowledge and technology. The aim is to strengthen defence capabilities through rapid innovation, which is also seen as a safeguard for democracy and independence.
- Defence Innovation Highway is a non-profit project under Danish Tech Startup with employees in both Denmark and Ukraine.
