Big Science means big business

The largest research institutions make investments worth billions, supporting research programs in the private and university sectors. Denmark has never been good at finding pathways into this lucrative network, but a new initiative is set to shake things up.

On 3 May, the Danish Big Science Industry Day took place at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) in Risø, with about 100 representatives from Danish industry and four of the biggest research infrastructures in Europe: CERN (European Organization for Nuclear Research), ESO (European Southern Observatory), ESS (European Spallation Source) and the European ITER Domestic Agency, Fusion for Energy. The aim was to help Danish companies secure a bigger share of a market worth many billions.

"In Denmark we have so far not tempted to compete for these big science contracts," explains Søren Bang Korsholm, Senior Scientist at Risø DTU and head of project for the Big Science Secretariat (BSS). "The self-perception of many small- and medium-size companies prevents them from becoming project suppliers. We therefore invited representatives from the big science facilities to Denmark to meet the Danish companies with a view to increase the number of Danish contracts and maximizing the knock-on benefits."

The aim of the Big Science Secretariat (BSS) is to build bridges between Danish companies, research institutions and major international research projects. BSS is supported by the Danish Council for Technology and Innovation in the Danish Agency for Science, Technology and Innovation, with additional finance from participating companies. BSS is a joint initiative of DTU, the Danish Technological Institute and FORCE Technology. The Secretariat is housed at Risø DTU and is managed by Juliette Forneris.