ARTICLES
When work becomes passion and passion becomes reality / Interview Jacob Bundsgaard, mayor of Aarhus & alderman Marc pera Christensen / Go Green Aarhus 2017 / Theory U / The Yes! Municipality / Godsbanen Trailerpark / Furture Practice- Knowledge & Experiments / Entrepreneurial Portraits /City of ceres : How to build a City / Hope is Green / Aarhus University: Student Incubator / Let's Go Co-Create / Steps toward a Sustainable Future / Green Entrepreneurial portraits / Sustainable Footprint / Eco System /The Thornico Building / Spot a Wealthy Investor
ALL TRANSLATED BY :
HESTER CALLAGHAN
STEPS TOWARD A : SUSTAINABLE FUTURE
The Insero Horsens foundation is a catalyst for sustainable growth. Through venture investments, investments in education and research, the establishment of subsidiary companies, cluster companies and new alliances and EU partnerships, the foundation runs Catalytic Philanthropy, where the profit of the foundation’s investments are reinvested in developing energy efficient technology.
When Energi Horsens merged with the energy company NRGi in 2008, Energi Horsens had a surplus value compared to NRGi. The committee of representatives at Energi Horsens decided to place this surplus in a foundation with a vision of generating sustainable growth nd development in the areas around Horsens, Hedensted, Vejle and Juelsminde, which is the area that helped acquire that wealth.
INSERO - THE GREEN FOUNDATION
Today, Insero Horsens is a very proactive foundation that starts up projects and alliances, increasingly on its own initiative. In the project prøv1elbil [try an electric car], 100 families tested electric cars, which turned out to be the beginning of an exciting adventure with the electric car. The foundation since established the susidiary company, Insero E-Mobility. Insero Horsens’ working methods are at the forefront with an international development with increasing focus on the effect of financial support as a generator of returns and re-investments. This trend, Catalytic Philanthropy, describes apractice where the foundation, instead of giving charity in the classical sense, starts activities that can sustain themselves. This means that the foundation’s resources are not depleted but make their way back to the foundation so the funds can continue to work and can be reinvested into further projects. The working model “The Insero way” was formulated after a thorough analysis of the local area, which the foundation was established to improve. The analysis showed that the level of education in the area was lower than in the rest of the country and that the corporate sphere was characterised by heavy manufacturing, production and industry. The area’s competences and potential were also analysed and used by the foundation to form a strategy for the future work in four areas of focus.
STRATEGIC FOCUS
Insero Horsens has decided upon a strategy that should generate growth and development in the local area in terms of e-mobility, geoenergy, increased use of IT in energy usage and building projects. The foundation’s strategy is therefore based on making investments into establishing clusters, developing new projects such as transforming the local area into a living laboratory to test new technologies on, and investing in entrepreneurs, education and platforms for innovation. The latest step has been to establish the subsidiary company, Insero Science Academy. The company is developing and setting up new educational initiatives, which aim to push for innovative and experimental teaching. One example is the three rolling laboratories, Mobil Labs, which travel around to the various educational institutions in the area and offer teaching on the body’s energy, energy forms of the future and innovation. Insero Horsens is always on the lookout for entrepreneurs that have a good idea or small businesses that need an injection of capital. When Insero Horsens invests capital in a entrepreneurial business the foundation doesn’t just buy a share in the company, it brings it into a strong network. They offer the company a number of business strengthening services like communications assistance and campaign drives, which can help the company grow. When the company is strong enough, the foundation sells its shares in the company.
FUTURE LIVING LABS
The Insero Concern has initiated the largest EUfinanced developmental and demonstration project in the concern’s history in collaboration with a European consortium. Insero Live Lab has won the right to test and develop a system for use in the operation of energy production and consumption. The IT system that will be tested will control the energy supply intelligently, utilising software that is coded to exchange data between the various components that are connected to the Internet. The theories and protocols behind the system are ready, and the subject of intelligent control of the energy supply is not a new one, but no one has yet proved that it can function. The principle of the system is that there is a shared server that controls the overall system and distributes energy in the system, such that energy is fed there where it is required. At the same time as implementing the IT aspect and examining the interplay between the energy supply’s various components, they will look at how the individual components – heat pumps, solar panels, solar heat panels, electric cars and chargers – can be incorporated into the consumption patterns of 25 families. The solar panels for example produce a lot of electricity during the day when the houses are empty as everyone is at work and there are no electric cars at home to receive this charge. The plan is therefore to test this in practice and store excess energy in the earth so that it can be saved for later on in the day when the families use most energy. Insero Live Lab collaborates with another EU project, BUMILLA, which, amongst other things, tests business models for e-mobility. Using new business models they are trying to break down the barriers for e-mobility through car-share schemes, battery renting and leasing arrangements.