The green transition is one of the society's major challenges for the future. This is why Independent Research Fund Denmark (DFF) is awarding a total of DKK 333 million to research projects. The funding is to help talented researchers and to secure new, original ideas and research breakthroughs within climate, nature, the environment, and more, explains the foundation in a press release.

At NAT, a total of seven research projects with a green focus will receive a total amount of DKK 38 million. The grants will run over the next 3-6 years.

Professor Torben René Jensen, Department of Chemistry and iNANO, DKK 11.9 million for his project: Calcium Metal Battery – CaMBat.

Associate Professor Jeppe Vang Lauritsen, iNANO, DKK 6.1 million for his project: Electrocatalysis in Renewable Energy Conversion by Heteroatom-doped Carbon Materials.

Associate Professor Brian Keith Sorrell, Department of Biology, DKK 2.8 million for his project: "From Sink to Source: Maximising Carbon Accumulation in Restored Peatlands.

Frans Mulder, Department of Chemistry and iNANO, DKK 2.7 million for his project "How do LPMO enzymes attack crystalline polysaccharide surfaces for the degradation of non-edible biomass?

Professor Daniel Otzen, iNANO and Department of Molecular Biology and Genetics, DKK 2.8 million for his project: Peptiplast: Targeting plastic pollutants for enzymatic degradation with plastic-binding peptides.

Professor Merete Bilde, Department of Chemistry and iNANO, DKK 6.1 million for her project: Plastic in the Air.

Professor Bo Brummerstedt Iversen, Department of Chemistry and iNANO, DKK 5.6 million for his project: Stable Energy in Sensors for the Internet of Things (SENSE-IT).

Largest pool to date

The research projects are being funded by thematic research funding from DFF. Last year, the Danish Parliament agreed to earmark DKK 340 million research reserve funds for DFF, which the foundation was to award under the heading "green transition". So, the green distributions come in the wake of a political decision to prioritise funding for the area in 2020.

This is the third time DFF has awarded thematic research funding from the research reserve funds. What is special this year is that the DKK 333 million for the green transition is the hitherto largest thematic pool under DFF.