The 2025 Novo Nordisk Foundation Challenge Programme awards DKK 479 million to nine innovative projects. These projects promote health, sustainability, and support the green transition through global researcher collaboration. Participants come from Denmark, Sweden, the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Australia, and the USA.
The projects aim to answer key questions about biomanufacturing, cardiometabolic diseases, infections, and artificial intelligence. They also emphasize developing sustainable solutions that contribute to a greener and more resilient future.
Lene Oddershede, Chief Scientific Officer, said the programme encourages top-tier research to address societal challenges. Flemming Konradsen highlighted the importance of stronger scientific ecosystems for innovation, knowledge sharing, and advancing the green transition.
The nine projects span four themes:
- Heterogeneity in Biomanufacturing, which includes developing sustainable processes that reduce environmental impact.
- Ectopic Fat and Cardiometabolic Disease, focusing on healthier lifestyles and prevention strategies that can reduce healthcare’s ecological footprint.
- Interactions of Infectious Disease and CMD, exploring links that could lead to more sustainable health management approaches.
- The Grand AI Challenge, using AI to advance green energy solutions, climate monitoring, and sustainable industrial processes.
Each project receives up to DKK 60 million. Goals include developing efficient gas fermentation techniques to convert greenhouse gases into valuable products like proteins, alcohols, and acids. These innovations aim to reduce CO2 emissions while creating new industry opportunities aligned with the green transition.
Research also targets understanding how unwanted fat deposits contribute to heart disease, which can lead to healthier populations and less strain on healthcare systems. Additionally, projects explore how infectious diseases relate to cardiometabolic conditions, improving diagnostics, prevention, and treatment.
AI-powered initiatives will develop personalized cancer treatments using radiotherapy data, optimize solar cell materials through AI-driven discovery, and create early climate warnings for Arctic ice-free summers. These efforts directly support climate resilience and the green transition.
Selected projects include:
- Alfred Spormann (Aarhus University): Improving microbial gas fermentation resilience to enable sustainable biomanufacturing.
- Krist V. Gernaey (DTU): Assessing heterogeneity in gas fermentation to improve efficiency and sustainability.
- Jacob Fog Bentzon (Aarhus University): Studying ectopic fat deposits to prevent heart disease and promote healthier lifestyles.
- Thomas Jespersen (UCPH): Investigating cardiac adiposity’s role in heart health, aiding prevention strategies.
- Torben Hansen (UCPH): Linking infectious diseases and cardiometabolic health to develop sustainable healthcare solutions.
- Nina Weis (Hvidovre Hospital): Exploring hepatitis B’s impact on cardiometabolic diseases, enhancing diagnostics and treatments.
- Stine Sofia Korreman (Aarhus University): Developing trustworthy AI for personalized, effective cancer radiotherapy, reducing treatment waste.
- Mikkel Schmidt (DTU): Using AI to optimize solar cell materials, advancing renewable energy technologies.
- Tian Tian (Danish Meteorological Institute): Creating climate early warning systems for Arctic summers, supporting climate change mitigation.
The Challenge Programme was established in 2014. The 2025 themes emphasize integrating sustainability into health and technological innovation. The 2026 call will expand to include European research institutions with larger grants, further supporting the green transition through science and technology
