Facts about Stirling Provides biomass fuelled Stirlingengines. The technology is based on more than 15 years of research at DTU. The engine is specifically developed to run on heat from the combustion of biomass (wood chips and straw). Heat makes the engine go round and a generator generates electricity. The target group are owners and administrators of major buildings and companies in the western countries as well as distant areas in developing countries. www.stirling.dk

Stirling milestones 2009 Solid financing from the German energy giant RWE, Vækstfonden and two additional Danish investors. Five plants running in Germany and Denmark, respectively. Participation in COP15 with a full-size visitation plant at Vestforbrændingen. Great growth in the organisation to a current 24 employees, all central positions are staffed. Stirling DK won the main award as well as the innovation award at the Climate Cup in Bella Center.

Not only have the hallways of Scion DTU, Lyngby, been buzzing with activity, but also in the basement below, where DTU's first biomass fuelled engine is at work. The engine is developed and run by Stirling DK.

Stirling DK prepares itself for becoming an actual production company

2009 has given Danish cleantech company Stirling DK several new colleagues, new capital injection and collaborators as well as a big project at COP15. Lars Jagd, CEO, talks about the near future.

How do you see the way forward for your company in the year to come? 'We are extremely focused on our customer strategy. We go for larger companies in markets close to Denmark who are able to buy a number of installations. This includes power and heating stations in Germany. Denmark, Austria and Germany are our primary markets. We are already making business there, and both Austria and Denmark are considered market leaders in power and heating stations and biomass.
Moreover, we will focus more on Britain where there is massive political attention on green energy and, consequently, legislative changes on its way'.

What are Stirling DK's challenges in 2010?
'In 2010 we are to become an actual production company. We are still in a development phase, but this year we expect to have final proof for acceptable up-time of our plants. We optimise and the curve is upward, but we are not quite there yet.

'Another challenge is a classic one for start-ups: "How do we maintain the entrepreneurial spirit in a company that grows rapidly and therefore demands more structure?"
Chaos and development are often the greatest motivational factors to my employees. I try to retain the atmosphere by involving the developers in decision-making processes – also when the decisions are more commercially rooted.

'The last thing I want to mention is the development of our sales channels. With our product we must neither sell too late nor too early. It is constant analysis and discussion, and if things are moving faster than we expected, e.g. the up-time, we have to be ready to accelerate. We expect to have more data on our plants in 3-5 months and should be able to deliver by the end of 2010. Thus, the major boom in growth might show in 2011 instead. Should we see a breakthrough earlier, the sales machinery will be ready, of course'.

What do you wish for in particular from Scion DTU in 2010?
'I sense that there are social activities that work, but I see an opportunity to put together a specialists group for company executives – with a formal introduction and help from Scion DTU to create networks. We could make better use of each other as consultants if we knew more about each other's business and competences. This might also involve borrowing staff, e.g. an engineer, from each other in sparring teams.

'Otherwise, our wish is to remain in contact with Scion DTU although we are moving the production elsewhere. Scion DTU's flexibility in terms of office space is extraordinary, and I can easily see advantages in keeping some R&D functions in the science park. We look upon the affinity and proximity to DTU as one of the major assets. In the science park there are important collaborators just around the corner; here we find and recruit key employees, and we have a plant to look after!'