Smart cities

As the pace of urbanisation quickens, cities face immense challenges related to waste management, mobility, climate adaptation and energy. However, as their political, economic, and technological power grows, cities can harness this trend to act as leaders in the green transition and drivers of the green economy. Cities need smart solutions to ensure that they are optimised for sustainable economic activity, energy consumption, and an improved environmental impact.

As of 2008, around 50% of the world’s population lived in cities. By 2040, this number is expected to rise to 65%. Each week, approx. 1.3 million people move into cities.

65 %

It is estimated that smart cities can generate 20 trillion U.S. dollars in economic benefits by 2026.

20,000,000,000,000 $

In the European Union, the digitization of services has reduced operating costs for 85% of cities.

85 %

Related facts

Featured content

Integrating an intelligent and holistic approach to city planning and transportation management to create more sustainable cities

Our cities are growing and so are the challenges to make them liveable. It is estimated that 70 per cent of the world’s population will live in cities by 2050. This increase in urbanisation demands an intelligent, holistic and integrated approach to city planning and transportation management in order to meet the societal challenges faced by cities all over the world.

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sustainable transportation

Explore smart cities

Creation date: Latest first

News

Climate partnerships

+6

New alliance between the Danish Ministry of Environment and the business community will strengthen biodiversity

Together with key plaeyers from the Danish business community, the Danish Ministry of Environment has formed the Biodiversity Partnership seeking to remove barriers or create incentives to help Danish companies in their voluntary efforts to protect the world's nature.

News

Energy efficiency in buildings

+12

Decarbonising the buildings of New York through partnerships and knowledge exchange

On 23 May, State of Green and partners hosted a morning session in New York City to foster collaboration and knowledge exchange in order to accelerate the decarbonisation of buildings. Experts from the US and Danish solution providers gathered to discuss deep energy efficiency retrofits and the importance of partnerships in achieving a net-zero New York City.

solutions

Energy efficiency in industry

+6

ReUse - Recycling of resources from industrial waste streams

In the future, less wastewater should be wasted. Today, many companies pay wastewater treatment plants to get rid of their industrial wastewater, but often the water contains resources that can be used by the company or others. – There is lots of value in process- and wastewater. Both directly

solutions

Smart cities

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Pressure sensors enable efficient water network management

Water utilities have at least one common goal. They want to improve their network management and become efficient in their way of managing the water network. Working more efficiently means releasing resources for other important tasks in the general management of the water distribution, production,

News

District energy

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Aalborg CSP hands over CO2 heat pump system to client after successful test phase

After a successful test phase, which met all requirements and showed a higher COP than promised, the Danish renewable energy and storage specialist, Aalborg CSP, has commissioned yet another heat pump order. The 1.2 MW air-to-water CO2 heat pump system was handed over to the client, the Danish district heating plant Solrød Fjernvarme.

News

District heating

+6

Coal, oil and natural gas are soon a part of the past in the Danish electricity and district heating sectors

In 2030, emissions from the Danish electricity and district heating sectors will reach almost zero. This is the projection in Denmark’s Climate Status and Projection 2023 published by the Danish Energy Agency on 28 April. Projections also show that, without new measures, Denmark's total emissions will decrease by 63.1% in 2030, compared to 1990-levels.

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Meet Danish smart cities professionals

Company

Buildings

+16

Wireless Logic Nordic

Wireless Logic Nordic is today the marked leading M2M/IoT solution provider in Denmark, and has also delivered and supports over 500.000 connections to a range of applications and assets throughout Eu

Company

Offshore wind

+6

KJAER DATA

KJAER DATA is your preferred IT partner, when you do not have sufficient IT resources inhouse to handle your IT operation, security, infrastructure, and connectivity on a daily basis. We are always av

Company

Circular business models

+7

TheNewSort

We provide a digital solution that enable citizens to sort packaging materials correctly in their own municipality.

Company

Energy efficiency

+3

EDF Denmark

Enabling Denmark’s journey to decarbonisation We use our global network and local experience to find the best innovative low-carbon solutions for each of our customers.

Public Sector

Bio-based circular solutions

+11

Nordic Sustainable Construction

The programme Nordic Sustainable Construction is part of Nordic Vision 2030 initiated by the Nordic Ministers for Construction and Housing and works to support the Nordic countries in establishing the

Company

Bioenergy

+8

resolvent

resolvent brings innovation, digitalization and sustainability into your business.

Company

Buildings

+7

Livingbetter AS

Healthy and sustainable combined ventilation and heat recovery solution

Organisation

Bio-based circular solutions

+19

Kalundborg Symbiosis

Kalundborg Symbiosis is a partnership between sixteen public and private companies in Kalundborg. The main principle is that a waste stream in one company becomes a resource in another, benefiting bot

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Explore related focus areas

Air pollution

With urbanisation set to increase, air pollution will affect even more people in the future if no action is taken. Through strict environmental legislation and air quality monitoring, Denmark has reduced atmospheric pollution in most areas to less than one-fifth of the levels during the late 70s.

Climate change adaptation

Expanding mitigation to include adaptation in dealing with climate change, enables a holistic view that can combat previous negative social, environmental, and economic impacts and result in both climate resilient and more liveable places to live. Over the next 15-20 years, Denmark will spend more than EUR 5 billion on adapting its cities to climate changes.

District energy

Put simply, district energy is about moving energy in water, with a valuable temperature, from a place of production to the place of consumption. Denmark’s district heating system is highly energy efficient and has been one of the key drivers for reduced energy consumption and CO2 emissions from the energy sector.

Green buildings

With urbanisation, demographic changes, and climate change, our cities and their buildings are facing immense challenges. Creative and innovative thinking can lead us towards a more sustainable approach to designing, creating, and using the buildings that form the basis for our everyday lives, to the benefit of both our planet and the people that populate our urban centres. Ensuring that new buildings are sustainable and energy-efficient will be key to our efforts to tackle climate change.

Smart cities

As the pace of urbanisation quickens, cities face immense challenges related to waste management, mobility, climate adaptation and energy. However, as their political, economic, and technological power grows, cities can harness this trend to act as leaders in the green transition and drivers of the green economy. Cities need smart solutions to ensure that they are optimised for sustainable economic activity, energy consumption, and an improved environmental impact.

Urban mobility

Cities must be built for people to be sustainable, healthy, and liveable. Targeted policy-making with urban mobility in mind is a strong reinforcement of these objectives. The key is to acknowledge the importance of city space and city life as an attractive, informal, and democratic meeting place for the city residents.

Urban waste management

Urban waste management entails the entire system of collecting, sorting, treating, utilising and ultimately disposing of waste. When properly facilitated it can provide a source of energy and resources, while significantly reducing pollution.

Urban water management

Cities around the world increasingly face pressure from both growing populations and climate change, challenging urban water supply in terms of available resources and in terms of treatment of increased wastewater volumes. An integrated approach to urban water management can ensure cost efficiency and synergies. E.g., wastewater treatment can provide the city with energy and nature-based solutions can delay or store rainwater for later use.