Startup hub

Innovation Fund Denmark supports Danish participation in European Startup and Scaleup Hubs

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March 3. 2026

Innovation Fund Denmark supports Danish participation in the European Startup and Scaleup Hubs (ESSH) pilot project under Horizon Europe, provided that a Danish hub is included in the winning consortium.

 

ESSH is a new European innovation network that will promote technology maturation, commercialization and scaling of research-based startups and scaleups. The initiative was established to address Europe's challenges in translating strong research and early innovation into globally competitive companies.

 

Through an integrated pan-European collaboration between leading innovation and scale-up hubs, ESSH aims to strengthen access to markets, investors, companies, infrastructure and specialized expertise across borders. Participation can thus strengthen Danish companies' access to European networks, talent and capital.

Innovation Fund Denmark's contribution will be a conditional and earmarked national co-financing, which will only be released if a Danish hub becomes part of the consortium selected through Horizon Europe's open and competitive process.

Facts:

  • The ESSH pilot project has an EU budget of approximately EUR 20 million and requires 1:1 co-financing from the participating hubs.
  • Innovation Fund Denmark can co-finance up to EUR 1 million
  • The application deadline is March 10, 2026, and it is expected that the winning consortium will be announced in early June 2026.

Read more about the initiative and the application process on ESSH's own website.

Read more