Danish agrifood startups have days left to apply for €13m in green funding

Denmark has allocated 100M DKK (€13m) to support the green transition of its food sector, with applications closing on February 19th.

The Green Development and Demonstration Programme (GUDP) has identified seven priority areas for this funding round: reducing greenhouse gas emissions, climate adaptation, reducing nitrogen, phosphorus and pesticide impact, increasing nature and biodiversity, future proteins and food ingredients, circular resource use and reduced food waste, and animal welfare.

Projects that fall within these categories can apply for between 250,000 and 15 million DKK (€33,000 to €2m), while “network projects” are eligible for up to 2 million DKK (€270,000).

To be considered, projects should demonstrate representation across the value chain and collaboration with SMEs. GUDP also looks for projects operating within Technology Readiness Levels 4 to 8, meaning solutions that are past the early research stage but not yet fully commercialised.

The deadline to apply is February 19. The call runs twice a year, with the next round expected in the fall. Full application details are available at gudp.dk.

Denmark’s growing green ecosystem

The funding comes as Denmark cements its position as one of Europe's most active green investment markets.

In the first three quarters of 2024, green businesses in Denmark attracted 1.7 billion DKK (€227m) in venture capital – a 26% increase compared to the previous year, according to research firm Chambers and Partners.

The GUDP programme is part of that broader push, channelling public money directly into early and mid-stage agrifood tech innovation.

Previous startups to receive funding from the state-run programme include precision fermentation company Enduro, which received a €800k GUDP grant at the beginning of 2025 and later went on to close a €12m Series A funding round led by Supernova Invest, NOON Ventures, and Sandwater. Another is Agrobiomics, which secured a €1.5m GUDP grant last year to scale its biostimulant tech – designed to make crops more resilient to climate change.