The innovation community at the Technology Center is well utilized in industry

Guðbjörg Hrönn Óskarsdóttir, CEO of Tæknisetur (the Iceland Centre for Technology), is a guest on the podcast Augnablik í iðnaði (A Moment in Industry), where she discussed the centre's operations and how its services benefit industrial start-ups and companies engaged in active innovation.

Tæknisetur is a state-owned company that provides strong support for entrepreneurs and innovation within companies, bridging the gap between the research community and the business sector. The research it relies on is primarily in the fields of construction, life sciences, materials technology, and energy. The role of Tæknisetur is to offer broad access to essential facilities and infrastructure for research and innovation. It is located in Árleynir in Grafarvogur, where it has an important, well-equipped testing and research facility with equipment such as a large-scale metal 3D printer, a CT scanner, and an electron microscope, to name a few. “All this equipment is unique in Iceland,” says Guðbjörg.

Open to those who need it

Few people know that Tæknisetur is actually open to everyone engaged in active innovation and research, whether they are entrepreneurs, companies, universities, institutions, or corporations. About two dozen companies have permanent facilities on the premises of Tæknisetur, but many entrepreneurs and companies also seek its services. Guðbjörg says it is important to provide special support to entrepreneurs who need to rely on high technology. “It is our vision that this expensive infrastructure we own benefits as many people as possible. We also have practical equipment like a shredder that hemp growers have used to prepare their products for casting. We have equipment such as a freeze dryer, an electronics workshop, plastic printers, a metal workshop, and a lot of equipment useful for product testing. All kinds of stress tests can be performed here. We have a specialized environment for subjecting products to stress, including humidity chambers, freeze-thaw chambers, and more.”

The equipment, expertise, and facilities should benefit as many as possible

Guðbjörg says it is important that people in industrial innovation are aware of the opportunities at Tæknisetur. The country's leading industrial companies have successfully utilized the infrastructure. Recently, the company DDT moved out of its facility at Tæknisetur after developing an important product and process for the aluminium industry. Companies like Controlant and Kerecis have used the infrastructure to analyze their products, and companies like Össur, Marel, Orf Genetics, and Nox Medical, which are now established and respected, received extensive support from the predecessors of Tæknisetur in their time. “We want to work towards making this technological infrastructure as visible as possible and ensuring it benefits as many people as possible,” says Guðbjörg. “If you are designing products or new processes, at some point you need to step into an environment like this. It can be a very high threshold to acquire the necessary infrastructure. People who work in industry know that there is a tremendous amount of innovation happening within companies, and that's where we can and are stepping in. It happens in both large and small projects,” Guðbjörg mentions, adding that ideas and projects related to automation, green solutions, and new sensor technology are prominent today.

It's important to listen to the grassroots and respond

“It's so important in this conversation that companies realize that you don't have to come and stay with us. We are also open to smaller projects and collaborations,” says Guðbjörg, adding that her vision is to continue building up the infrastructure and maintaining a good dialogue with the grassroots. “The grassroots and the growth are not driven by what we are doing. We need to be flexible and meet the needs that arise there. That is the most exciting and the biggest challenge, in part, to listen, respond, and find ways and solutions to be as useful as possible. To pave the way for as many as possible.”