From Food Design to Osmotic Energy: Spring’s Tech Talks Have Fueled Scientific Conversations
Helix Lab’s Tech Talks are not just research presentations, they are also about building relationships and expanding horizons across disciplines and institutions. This spring’s program has covered a wide range of topics —from sensory food development to biocement and energy production from saltwater.
With Tech Talks, Helix Lab sets the stage for a dynamic research environment. The events are open and interdisciplinary, bringing together students, companies, researchers, and curious citizens for shared conversations about technology, sustainability, and tomorrow’s solutions.
“Professional insight and networking make Tech Talks more than just presentations. We’re working to ensure that these events help lay the foundation for a knowledge-sharing culture that brings people together locally in Kalundborg,” Helix Lab Director Anette Birck explains.
A deep dive into diverse topics
The spring semester’s Tech Talk program has had a focus on various perspectives on sustainability.
Michael Bom Frøst, Associate Professor in Sensory Food Development at the University of Copenhagen illustrated how taste and consumer habits play a crucial role in the development of sustainable food systems. Innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum—it’s shaped by people and culture.
Another talk addressed one of the world’s major climate offenders: cement production. Postdoc Colleen Varaidzo Manyumwa from DTU presented bio-inspired solutions in which microorganisms play a leading role.
Inspired by the way corals bind CO2 in the ocean, researchers have transferred genes from microorganisms into a particularly robust bacterium that now produces an enzyme with a remarkable ability: it can rapidly and efficiently bind CO2 to limestone—calcium carbonate—which is one of the main ingredients in cement.
“This opens up new possibilities for reducing CO2 emissions in the construction industry, where cement production currently accounts for over seven percent of global emissions,” Colleen explained.
Another glimpse into the future came from Christian Halken, CCOof SaltPower, a company working with osmotic energy. By harnessing pressure differences between salt and freshwater, SaltPower is developing technologies that can deliver green energy independent of sun and wind.
“We’re trying to harvest energy from nature’s own forces,” Halken said. “It takes both patience and courage to be among the first in a field no one has charted before.”
SaltPower is already operating and osmotic energy could become part of a stable, renewable energy system in the future.
New Program Out Soon
As the summer holiday gets closer, Helix Lab will announce the Tech Talk program for the fall semester. Some fascinating topics and speakers have already been added to the line-up, and as soon as the full program is ready, it will be announced on Helix Lab’s channels.