Large donation from the A.P. Moller Foundation for large robots at Lindø

The A.P. Møller and Chastine Mc-Kinney Møller Foundation (the A.P. Moller Foundation) for General Purposes has donated DKK 90 million for the construction of a building for the Center for Large Structure Production (LSP), which the University of Southern Denmark is running with a number of partners at Odense Port at Lindø.

‘Odense Port at Lindø is a special and historic place for A.P. Møller Mærsk and the A.P. Moller Foundation. Happily, the area is once again home to many jobs and businesses. The Foundation’s donation for a new building at Lindø will support the unique robotics development on Funen and is a continuation of the Foundation’s previous contribution to the Mærsk Mc-Kinney Moller Institute, which bears my father’s name. The new robotics initiative will provide opportunities for new research, space for students and, in doing so, for work on the development of robots for the industrial production of physically large products. The Foundation’s donation will therefore be relevant for a great deal of Danish business, including the maritime sector,’ says A.P. Moller Foundation’s Chair, Ane Mærsk Mc-Kinney Uggla.

A core area for SDU

The University of Southern Denmark has long been a major contributor to the robotics industry. In addition to supplying companies with graduates, the University also supplies cutting-edge research-based knowledge in collaboration with industry, and at last many new start-ups have emerged from the strong research and education environment at the Faculty of Engineering.

Therefore, the new grant brings both joy and great value to an area highly prioritised by SDU.

‘We are incredibly grateful for this donation, which will significantly strengthen robotics research. SDU’s robotics area is already at the highest international level, and the extra money will allow us to advance our research even further for the benefit of both the University and industry,’ says Rector Jens Ringsmose.

Consolidation of Funen as a robotics beacon

Earlier this year, the Funen branch of the Danish Board of Business Development designated Funen as Denmark’s beacon for robotics in the expectation that Funen’s strengths and potential will be exploited to create an international position of strength in this field.

With the new funding in the pipeline, the financial basis is in place for the establishment of the Center for Large Structure Production, one of the ‘four legs’ of the Funen beacon of business, NextGen Robotics. With LSP, researchers and companies will be able to radically develop the robotics field with solutions for large-scale production, where the level of automation is currently low.

Behind NextGen Robotics is a new public-private consortium consisting of the University of Southern Denmark, more than 30 companies, the Odense Robotics business cluster, the Danish Technological Institute and nine Funen municipalities.

An architectural competition will be held before construction can begin.