Researchers from SDU Center for Energy Informatics Win First Place in the Nordic Energy Challenge 2026

25 June 2026 - Professor Zheng Grace Ma and Professor Bo Nørregaard Jørgensen from SDU Center for Energy Informatics have won first place in the Nordic Energy Challenge 2026, organized by Nordic Energy Research under the theme "Powering Nordic AI," for their proposal "Nordic AI Sovereignty Strategy: Renewable AI Hosting Framework for Climate-Aligned Digital Growth."

The proposal sets out a framework for coordinating AI computing across Nordic borders through an AI-powered platform that shifts flexible computing workloads to regions with abundant renewable electricity, helping to optimize renewable energy use and reduce pressure on the grid.

The jury praised the proposal for its scope and relevance, stating:

"The proposal presents a long-term strategic vision that is both highly ambitious and directly relevant to current energy and digital policy challenges."

The Nordic Energy Challenge is an annual competition run by Nordic Energy Research to spotlight bold, forward-looking ideas at the intersection of energy and digitalization. This year's edition drew a record 23 submissions from across the Nordic region. Ma and Jørgensen's proposal was one of two awarded first place.

The award recognizes SDU Center for Energy Informatics' continued leadership in research connecting artificial intelligence, energy systems, and sustainable digital infrastructure — an area central to the center's ongoing work on data-driven and AI-based solutions for the green transition.

Read more about the Nordic Energy Challenge 2026 winners on Nordic Energy Research's website.