PROFILE & EXPERTISE
Innovation Center Iceland (ICI) is a leading R&D and business support institute in Iceland under the Ministry of Industries and Innovation. Its mission is to increase innovation, productivity and competitiveness of Icelandic business by doing innovative technology research, diffusing knowledge and giving support to entrepreneurs and start-up companies. ICI works in close cooperation with the industry, academia, and national and international research institutes. In addition, the Innovation Center Iceland is a participant in a geothermal cluster that is operated under the leadership of energy companies.
Innovation Center Iceland is involved in numerous interdisciplinary technological research and development projects within the department of Materials, Biotechnology and Energy. ICI has many years’ experience of material use for extreme geothermal applications. They have for over 25 years been involved in corrosion research and are involved in exploring the potential for increasing the efficiency and capabilities of geothermal utilization. ICI also plays a central role within the Icelandic innovation support system for SMEs. The organisation has a nation-wide commitment to work in their respective fields to support SMEs, sustaining a long-term presence and impact. A key objective of ICI is to contribute to increased competitiveness and innovative capacity of SMEs in Iceland and the European Community. By promoting all forms of innovation, ICI supports and strengthens innovative ability and competitiveness of the Community as a whole.
The inclusion of ICI therefore provides necessary information on entrepreneurship and issues commonly encountered in the geothermal industry. Their general experience in the geothermal sector also provides insight into the necessary focus required for individuals setting their sights on working in this industry.
The Innovation Center Iceland is a public institute, it receives funding from the national budget but that is only around 50% of its funding. The other half of ICI’s funding comes from service income from services provided by ICI’s experts and from grants, including EU grants, Nordic and national grants.
There are over 70 individuals working at ICI, apart from students and interns. ICI‘s headquarters is located in Reykjavik but there are smaller branches distributed across the country, to get a nationwide reach.
