DDI Awards 2026: From hospitals to hyperscalers - meet the winners

On November 12, the Danish Data Center Industry (DDI) and this year’s category sponsors – Legrand, Schneider Electric, Data Center Gruppen, Søren Jensen and ABB - presented the DDI Awards 2026 at Moltkes Palæ in Copenhagen together with our Lead sponsor Grundfos and Drink sponsor T5 Data Centers.

Six awards went to the projects, teams and people behind Denmark’s digital infrastructure. The DDI Dedication Award went to Arnth Nielsen, Chief Operating Officer, COO at Lan-Com A/S

More than 180 guests from Denmark and abroad attended the evening. Grundfos was Lead Sponsor, and T5 Data Centers sponsored the drinks reception.

This year’s shortlist shows how far the industry reaches. Alongside operators such as Digital Realty, Microsoft and Google, the finalists included Hvidovre Hospital and Zealand Pharma, shortlisted for their digital transformation projects. It is a reminder that what happens in data centers matters far beyond the server hall.

Throughout the evening, the shortlisted projects and candidates were presented on stage, so guests could see the work behind each nomination. Danish comedian and magician Rune Klan entertained with a sophisticated mix of comedy and magic.

“The DDI Awards celebrate what the data center industry in Denmark achieves – from new technologies and solutions to partnerships, projects and teams. The award show is our chance to put names and faces on that work, and this year’s winners show how much of it is happening across Denmark,” says Henrik Hansen, CEO of DDI.

Sustainable Data Center Project - sponsored by Legrand

The winner is: SDU Bitten & Danfoss

The following companies were shortlisted for the award:

• Digital Realty
• SDU Bitten/Danfoss
• Microsoft
   

Technology Innovation - sponsored by Schneider Electric

The winner is: Shiptown

The following companies were shortlisted for the award:

• Kemp & Lauritzen
• Digital Realty
• Shiptown
• 
  

Team of the year - sponsored by DataCenterGruppen

The winner is: Thylander

The following companies were shortlisted for the award:

• Digital Realty - Copenhagen Engineering Operations Team
• Digital Realty - Copenhagen Property & Remote Hands Team
• Thylander

Digital Transformation Project - sponsored by Søren Jensen

The winner is: Zealand Pharma

The following companies were shortlisted for the award:

• Kemp & Lauritzen
• Zealand Pharma
• Hvidovre hospital

Young Talent of the Year - sponsored by ABB

The winner is: Emil Frier, Digital Realty

The following individuals were shortlisted for the award:

• Emil Frier, Digital Realty
• Kastriot Gashi, Schneider Electric
• Josef Stanek, Google

DDI Dedication Award - sponsored by the DDI board

The winner: Arnth Nielsen, Chief Operating Officer at Lan-Com A/S
 
This award celebrates an individual for their exceptional contribution to the data center ecosystem in Denmark. This award is nominated and selected by the DDI Board.
 
 

Thank you once again to the judges

DDI would like to extend a thank you to the independent judges panel for their support:

Karin Angus from Enterprise Ireland, Alberto Ravagni and Thomas Volder from Net Zero Innovation Hub for Data Centers, Ann Wingård and Pär Åberg from Swedish Data Center Industry, Rene Lyngø from Data Center Gruppen, Isabelle Kemin from RISE/Swedish Data Center Industry, Max Smolaks from Uptime Institute, Brian Ditlev from Legrand, Sebastian Bøtcher from Schneider Electric, Lars Christian Bojen Nielsen from UCL Erhvervsakademi og Professionshøjskole, Bjørn Rønning from Norwegian Data Center Industry, Jørgen Bjerg from ABB, Mette Lundberg from IT-Branchen, Mette Beck-Nielsen from Digital Dogme, and Carl Ove Larsen from Søren Jensen.