In episode #218 of The Grant, I sit down with Hanne Klintøe, Head of PtX Development in Aabenraa Municipality, to explore what EU funding looks like when the goal is not just to win projects, but to reshape a local economy. Aabenraa is Denmark’s southernmost municipality, with a strong logistics position, port infrastructure, major energy assets and growing renewable energy capacity. Hanne explains how local politicians decided to use the green transition not as a slogan but as an economic development strategy: attracting investment in Power-to-X, integrating surplus heat into district heating, linking wastewater and technical water to hydrogen production, and building circular value chains across sectors like food, materials and energy.

What makes this episode especially strong is that Hanne speaks from the real municipal frontline: limited staff, no standing project office, and constant trade-offs around time, strategy and risk. She shares how Aabenraa works with funding pragmatically — not by chasing every call, but by identifying very specific gaps that must be solved to unlock the next stage of development. That includes work with the European Investment Bank’s advisory services under the Just Transition Fund, collaboration around hydrogen ecosystems across Southern Denmark and Northern Germany, and applications around pyrolysis and infrastructure feasibility. What you will listen to is a grounded conversation about municipal strategy, green industry, infrastructure planning and how local authorities can use EU tools without drowning in them.

Time codes:

01:49 Guest introduction and fly in

08:30 Introducing Aabenraa

21:00 Motivation for funding

26:48 The new EIB project

41:55 How you work?

56:33 Reflections and advice

01:01:10 The toughest challenge