Strengthening the cluster: Welcome Aker Offshore Wind and Wilhelmsen!

This month we welcome two new members to our cluster, Aker Offshore Wind and Wilhelmsen Holding. Both are also taking an active part in our resource groups on offshore wind and hydrogen. 

Aker Offshore Wind is an offshore wind developer with a focus on assets in deep waters, and also a valuable participant in our Offshore Wind Resource Group, where the participants discuss opportunities, challenges, and the way forward within offshore wind.

Growth strategy

Benedicte Tangen, Head of Growth and Commercial Partnerships

– As part of our growth strategy, we experienced a desire for a dedicated forum where the largest and leading players in various energy technologies could discuss challenges and opportunities, says Benedicte Tangen, Head of Growth and Commercial Partnerships.

As the only pure energy technology cluster that embraces all areas such as offshore wind, hydrogen, batteries and digital energy, these resource groups are a unique opportunity in the work of building bridges between the technologies and the markets.

Groups add value

– Especially because we see a need for these markets to develop in parallel and not in isolation, says Tangen and adds:

– We already see the importance and value of these groups. The development of green hydrogen has been discussed as a key factor for the development of the Norwegian supplier industry within offshore wind and is thus set up as one of four specific areas to be discussed at the workshop for offshore wind we will have with Equinor this week.

Collaboration

Here the 80 participants from companies like ABB, Aker Solutions, Nexans, Siemens Energy, Aibel, TechnipFMC, SEB, and Bandak work together to generate value across organizations and technologies, based on input and discussion from the resource group.

Recently Aker Offshore Wind, Ocean Winds, and Statkraft signed a collaboration agreement to bind for, develop, construct, and operate offshore wind and associated infrastructure for the Utsira Nord license area in Norway.

Maritime industry

Aker Offshore Wind effectively deploys cost-effective technologies from decades of offshore energy development. The company is majority-owned by Aker Horizons, an investment company dedicated to creating value and reducing emissions from renewable energy and decarbonization technologies.

Wilh. Wilhelmsen Holding is Wilhelmsen Groups holding company, a global maritime industry group, who delivers products and services to maritime-related industries. Wilhelmsen Holding’s goal is to provide shareholders with a high return over time:

– Through a combination of rising value for the company´s shares and payment of dividends, as they write on their webpage.

Great interest

They are also a part of our new Hydrogen Resource Group.

– The resource group for offshore wind has already generated great value for both the participants, members of Energy Valley, and the surrounding ecosystem, and work is therefore now being done to establish similar groups within, among others, Hydrogen and Digital Energy. We see great interest in participating in these groups, and look forward to working further with these! says Tangen.

We will be providing more information on the new Hydrogen Resource Group soon.