– We help operators design and develop new projects cleaner, smarter and faster

Valley Voice – a column where our cluster members are in focus. This week we talked with the CEO of FutureOn, Pål Roppen. Roppen states that the pace of the transition troubles him.      

1. What are you doing right now?  

Securing additional funding for our growth, finalizing strategically very exciting partner agreements, building, and developing our organization around the world  

2. How is FutureOn contributing to the Energy Transition?     

We help the operators design and develop new projects cleaner, smarter and faster. Our technology is not tied to oil and gas, but it helps the operator make their future oil and gas projects cleaner and reducing carbon to a minimum. Operators use our technology to design and develop hybrid fields and infrastructures, including oil and gas, hydrogen (green/blue), CCS, and Offshore wind. Additionally, we align our product roadmap with the operators’ demand for developing sustainable energy projects smarter and faster than they do today. This will include new applications and services to be launched and rolled out in the Energy market over the coming years.   

3. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in the future?   

The biggest challenge is the combination of energy transition – where the energy companies need to revisit their business strategy/model – and the digital transition where they need to turn their operation into data-driven business processes. Each of these challenges is huge – when they occur together, it is incredibly demanding and challenging.    

4. What keeps you awake at night with regards to the energy transition?  

Nothing really!  

But the big questions I keep thinking about are twofold:     

The first is the pace of the transition. We have previously overestimated the pace of these technology transitions. The adoption of the Internet is another example. Mobility was the gamechanger. Technology and innovation are only one factor. And probably the most manageable one. Other factors such as politics, economics, infrastructures, markets, financing, regulations, socioeconomics all influence the pace. It’s complicated. The world is not like China, with one bank, one owner, and one constructor. The global environment is way more complex.  

The second is how to make oil & gas production cleaner and more sustainable. The world will still need oil & gas for decades to come. The IEA report is out of context. They talk about what is required to bring global energy-related carbon dioxide emissions to net-zero by 2050, which is NOT realistic. So, we need to innovate and develop technology for making oil & gas production cleaner and more sustainable. This will include data-driven workflows, faster and smarter decisions, intelligent and highly efficient digital twin modeling, transparency and collaboration, AI, and autonomous operations.    

It is a complex mix of initiatives, innovations, business modeling, and strategies – which the energy operators need to deal with – and we need to support this!     

5. What is the most valuable thing about being a member of Energy Valley?      

The network, the people, the community, the energy, the initiatives – the Energy Valley ORGANISM!    

6. Is there any book that has inspired you in the way you lead?   

I have read a few – Good to Great, Lee Iacocca, Crossing the Chasm, Creative Chaos, Blitz Scaling, and many more.  

But the most educating experience was the Executive Program about Innovation Strategies at Harvard Business School – led by legendary professor Clayton Christensen. I had some intense weeks together with brilliant people. The program title was “Building and Sustaining a Successful Enterprise”.  

7. WhichEnergy Valley member do you want to pass the baton on to?  

I want to pass the baton to André Backen at Oliasoft.   

Thank you, Pål!