Nordvegen Vind becomes partner in Norway’s first offshore wind accelerator

"Nordvegen Vind will be a forward-looking offshore wind developer that contributes to creating a world-class offshore wind industry. The accelerator program combines the knowledge of established players with other innovative companies that will contribute to developing new technology solutions for offshore wind," says Jarle Dyrdal, responsible for offshore wind at Å Energi.

The industry organization Norwegian Offshore Wind (NOW) has established the program "NOW Accelerator" for startups, scaleups, entrepreneurs and other offshore wind industries. Å Energi and Corio are partners in the initiative. The companies are behind "Nordvegen Vind", which is focusing on developing floating offshore wind on Utsira Nord.

"As one of the world's leading offshore wind developers, we know how important collaboration is in developing national offshore wind initiatives. Now we get the opportunity to work with innovative companies and clusters in Norway that can contribute to smarter solutions and complementary knowledge," says Sonja Indrebø, responsible for floating offshore wind at Corio.

The NOW Accelerator will establish a common platform for knowledge exchange, methodology, networking and funding. Equinor, Fred Olsen Seawind, Ørsted, Hafslund Eco, Deep Wind Offshore, Seagust and Vattenfall are among the other partners. The accelerator program was launched just before the summer and will be led by Nave Hansen. He has a long career in entrepreneurship and a broad global network. Hansen comes from the position as Global Director of Business Development at Antler.

"We will position the program as the most sought-after network for competence, innovation and business development. To achieve this, we need to include the best companies in the renewables sector. Therefore, we are very pleased that Å Energi and Corio is joining as a partner," says Hansen.

Putting Norway on the map

One of the main goals is to work across industries and companies to develop solutions that will improve services and lower operating costs. This will help put Norway's offshore wind investment on the international map.

"Nordvegen Vind already has considerable expertise and industry experience from renewable energy. As a partner in this program, we now have the opportunity to connect with innovative environments that can challenge, improve and complement our work. We look forward to a rewarding collaboration for a joint effort within the Norwegian offshore wind investment," concludes Dyrdal.

In addition to participating in the competition to build offshore wind in the Southern North Sea II and Utsira Nord, Å Energi has already contributed to the establishment of Norway's first offshore wind education program at the University of Agder.