Disappointing Decision
– It is very disappointing and unfortunate that Innovation Norway did not find room for the Arena Marine Minerals cluster. However, we will increase our offerings despite this and apply again at next opportunity, says Owe Hagesæther CEO of GCE Ocean Technology.
A consortium of 26 leading Norwegian companies, universities, research institutes, innovation- and a catapult-centre joined forces and applied for Arena-status for Marine Minerals earlier this autumn.
The aim was to strengthen the knowledge base, establish solutions and collaborations to lay the foundation for marine minerals as a sustainable industry.
–We are disappointed that such a strong consortium was not supported when the new clusters were announced. We feel it is a missed opportunity to accelerate the development of sustainable exploration and extraction of marine minerals, however, we remain committed and will seek other opportunities to progress with this important topic, says Marianne Lefdal, Country manager of CGG Norway and head of the clusters steering committee.
Need to Close the Gap
About 70 precent of Norway’s exports comes from the ocean industries. The government clearly states that the activity level on the Norwegian Continental Shelf shall remain at the same high level even if oil and gas activities go down. This requires a huge investment in- and upscaling of new ocean industries.
Minerals are key for the energy transition. The Norwegian value creation potential of marine minerals was estimated to be as high as 200 billion NOK a year with 21 000 new jobs according to Rystad Energy’s report from 2020. This is not counting the possible value creation related to technology exports, which we know is huge for related industries.
– We need to prioritize industries where our country has comparative advantages. Marine minerals are a great example. Norway has a unique opportunity with resources in our own waters combined with world-class knowledge, technology and management of ocean resources. GCE Ocean Technology will continue to be a driving force in the transition into new and growing ocean industries to develop new export-oriented jobs and sustainable value creation, Owe Hagesæther concludes.
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GCE Ocean Technology has taken an active role in the investigation of the possibility to establishing a new industry within marine minerals.
The cluster has hosted several seminar and conferences as well as established large spin-off project to develop the industry.
GCE Ocean Technology will increase our focus and offerings to the cluster within marine minerals in the coming years.
