Conferences

“The message from our cluster companies is loud and clear. For the remainder of the decade, they expect growth in
the oil & gas segment, as well as in the renewable energy segment,” says Pål Skogerbø, Chair of the GCE NODE Board of Directors.

A cluster strategy for 2025 to 2030 was recently approved and adopted by the GCE NODE Board of Directors. The strategy is based on feedback from a large number of companies.

One third of the companies in the GCE NODE cluster define themselves as being in the oil & gas industry, one third in the renewable energy industry, and one third reports no predominant source of revenues.

Skogerbø says GCE NODE has done a tremendous job in moving the supplier industry towards and into renewables.

“For the long-term this process will continue. We will most definitely undergo an energy transition. Still, for the next few years it looks more like an energy addition. Renewable energy will not replace oil & gas, but rather expand the energy offering, due to increased demand,” says Skogerbø.

GCE NODE has produced a one-page document which efficiently summarizes and visualizes the new strategy and the role of the cluster during the next five years.

GCE NODE’s mission will be to build competence, accelerate the transition, and ensure favorable framework conditions for its participants.

“The cluster administration will assist companies in both segments – and those who are transferring competence and technology from oil & gas to renewables. These are challenging times indeed. Still, there are great business opportunities to be found,” says Skogerbø.

So reads the top of the Agder offshore wind industry’s wish list for 2025.

“For the development of the Norwegian offshore wind industry, it is extremely important that more projects are made available. We need a steady pipeline of projects to reach an industry scale level for our home market,” says Knut Mjåland, incoming Head of Fremtidens Havvind, a regional collaboration project for offshore wind.

Rune Klausen, CEO of the National Compe- tence Center for Offshore Wind, agrees.

“The most important thing that could happen in 2025, is the announcement of more acreage for offshore wind development projects. The industry needs the government to create a sense of predictability for further industry development, regardless of which political parties are running the country,” says Klausen.

The first Norwegian floating offshore wind project, Utsira Nord, is scheduled to be announced in the first half of 2025, and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE) recently recommended expansions of Sørlige Nordsjø and the opening of other areas. This could build a timeline with continuous announcements of more offshore wind auctions.

So far, Ventyr is the only company with a large-scale offshore wind license, after winning the bid for Sørlige Nordsjø II earlier this year.

“Ventyr, and its operating company Parkwind, has defined Agder as ‘the home region’ for Sørlige Nordsjø II. We intend to follow this up and seize the opportunities it presents for our region,” says Mjåland.

BUSY YEAR FOR PARKWIND
For Parkwind, 2025 will be a busy year with ongoing impact assessment programs both onshore and offshore, and narrowing down alternative cable routes onshore, according to Anne Knausgård, Country Manager for Parkwind.

“We will stay in close dialogue with the Ministry of Energy, NVE, Statnett and Havtil, and we will implement a Supplier Day in Kristiansand during the North Sea Wind Conference in Kristiansand in June,” says Knausgård.

Two of the companies that have built relations with Ventyr are Windport in Mandal and Southwind in Kristiansand.
At Windport, CEO Turid Storhaug has already performed some initial tasks for Ventyr and hopes to see more
business in the early development phase.

“While we wait for more work in our home market, we continue to pursue options in the North Sea Basin, where there is a high level of activity. We are also awaiting a stronger commitment and a comprehensive plan from the Norwegian government,” says Storhaug.

Southwind is also determined to expand on their relationship with Ventyr for the Sørlige Nordsjø II initial phase.

“We are also in continuous dialogue with potential bidding consortiums for the upcoming 2025 auction round, promoting Kristiansand and Kongsgård Havn as the most sustainable and suitable location serving Sørlige Nordsjø II specifically, and the North Sea in general. We look forward to 2025 with anticipation, and hope to see a successful auction held,” says Jonas Kvåle, Managing Director at Southwind.

2025 brings significant development for the hydrogen industry in the Agder region. More than 200 companies are part of the Agder H2 Network. Two of these are in the process of building hydrogen factories.

“We are on schedule”, says Torstein Thorsen Ekern, CEO of Greenstat in Kristiansand where the building of a 20 MW factory started this fall. The ground will be ready in March and the construction of the actual facility will start in April/May.

“We will produce and sell renewable hydrogen to the market in Q4 2026,” says Ekern.

PIKERFOSS ON SCHEDULE
The Agder based energy utility, Å Energi, is also on schedule with their hydrogen pilot at Pikerfoss.

“All long-lead items are ordered. Preparation of the ground starts as soon as the snow melts. We expect to produce green hydrogen within a year, with commercial deliveries in 2026,” says Kristin Anette Dale, Head of Industrial Development at Å Energi.

For Tanja Erichsen, Head of the Agder H2 Network, the building of the two factories represents important milestones for the hydrogen industry in the region.

“Having two frontrunners in our network is a great asset and inspiration. They add competence and momentum to the rest of the 200 companies in our network,” says Erichsen.

EU HYDROGEN VALLEY
2025 could bring another huge development for the Agder hydrogen industry, as the region applies to become an
EU Hydrogen Valley. The Port of Kristiansand, Agder County and Kristiansand Municipality are leading the initial phase of what would become a NOK 230 million project. So far, 15 companies have agreed to be part of the consortium, among them Å Energi, Greenstat, and Avinor.

“We intend to drum up the complete hydrogen value chain and apply for an EU Hydrogen Valley project.

If successful, it could propel the Agder hydrogen industry to a new level,” says Alice Leland Høye, Project Manager at Business Region Kristiansand.

The call will be announced on 22 January, while the deadline for submitting the application will be mid-April.