{NODEs egen konferanse}

Knut Mjåland, CEO of GCE NODE, gave a broad presentation of GCE NODE’s new strategy, current projects, and future plans.

The annual meeting took place in Arendal Friday morning, in conjunction with a major business sector event hosted by Sparebanken Sør.

“Being a vehicle for growth in our region, it is vital for GCE NODE to keep key stakeholder informed. Equally important is the feedback we receive from the same stakeholders,” says Mjåland.

The municipal and county representatives commented on the development of the offshore wind industry in the Agder region. Several have funded a regional collaboration project Fremtidens Havvind, which has been pivotal in uniting Agder efforts within offshore wind.

“We need to continue this work to develop regional ports to support the offshore wind developers and operators. Fremtidens Havvind has been a success so far. I have colleagues in other regions who want to learn how we pulled this together,” said Arne Thomassen, Mayor of Agder County.

Kjell Rune Olsen, Head of Business Development at Lindesnes Municipality was keen to see more results.

“We have had three meeting with the minister. It is time to do more than consider evaluate. It is time to decide and commit to a solution for port development,” said Olsen.

Einar Holmer-Hoven, Mayor of Lillesand, agreed.

“We need to find and describe a solution and present it to the government. We should also set a timeline,” said Holmer-Hoven.

Participants at the meeting:

• Arne Thomassen (Mayor, Agder County)
• Torunn Høyum-Eriksen (Agder County)
• Wenche Fresvik (Agder County)
• Dag Marius Dahlboe Eikeland (Mayor, Risør)
• Marianne Landaas (Mayor, Tvedestrand)
• Anne Torunn Hvideberg (Business Manager, Tvedestrand)
• Matthieu Aemisegger (Business Developer, Grimstad)
• Einar Holmer-Hoven (Mayor, Lillesand)
• Geir Haugum (Business Manager, Kristiansand)
• Kjell Rune Olsen (Business Manager, Lindesnes)
• Thora Arnadottir (Business Manager, Farsund)
• Liv Øyulvstad (Business Manager, Kvinesdal)
• Knut Mjåland (GCE NODE)
• Bjørn Saltermark (Maritime Forum South)

Mathias Bernander, Mayor of Kristiansand, had a separate meeting with GCE NODE earlier in the week.

“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.

“When equipment costs millions per day to use, you always look for ways to increase efficiency, to make informed decisions, and to avoid human error. AI will contribute to this,” says Søren Øydna, SVP Digital Solutions at HMH in Kristiansand.

Starting with prototypes in 2017, HMH has built knowledge and experience with AI for almost a decade. Nowadays, AI is always part of the conversations with clients.

“AI is maturing into a useful tool that will play a major part in various industries, including our industry. Everyone wants to know more about AI and how it can help improve operations,” says Øydna.

INDUSTRIAL APPLICATIONS FOR AI
While most of us have experienced how AI can produce texts, images, songs and more, the industrial use of AI is expected to have a much greater impact on societal development.

“Based on the fast development within AI, we believe there is a huge potential and lots of applications that we still have not come to think of,” says Øydna.

As of now – in general – AI provides advice while humans make the final decisions.

“Based on great improvements in text generation and computing power, AI is already used to support decision-making by comprising and aggregating data from existing documents, e-mails and other written sources. Although the output must be interpreted and confirmed by humans, it remains a powerful tool if made well,” says Frode Jensen, Product Owner Digitalization at HMH.

ACCESS TO DATA IS PIVOTAL
Structured data is vital for succeeding with artificial intelligence, but data can be hard to come by.

“The two key questions when contemplating a project are always: Will it add value to our customers, and do we have the necessary data?”, says Jensen.

“Compared to other industries, we have very few units. While Tesla can collect data from millions of cars, we have data from only a few hundred drilling systems. It is also challenging to get access to all data from a system, as it involves products from several suppliers. If we could have access to third party data that would help immensely,” says Jensen.

HMH has recruited AI experts and educated its own staff within the field.

“We also have a strong connection to Cognite and Microsoft for more specific AI expertise,” says Øydna.