GCE NODE, Agder Energi, NORCE and the University of Agder are part of a new project aimed at increasing the speed of offshore wind development outside the Southern and Western coast of Norway.

The project, ImpactWind SouthWest, was recently granted NOK 28 million from The Research Council of Norway. The amount is matched by the academic and industrial partners, resulting in a total project budget of approximately NOK 56 million over the next five years.

“We believe it is crucial to see the various offshore wind projects in context. The approved capacity-building project ImpactWind is an important piece in this context, related to the work that GCE NODE is already heavily involved in,” says Christian von der Ohe, RD&I Manager at GCE NODE.

The Norwegian Government wants to facilitate socio-economically profitable development of offshore wind on the Norwegian Continental Shelf to create industrial opportunities for the Norwegian industry. This could trigger increased diversification of the oil and gas supplier industry.

Development of offshore wind will also increase access to electric power necessary for increased electrification and development of new power-intensive industries.

ImpactWind brings together a regional research institute, three regional universities, four industry clusters, two national industry associations, seven license applicants and one recycling supplier in an interdisciplinary capacity boost aimed at the license application processes.

The goal of the project is to enable faster development of offshore wind through the development of research-based knowledge and long-term educational / research capacity for efficient license application processes.

4 industry clusters: GCE NODE, GCE Ocean Technology, Norwegian Offshore Wind Cluster, and Norwegian Energy Solutions.

7 license applicants: Norseman Wind, Aker Offshore Wind, Eviny (BKK), Shell, NorSea Group, DeepWind Offshore and Agder Energi.

3 counties: Agder, Rogaland, and Vestland.

4 academic partners: University of Agder, University of Stavanger, University of Bergen, and NORCE.

Project manager: NORCE.