Norwegian Offshore Wind, an organization that promotes the development of the floating wind supply chain, has launched the NOW Accelerator, designed to foster the growth of startups and scaleups in the offshore wind industry.
"The program is first of its kind and will start in August. The accelerator will run in close collaboration between strong industry partners and Norwegian Offshore Wind, Norway´s largest offshore wind representative body - now counting 375 members," Norwegian Offshore Wind said.
"We see that innovation comes from every corner of the industry. Startups and scaleups develop solutions that can reduce cost and help solve many of the challenges we face," says the manager of Norwegian Offshore Wind, Arvid Nesse.
According to NOW, the two-year program offers continuous incubation activities and accelerator initiatives that focus on pressing industry topics. It promises a comprehensive platform for participants to develop, validate, and scale their solutions, backed by world-class mentorship, training, networking opportunities, and exposure to global markets.
"The main idea behind this accelerator is to create a springboard for innovative solutions, where the industry itself is involved throughout the process," says Nesse.
According to NOW, the startup scene in Norway has fostered offshore wind innovations in floater technology, AI and predictive maintenance, drone technology, mapping of areas and other groundbreaking innovations.
"Norway has the most floater technologies under development in the world, and the world-leading Marine Energy Test Centre on the country´s West Coast is a driving force for innovation in the offshore wind industry," NOW stressed in its statement on Wednesday.
"With the ambitious goal of the Norwegian government to make offshore wind our main strategic export industry alongside developing 30 GW here in Norway, we see a pressing need to commercialize good ideas as quickly as possible," says Nesse.
Partners of the program are Blåvinge consortium (Fred Olsen Seawind, Hafslund Eco, Ørsted), Equinor, Deep Wind Offshore, EDF Renewables, Corio Generation, and Å Energi. The accelerator is created in collaboration with Flow Accelerate.