Aker BioMarine wins the 2023 Export Award. Pixii is Newcomer of the Year
Each year, Eksfin and Innovation Norway present the Export Award. The award recognises Norwegian exporters that have successfully created value in Norway through international markets.
Aker BioMarine, winner of the 2023 Export Award, has shown that pioneering products can achieve export success. Based in Lysaker, the award winner is a leading biotechnology and krill harvesting company at the international forefront of sustainable, high-tech harvesting. Aker BioMarine also controls the entire value chain – from harvesting krill in Antarctica to research, product development, production and sales of krill-based ingredients and products. Krill is used in fish and animal feed, as well as supplying high-quality protein to a growing consumer market.
World-leading exporter
The jury is particularly impressed that exports account for 91 per cent of the company's revenue. The company's main markets are in the Americas and Asia.
The company has helped establish a new billion-kroner industry and become a leading global exporter of a new commodity. Aker BioMarine strives to minimise bycatch by continuously improving its fishing methods.
'It is great to see a Norwegian company turn a marine resource that can be used for both fish feed and human nutrition into an export success. Aker BioMarine is an excellent example of innovative Norwegian exports,' says Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre.
'Aker BioMarine has become a market-leading supplier of an export product for which there is strong demand in international markets,' says Eksfin CEO Tone Lunde Bakker on behalf of the jury.
'Our warmest congratulations to Aker Biomarine,' says our CEO, Håkon Haugli.
This year's newcomer, Pixii, has captured international market share and provides a vital piece of the energy transition puzzle. The jury notes that Kristiansand-based Pixii has quickly achieved a high export share and also highlights the company's contribution to the energy transition.
Scalable product in a key industry
Innovative energy storage systems are an essential part of the solution to global energy challenges, helping to ensure security of supply, stabilise the grid and increase the use of electricity from renewable sources. Pixii supplies battery modules that can be combined into larger units to meet specific needs. Since launching in 2018, the company has grown its revenue to NOK 169 million in 2022.
'Pixii has demonstrated that a young Norwegian company can capture market share in a segment that is crucial to the global energy transition,' says Håkon Haugli.
The companies nominated for the awards are
- Tomra, Asker
- Sero, Bærum
- Medistim, Oslo
- Hofseth, Sunnmøre
- Hexagon Ragasco, Raufoss
- Db Equipment, Oslo
- Brunvoll, Bodø
- Barel, Kirkenes
- Arctic Bioscience, Ørsta
The jury that selected the ten nominees for Export Company of the Year comprised:
- Tone Lunde Bakker, Eksfin (jury chair)
- Håkon Haugli, Innovation Norway
- Alexandra Bech Gjørv, Sintef
- Per A. Sørlie, Borregaard
- Kathrine Myhre, Norwegian Industrial Property Office
- Morten A. Christophersen, ECOnnect Energy