New partnership drives major innovation investment

Aker ASA and we have reviewed the preliminary results of the partnership agreement signed last year. The results are encouraging.
Ledelsen i Aker ASA og Innovasjon Norge sitter rundt et møtebord og diskuterer lystig.
Our executive management team and Aker ASA met on Thursday, 7 September. From left: Bo Mikael Linnander, Håkon Haugli, Hilde Hukkelberg, Matts Johansen, Jo Kjetil Krabbe, Wilson Arruda, Per Harald Kongelf, Ellen Margrethe Rakneberg and Øyvind Eriksen.
© Aker BioMarine ASA

Our partnership agreement with Aker will benefit the whole of Norway. By aiming to increase Norwegian mainland exports and foster closer collaboration between leading companies in Norwegian industry and smaller businesses, the agreement shows how we can achieve this.

Today, Aker ASA's executive management team met with our management team for a steering committee meeting to discuss the results of our collaboration and expectations for the future.

The results speak for themselves: Over the past 15 months, a total of NOK 250 million in public funding from us has unlocked five times as much private capital. Through a joint effort, Aker ASA, Aker Horizon, Aker Solutions, Aker BioMarine, Cognite, Industry Capital Partners, Aker BP and we have allocated more than NOK 1.2 billion to innovation projects with a significant, measurable impact on industry and sustainability in the fields of energy transition, the bioeconomy and digitalisation.

Hilde Hukkelberg i Innovasjon Norge og Matts Johansen i Aker Biomarine sitter i et møte og snakker sammen.
Hilde Hukkelberg from Innovation Norway and Matts Johansen from Aker BioMarine.
© Aker Biomarine

Matts Johansen, CEO of Aker BioMarine ASA, says this is a good example of public-private collaboration

– 'Our partnership agreement with the Aker companies has already delivered strong results, with public funding unlocking a significant amount of private capital. We now want to build on this successful partnership and unlock even more potential through new projects for the future – exactly what Norway needs more of,' says Johansen. 

Our CEO, Håkon Haugli, adds that the Aker Group was already an important business partner for us before the agreement, both in Norway and across a number of international markets. The agreement strengthens this partnership.

– The partnership agreement sets out mutual expectations for coordination. The strong, tangible results we are now seeing show that the approach works: While we facilitate export activities and collaboration with the wider Norwegian business community, Aker enables closer cooperation with Norwegian companies internationally. Together, this provides a solid foundation for advancing Norwegian innovation and exports, Håkon Haugli emphasises.

The agreement with Aker ASA is the first of five agreements we have signed with major corporate groups to accelerate exports and strengthen innovation partnerships between Norwegian businesses and companies.

Published 7 Sep 2023Last updated 8 Sep 2023
This page is translated with the assistance of AI