Blue Quantum Leap - Energy: Targeting the Green Energy Transition

In February 2024, the clusters Energy Transition Norway, GCE Ocean Technology, and ÅKP unveiled a draft business plan for Blue Quantum Leap.

The parties have worked on specifying and detailing the plans since the launch of the initiative. Both energy transition and green shipping are crucial for Norway, but the work has revealed that there are not enough synergies for a joint effort to be feasible. Energy Transition Norway and GCE Ocean Technology have therefore decided to continue their part of the Blue Quantum Leap by targeting energy transition.

Learn more about the Blue Quantum Leap initiative during ONS+, wednesday August 28th in Stavanger City Centre

- Through a focused initiative on green ocean energy, we have found a good solution for the way forward. Our focus going forward will be on the future energy systems related to CCUS, offshore wind, hydrogen, and minerals - the necessary transformation of the petroleum industry.

This is crucial for solving the climate and energy crisis and ensuring future value creation and export revenues, says Chairman Tor Arnesen of Energy Transition Norway and CEO Owe Hagesæther of GCE Ocean Technology.

They emphasize that Norway perhaps has the best conditions in the world to succeed, but it requires greater ambition, higher pace, better execution capacity, and more systematic collaboration than today.

The national initiative titled "Blue Quantum Leap - Energy" will therefore carry out large, industry-oriented innovation projects and develop new, globally competitive value chains.

Positive Signals

The initiative has been very well received by companies, academia, the Confederation of Norwegian Enterprise (NHO), the Norwegian Confederation of Trade Unions (LO), and local, regional, and national politicians.

Nearly 300 ocean-based industrial companies across regions and sectors are currently participating.

The initiative will primarily be funded by the private sector but will also require some initial support from the authorities.

This will be an important contribution to solving the climate and energy crisis and signals to businesses and workers along the entire coast that ocean-based energy industry is important for the nation.

- We have learned a lot from the process so far, which has also provided valuable knowledge and insight that all parties will greatly benefit from says the pair.

– At the same time, the process has also revealed that the time was not ripe for forming an organization that covers both energy transformation and green shipping. We will soon return with further specification of "Blue Quantum Leap - Energy", and plan, among other things, to establish a joint company for the initiative within a week. The initiative is important, exciting, and very motivating, says Arnesen and Hagesæther.