Background
This report gives an overview of players in the ocean technology ecosystem in Trøndelag. Ocean technology is in this report defined as “technologies for the development of the maritime and marine industries”. In addition to the ocean technology companies, the report also summarizes the region’s R&D environments and their test-lab infrastructure, hubs, competence networks and forums, and financial capital environments investing in ocean technology. The report will be updated on a regular basis.
Companies developing and selling ocean technology
We have identified 123 ocean technology companies in Trøndelag, 53 of which operate within the maritime sector, and 70 within the marine sector. The 123 companies had a total revenue of 8,4 bn NOK in 2022 and employ 3462 employees as of August 2023. 89 of the identified ocean technology companies are located in Trondheim, the remaining 36 in municipalities spread along the coastline of Trøndelag (Frøya, Hitra, Heim, Orkland, Malvik, Stjørdal, Indre Fosen, Åfjord, Overhalla and Nærøysund). In addition to the 123 ocean technology companies, we have identified 44 of the largest users and development partners within oil and gas, shipping, ship building, fish farming and aquaculture service.
R&D actors and test infrastructure
In addition to the research and development conducted in the identified 123 companies, we have identified five main performers of R&D related to ocean technology in Trøndelag; NTNU, SINTEF, Nord University, NINA and NGU. NTN and SINTEF are hosting in total 6 SFIs, one SFF and 4 other research centres for ocean technology.
Furthermore, we have identified 15 special lab environments at NTNU and SINTEF. There is a vast amount of special lab environments at NTNU and SINTEF. We have included the most relevant ones in this mapping. We have identified 7 labs and test facilities hosted by other actors than SINTEF and NTNU. This R&D infrastructure is available for all types of users throughout the region and offers services and equipment beyond basic needs. In addition to the R&D performed by the named actors, some of the identified ocean technology companies also conduct own R&D projects. Of the 123 identified companies, 13 companies have as of summer 2023 202 million NOK of RCN funded R&D projects ongoing.
Clusters, networks and forums
We have identified 22 entities working with issues related to ocean technology in Trøndelag, including 12 clusters, 5 networks/forums, 3 innovation companies and 1 interest organization. Examples of entities include the Ocean Autonomy Cluster, which is a leading hub in Norway for expertise on ocean autonomy. The listed entities have ocean technology as focus area, either fully or partly. In addition to the listed actors, there are several industry agnostic incubators, clusters and networks working with business development in the region.
Public actors
We have identified 22 public actors operating within the ocean technology space, including municipalities, county authorities and public funding agencies.
Investors
We have identified 63 international, Norwegian or Mid-Norwegian investors targeting or operating within the ocean technology space. Of these 63 investors, we have identified 18 investors in Trøndelag. All of these 18 investors have invested in some of the 123 identified ocean technology companies.
Funding and OTIMEDT Initiative
This report was funded thanks to the bilateral initiative OTIMEDT (Ocean Technology Innovation MarketExchange for Dalmatia and Trøndelag) through the Fund for Bilateral Relations of EEA Grants and NorwayGrants.
Objective: To establish routes for strong bilateral cooperation of blue economy actors from regions of Trøndelag (Norway) and Dalmatia (Croatia).
About the Initiative: Through the Initiative activities, two mapping reports will be created, one for the Norwegian region Trøndelag and one for the Croatian region Dalmatia, through which key actors in the blue economy sector will be identified, and with the help of the aforementioned mapping reports, events (online and live) will be organized between stakeholders in each region to increase the possibility of cooperation and exchange experiences and best practices in the field of the blue economy.
Duration: 20th of March 2023 – 20th of March 2024
Initiative Coordinator: University of Split (UNIST)
Initiative Partner: Trondheim Tech Port (TTP)
Budget: € 100.000,00 EU
