Top of Europe — Demonstrating New Energy Technologies

Dear seminar participants!

I would like to welcome you all to Bodø and to this seminar titled “Top of Europe – Demonstrating new energy technologies”. I like the phrase “Top of Europe”, indicating that we, as Nordic countries, geographically are on top of the European map, but also that we are leading countries in many ways when it comes to certain energy technologies and achievements. I think most of you agree that the technological areas we are focusing on today fall into that category!

Being an international seminar, I am glad that we also have key speakers coming from outside the Nordic countries. I am in that respect happy to see that both the International Energy Agency and the European Commission find this seminar of interest and are willing to contribute to its success.

The seminar is organized jointly by the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy and the Nordic Energy Research. The purpose of the seminar is to investigate the prospects for making the Nordic countries into a region for demonstration of new energy technologies. The seminar is held prior to the Nordic Council of Ministers’ meeting, which will be held here in Bodø tomorrow and the day after. In fact, the seminar will be a topic also on the Council of Ministers’ meeting, where the outcome and recommendations from the seminar will be discussed.

In the Norwegian chairmanship of the Nordic Council of Ministers for 2006, priority is given to analyse the prospects for making the Nordic countries into a region for demonstration of new energy technologies.

The vision of an economy based on sustainable energy systems has a long perspective. It requires both targeted public and private investments in research, development and demonstrations of a number of key technologies.

Demonstrations of new energy technologies contribute to lessening the gap between R&D and the market based innovation. They give the possibility of studying how the technology works in real life, to estimate life expectancy, to analyse production prices, to identify possibilities to optimise the system and to investigate public regulations regarding construction and operation. Further, demonstration projetcs give a chance to present new technologies to the public. This is of high importance, not least if the technologies are of the more controversial types.

Demonstration projects within new energy technologies can be regarded as a means of business and regional development, as local and regional competence will be involved. Further, new energy technologies and systems have large business potentials for Nordic businesses on a global market, where the need for new energy technologies and systems is increasing.

Examples of good Nordic demonstration activities already exist. This includes the Danish wind power industry, the Finnish process industry, the Norwegian petroleum industry, and the Swedish conversion industry. More are under way and with the right incentives and framework conditions, new technologies can be pulled out on the markets, creating new businesses, job opportunities and clean, sustainable and competitive energy systems.

We have chosen to focus the seminar on certain key energy technologies where the Nordic countries are in the forefront worldwide and where we think there is a potential for increased Nordic co-operation. Both when it comes to hydrogen and fuel cells, carbon capture and storage, and bioenergy, the Nordic countries have common interests and common challenges. I know there already exist fruitful and valuable collaborations related to more basic research projects and activities on these thematical areas, not least under the umbrella of the Nordic Energy Research. Now I will challenge you to seek opportunities also for more demonstration types of projects!

In addition to the Nordic competence related to these technologies, the Nordic countries have a good resource foundation and a political commitment to put more efforts into these areas. This makes it easier to carry through relevant demonstration projects in the region. A common orientation towards demonstration of new energy technologies will strengthen the Nordic profile. It will also strengthen the Nordic area, the top of Europe, as a region for demonstration of projects in relation to the 7 ^th> Framework Programme of the European Community for research, technological development and demonstration activities – or FP7 as it is called. In FP7 they are, as I understand, planning to start up and support large demonstration projects in the energy field. Both hydrogen and fuel cells, carbon capture and storage, and bioenergy are highlighted in the framework programme.

As you have read in the seminar programme, the objectives of the seminar is 1) to identify Nordic initiatives and interests for demonstration projects for new energy technologies within the fields of hydrogen and fuel cells, carbon capture and storage, and bioenergy, 2) to identify premises for public private partnerships for pursuing demonstration projects, and 3) to create political commitment to make the Nordic countries into a region for demonstration of new energy technologies.

I hope that you throughout the seminar are able to come up with answers to the first two objectives and present clear recommendations which I can bring into the discussion the Council of Ministers will have tomorrow when we are addressing the third objective related to political commiment.

Thanks again to the Nordic Energy Research for helping organizing this seminar. I hope you all will have a nice stay in beautiful Bodø, and good luck with the seminar!

Thank you!