Partner country Norway to focus on green industrial transition at HANNOVER

By OEM Update Editorial April 19, 2024 12:12 pm IST

Norway is the official partner country of HANNOVER MESSE 2024. Under the headline “pioneering the green industrial transition”, Norway will showcase digital technology and sustainable solutions for manufacturing. There will also be a strong focus on clean energy, including renewables, hydrogen, ammonia and CCS.

At the pavilion, a selection of companies will demonstrate Norway’s ambitions for a low-carbon society and its key role in developing solutions necessary to transform the industry and reach net-zero carbon emission.

Norway aims to be a key partner in the green shift and is thrilled to showcase the Norwegian solutions and highlight what Norway has to offer as Partner Country at HANNOVER MESSE, says Gunnhild Brumm from Norway’s trade promotion organization Innovation Norway.

Energy and Industry 4.0

Norway will be present with a national pavilion in hall 12 (Energy Solutions) and in hall 13 with a pavilion specifically dedicated to hydrogen. At the national pavilion, clean energy and industry 4.0 will be at the forefront, with key players such as Statkraft, Equinor, Yara and Siemens taking part.

Norway and Germany are key trading partners and we have entered a strategic industrial partnership on renewable energy and green industry. We hope the Norwegian presence at the HANNOVER MESSE will further strengthen the close cooperation. German businesses should use this opportunity to connect with some of Norway’s strongest frontrunners within the energy- and industrial sectors, says Brumm.

At the opening day of the HANNOVER MESSE, the Norwegian pavilion will be visited by German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre. Minister of Energy Terje Aasland will also be present.

Clean energy solutions

Among 40 Norwegian exhibitors, 27 of which are located at the national pavilion in Hall 12, there are several presenting clean energy solutions. For the transport sector clean energy solutions will be crucial. Norwegian company Yara is enabling the first green shipping route between Norway and Germany through Yara Eyde – the world’s first clean ammonia-powered container ship.

Norway has the world’s highest penetration of electric vehicles (EVs) and can provide expertise in application of batteries in both maritime and land-based transport. Siemens’ partner Morrow Batteries, whose production is 100 % powered by renewable energy, builds the world’s first large format LMNO (Lithium Manganese Nickel Oxide) battery. 

Hydropower is still the backbone of the Norwegian power system. Norwegian company Statkraft has 130 years of experience in the energy sector and is Europe’s largest supplier of renewable energy. In Germany, Statkraft develops, builds and operates facilities for hydro-, wind-, solar- and gas power, as well as green hydrogen.

Norway is a key supplier of energy to Europe by supplying natural gas to the continent and the aim to supply low-carbon and green hydrogen in the future. One of the key players in the Norwegian offshore sector, Equinor, now has a growing activity in renewables, investing in offshore wind, hydrogen, and solar energy, in order to expand energy production and strengthen energy security.

Monday April 22 the Norwegian Minister of Energy Terje Aasland will have a presentation showing Norway as a secure, sustainable and cost-efficient energy supplier for the short and long term.

There will also be a session with Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre and Jean-Christophe Laloux from the European Investment Bank about investment needs and the potential for EU-Norway cooperation in raw materials and battery value chains.

On Tuesday 23rd there will be a big energy conference, “Renewable Dialogue – North Sea Energy Hub”, where it’s examined how a Norwegian-German partnership is propelling the transition to green industry by using renewable energies to power manufacturing processes.

There will also be a session about the CCUS value chain and an update on hydrogen pipeline development by Gassco and Gascade with profiling of Norwegian hydrogen companies.

AI and Industry 4.0

The Norwegian pavilion will furthermore showcase AI and Industry 4.0 solutions. An example is The Coring Company, which meets the mining industry’s need to be more efficient and more sustainable through advanced tools for collecting and processing operational data on a daily basis. Norwegian company Intelecy’s cutting-edge no-code AI platform is reshaping industrial sustainability by optimising processes, leveraging real-time data that helps companies cut energy consumption and reduce maintenance costs and resource waste.

Europe, once the industrial revolution’s birthplace, stands at a pivotal moment. Even though other markets have caught up, Europe can still take back the lead in the industry by driving the green transition. At HANNOVER MESSE 2024, Innovation Norway is organizing a session with EIT Manufacturing which explores how innovation and collaboration are driving this transformative movement.

On Monday there will be a session with Vestre and Nils Klippenberg, CEO of Siemens Norway, among others showing how Norway is pioneering the green industrial transformation. In the following days there will be sessions on Norway as a test bed for new solutions, about investment opportunities in Norway and Norwegian business, and pitching sessions from AI and smart industry operations companies.