Aker Group and World Economic Forum Launch Technology Centre for Ocean and Environment

Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Norway to harness digital innovation for a sustainable and profitable ocean economy

New York, 24 September 2019 – The Aker group and the World Economic Forum (WEF) today announced the establishment of the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Norway (C4IR Norway), dedicated to harnessing the advances of technology to preserve our ocean and improve the environmental footprint of ocean industries. Through public-private partnerships, the Centre will develop governance frameworks and solutions for a sustainable and profitable ocean economy, using digital technology ranging from Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Blockchain.

The C4IR Norway will join the WEF’s global C4IR Network and collaborate with the Government of Norway and the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. The Centre will provide a platform for partnerships on governance policies, research and business solutions that can accelerate the application of science, data and technology in the public interest. The Centre will be an independent non-profit foundation, financed initially by founding partner the Aker group. Aker has gained valuable experience through engaging in cross-sector partnering between its own commercial and non-profit entities, such as REV Ocean, Ocean Data Foundation and VI Foundation. Once operational, the Centre will be open to new partners and projects from both the public and the private sector.

"Throughout its 180-year history, the Aker group has been a driving force in the development of knowledge-based industry related to ocean resources,” said Aker President and CEO Øyvind Eriksen. "The ambition with this Centre is to leverage our offshore expertise and the Nordic model of collaboration between the public and the private sector to accelerate the application of technology that can reduce the industry’s environmental footprint.  Only through collaboration between business, government and NGOs will we unlock the great potential that resides in digital technology to promote sustainable development – for our societies, for value-creation and for the environment.”

To reach the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), the ocean will need to provide the world with more food, jobs, energy and raw materials. According to OECD estimates, the value of the ocean economy could exceed USD 3 trillion by 2030, providing more than 40 million jobs. However, fulfilling this potential will require safeguarding and improving the health of the ocean. 

"Building a sustainable ocean economy is one of the most important tasks and greatest opportunities of our time. To mitigate the threats to a healthy and productive ocean, we need to move faster,” underlined Vidar Helgesen, Norway’s Special Envoy to the High Level Panel for a Sustainable Ocean Economy. "The Norwegian government welcomes the new technology centre at Fornebu as an essential contribution to ocean health and wealth. It can bring together actors from business, academia and civil society in developing ground-breaking ocean solutions.”

Today, the ocean is under immense pressure notably due to climate change, pollution and overexploitation, with declining biodiversity as a result. Saving the marine ecosystems will require innovative policies, good governance, technology, research and new business solutions, based on sound scientific data.

"We have an opportunity to shape the future of emerging technology and the future of our planet,” said Børge Brende, President of the World Economic Forum. "The new Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Norway will bring together some of the world’s top minds to co-design innovation policy solutions to achieve the SDGs and protect our ocean. Powered by the Forum’s international network of Centres, this Affiliate will be able to accelerate and scale quickly.”

As an affiliate of the C4IR in San Francisco, which opened in 2017, the technology centre in Norway will be the only centre among the seven in the network to focus on the environment. The Centre’s initial projects will fall into three categories: minimising the environmental footprint of ocean-related industrial activities; harnessing big data to optimise marine resource mapping, monitoring and management; and using digital technology tools to protect marine biodiversity.

Across all the projects, C4IR Norway aims to showcase best practice among policymakers, industry practitioners, scientists and innovators; spread awareness; build knowledge and networks; promote solutions and share lessons learned.

The Aker group founding partner of the C4IR Norway is composed of Aker, Aker BP, Aker BioMarine, Aker Energy, Aker Solutions, Cognite and Kvaerner, as well as Ocean Data Foundation and REV Ocean. The Centre will at first be based at the Aker headquarters at Fornebu, Norway, before moving into the World Ocean Headquarters, an ocean cluster being developed by Aker and REV Ocean. The Centre will officially open on 1 January 2020. The recruitment of a director for the Centre is currently underway.

-Ends-

The press conference for the launch of the C4IR Norway will take place on Tuesday 24 September 2019 at 13:15-13:45 EDT at the World Economic Forum Sustainable Development Impact Summit in New York. The event will be livestreamed and can be followed here: http://wef.ch/sdi19  

For further information, please contact:

Aker group:
Atle Kigen, Head of Corporate Communications
atle.kigen@akerasa.com
Tel: +47 907 84 878

Marianne Stigset, SVP Communications, Public Affairs and Sustainability
marianne.stigset@fpeiendom.no
Tel: +47 411 88 428

World Economic Forum:
Amanda Russo, Head of Media Content
Amanda.Russo@weforum.org
Tel: +1 415 734 0589