Norwegian Centre of Expertise (NCE) Subsea is expanding and has established the first regional hub in Florø.
The expansion is secured by Sogn & Fjordane County Council and the municipality of Flora, who has allocated the funds necessary for the first NCE Subsea hub outside Bergen. The funds are initially awarded for three years.
Involvement and commitment from companies in the region is a prerequisite for starting up in Florø. In March, Hellenes Holding entered into partnership with NCE Subsea as the first company in the region. NCE is also discussing partnership with other companies in Florø.
Establishing the NCE Subsea hub in Florø will be done in close collaboration with regional stakeholders. Trond Strømgren will be working for NCE Subsea in a 50 percent position, and took up his position in March 2014.
The overall ambition for NCE Subsea is to be a unifying organisation for the Norwegian subsea industry and for the subsea industry in Norway to be perceived as a global knowledge hub. The establishment of regional NCE Subsea hubs along the coast is key to achieving this ambition, and the Florø hub is the first of these.
NCE Subsea is now working on an application for the next level cluster program Global Centre of Expertise (GCE). The application is due end of April.