AKER, WEF to launch ocean preservation center

Norwegian industrial investment giant Aker Group has together with the World Economic Forum announced the formation of a center “dedicated to harnessing the advances of technology to preserve our ocean and improve the environmental footprint of ocean industries.”

Aker Group in its portfolio has the oil and gas companies Aker BP and Aker Energy, and oilfield services and construction providers Aker Solutions, Kvaerner, and Akastor, and also the FPSO owner Ocean Yield.

As part of the new initiative to preserve the ocean and improve the environmental footprint of the ocean industries, the company plans to establish the Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution Norway (C4IR Norway), as part of the initiative to preserve the ocean.

“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 company said.

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.

According to Aker, 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.

“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 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.

“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,” Aker said.

Aker President and CEO Øyvind Eriksen said: “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.

Top minds to help achieve SDGs

“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 center 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, Aker stressed, 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 center in Norway will be the only center among the seven in the network to focus on the environment. The Centre’s initial projects will fall into three categories: minimizing the environmental footprint of ocean-related industrial activities; harnessing big data to optimize marine resource mapping, monitoring and management; and using digital technology tools to protect marine biodiversity.

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