This year’s focus is on how Norway can contribute to a secure and green Europe

Through decades of collaboration with thousands of companies, universities and authorities in European programmes, NTNU and SINTEF have a unique position which give us an insight we share with our partners at the annual conferences we have organised since 2017. 

What will drive the European agenda in the coming years? How can Norwegian companies navigate the challenges of geopolitical risks and climate change? How can research and innovation be utilized to enhance competitiveness and strategic autonomy?  

During this year’s Summit, we will explore the potential role that Norwegian actors can have in the development of a climate neutral, competitive, secure and stable Norway and Europe.  

The format of the Summit will provide intelligence on new EU policies relevant to Norwegian players, as well as roundtable discussions among forward looking decision makers and experts with the aim of exploring opportunities, sharing perspectives and advising on how to take Norway-EU cooperation to the next level and make the goals of the Green Alliance feasible.  

The backdrop for this year’s Summit  

For 30 years, the EEA Agreement has provided certainty for industry and research collaboration. Now, in times of uncertainty, we expect the EEA agreement still to be the backbone of Norway’s engagement with partners in EU. The rapid transitions across all sectors ask for stronger strategic collaboration. With a new EU Parliament and a new Commission, what will drive the European agenda the next decade? Will securing our democracy and competitiveness overshadow the need for a green transition? How can Norwegian companies navigate in these stormy waters?    

With Europe facing turbulent times marked by geopolitical risks and climate change, finding a strategic balance between competitiveness, security of supply and sustainability is challenging and a moving target. The EU has responded with ambitious climate targets – reduction of EU’s net greenhouse gas emissions by 90% by 2040 - and an extensive basket of policy/strategic measures including Net-Zero Industry Act, Critical Raw Materials Act, Industrial Carbon Management Strategy, to mention a few.  What do these legislative files and initiatives mean for Norwegian industry, public bodies and research organisations? 

In April 2023, Norway, and the EU announced The EU-Norway Green Alliance aim to give speed and direction to industrial partnerships for Norwegian and European actors. Now is the time to take the EU-Norway collaboration to the next level by making the Alliance work in practice, delivering on the set targets. How can we move forward in empowering European industry and research organisations based on the platform provided by the Alliance? 

Research and innovation (R&I) plays a pivotal role as enabler for developing new technologies and supporting transition in value chains so that companies achieve resilience and competitiveness. The current pace of innovation is insufficient to meet climate goals, necessitating increased and targeted investments in R&I from both public and private sectors. The questions we must ask ourselves are: How can Norwegian industry, research and government work together to accelerate competitiveness and strengthen strategic autonomy as well as security? What measures can enable companies to scale up investments and capture market shares? How can research and innovation be utilized in contributing to these objectives? 

We sincerely hope you will join us and actively contribute to taking the Norway-EU collaboration to the next level and make it instrumental to achieving climate neutrality whilst maintaining the competitive edge in a secure and stable Europe.