Cluster Catch-Up: Norwegian Hydrogen

Feb 17

“Green hydrogen is one of the main pillars of the EU Green Deal, and it is important that Norway sets the appropriate objectives and measure to support this important industry in its infancy. ”

— Jens Berge

Cluster Catch-up is a column where we ask our members six questions to catch a glimpse into their daily business life. In the last Cluster Catch-up, we talked with Lars Endre Gimmestad, Deputy CEO in Brødrene Aa and their role as a shipbuilding company to reduce emissions in the maritime sector. When asked who they would like to see next in the series, Brødrene Aa nominated Norwegian Hydrogen.

Norwegian Hydrogen will be a key contributor to the green shift through our development and operation of infrastructure for green hydrogen, aimed primarily towards heavy road transport and maritime customer segments.

Jens Berge, CEO of Norwegian Hydrogen. Photo: Cecilie Hatløy

Jens Berge was appointed CEO of Norwegian Hydrogen in 2021. Berge has 20 years’ experience from the offshore oil and gas industry, and during 10 of those years he held a number of senior and executive positions in Europe, Africa and in the USA.

What is Norwegian Hydrogen’s primary focus right now?

Our vision is to enable zero emissions. All our resources are focused on realizing this vision together with our customers and partners. In the last couple of months our company has now grown to ten employees, and I’m very happy to say that we have a highly skilled organization with senior competence in all relevant disciplines.
Norwegian Hydrogen is working on projects all over the Nordics, both in production and distribution, enabling zero emissions for clients in transportation both on land and at sea, and in various industry segments. Many of these are coming close to the investment phase, and we look forward to telling you more about them shortly.
Our first milestone is the construction and commissioning of our green hydrogen factory at Hellesylt in the Geiranger fjord. The plant will be commissioned in 2023 and will provide up to 2 tons of hydrogen per day, enabling zero-emission sea and land transport in the World Heritage area of the Geiranger Fjord. The hydrogen factory is supported by Enova and the Norwegian Research Council and will be an important milestone for Norwegian Hydrogen and for the green hydrogen industry as a whole. One of the objectives of the project is to maximize the energy efficiency across the value chain, harnessing the full potential of excess heat and oxygen from the hydrogen production process.
To avoid the ever-lasting chicken and egg discussion, someone must be a frontrunner making green hydrogen available. We want to be that company and show to both existing and potential costumers that we are a company of action and will be able to supply green hydrogen when and where they need it.

What are the biggest challenges and opportunities for Norwegian Hydrogen in the future?

Norwegian Hydrogen team. Photo: Norwegian Hydrogen

Based on our vision to enable zero emissions, we look at sectors that struggle with reducing their emissions today. We began our journey focusing on the maritime sector and heavy road transportation. These are both at the core of our strategy and we have concrete plans for a Nordic-wide infrastructure for providing green hydrogen to both segments. Our vision is that both road and maritime transport, as well as rail freight will run on green hydrogen. Our co-operation with On-Rail is an important piece of this strategy. We have also identified large opportunities for industrial use of green hydrogen and this segment may grow faster in the short term than transportation.
The recent increase in electricity prices is one of the main challenges as electricity is the main cost driver for green hydrogen. We firmly believe that this is a short term effect and that the price of green hydrogen will be competitive against other energy sources in the long run.
With abundant of renewable energy, Norway is well positioned to be a leader in decarbonization of transport and industrial processes. In the same way as the electric cars industry grew on incentives the hydrogen economy needs strong and effective support to establish a minimum infrastructure to support customers in the transition to a zero-carbon economy. In this context it is a paradox that the support for investing in hydrogen trucks, ships and infrastructure is much stronger in other European countries than in Norway. Green hydrogen is one of the main pillars of the EU Green Deal, and it is important that Norway sets the appropriate objectives and measure to support this important industry in its infancy.

How can hydrogen be a part of the solution for the future?

The world has agreed to reach the goals set by the Paris agreement by achieving zero emissions by 2050. This will require new solutions and technologies. We are convinced that green hydrogen will play an important role in this transition. We do not compete with batteries. Where electricity can be used directly that will obviously be the best solution. But for many segments of the transport sector and for industrial applications this is not a possible solution. For these industries green hydrogen will be an attractive alternative.

What is your primary focus when it comes to sustainability?

Sustainability is at the core of our business and our ESG-strategy is a crucial part of our overall strategy. The UN sustainability goal nr 13 is to take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts. In many ways this goal sums up what we are aiming to do and what our primary focus is. The biggest impact of our company will be through supplying emission free green hydrogen to our customers. But we are also aware of our own footprint and how our business model has a direct and indirect impact on people, planet and profit. Anything from the way we commute to work to how we work with our suppliers and construct our hydrogen plants will leave a carbon footprint. We will never be perfect, but we will always strive to do better.

Why did you decide on becoming a member of Ocean Hyway Cluster?

We will not be able to achieve our vision in isolation. We are dependent on cooperation and collaboration with other stakeholders. Ocean Hyway Cluster is a tool for developing close cooperation on both a general level and in projects. For us it was an easy decision – and not something we have regretted. We are impressed by both the Cluster Team and the other members and look forward to working even more together with you in the future.