Hellenes’ new technology receives international attention
The Norwegian company Hellenes has developed a new, thermal technology for the environmentally friendly treatment of stray resources. This year, the technology was one of three finalists in the “Oil & Gas UK Award for Business Innovation - SME”.
The jury’s explanation for nominating Hellenes was as follows:
«Hellenes’ drive for continuous improvement through innovation makes them stand out. Environmental, financial, and time-based efficiencies are high areas of focus globally, and the Hellenes Thermal Treatment Unit has significantly changed the capabilities and possibilities of drilling waste treatment at source UK offshore oil and gas sector. With clear commercial and environmental benefits, through maximizing performance and minimizing the environmental impact of drilling operations, Hellenes aim to be a driving force behind change in oil-contaminated cuttings discharge figures.”
Hellenes became a runner up this year and the award was given to an innovative company named Omniscient Safety Innovations Ltd. Founder and CEO of Hellenes, Agnar Hellenes congratulate OSI on their win and adds: “We are very proud to be nominated for this award and are surprised that our new technology already has caught so much attention among the oil companies in the UK. Our leader in Scotland, Michael Farquhar, has done a formidable job and we would like to thank all our employees for their hard and valuable work in these strange pandemic times”, Agnar Hellenes says.
Great demand
Given the circumstances, Agnar feels that Hellenes has done a great job to adapt during the last couple of challenging months. He points out that Hellenes has taken the opportunity to focus on the development of their next-generation treatment technology, involving using waste heat at the main fuel source, which has the potential to reduce CO2 emissions by a minimum of 75%.
“We are now in the final phase of developing a prototype that utilizes waste heat and are planning to start testing this unit on a variety of different waste sources in the first quarter of 2021. There is of course a great demand for these types of solutions offshore where there are many sources of waste heat from big engines”, says Hellenes enthusiastically. “If we get nominated next year, I think we could have a better chance of winning this prestigious prize. We have ambitions of bringing this technology to new markets which may have an even bigger demand for this type of solution”, he adds.
What Agnar is referring to here is the possibility to utilize the technology to dry and upscale different types of biomasses like municipal sewage sludge, fish offal, draff, and other stray resources. Hellenes are already involved in feasibility studies where the technology may be a crucial component of big circular economic systems.
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From the left: Anders Haugen (Hellenes AS), Jim Tore Kristiansen (Novaform / Hellenes yard), Agnar Hellenes (Hellenes AS), Øyvind Hellenes (Hellenes AS), Tomas Eikelid (Sogn Industri).
Business developer and manager of bioapplications in Hellenes, Øyvind Hellenes adds: “With their sustainability goals, the UN shed lights on the enormous resources that go to waste each year as a result of sub-optimal infrastructures. As a society, for us to utilize these resources in better ways, we are reliant on new technological innovations as well as political will and good cooperation between local actors. Now that the technology is here, the road to world-leading circular economic solutions is not far ahead”, Øyvind Hellenes explains.
Building an Innovation hub
In parallel with their core business activities, Hellenes are also working on building a local innovation hub at their headquarters in Førde, Norway. Some years ago, they bought the local shipyard with a vision of creating a place where a wide range of businesses can come together with educational institutions and collaborate to innovate for the future. Business developer Anders Haugen adds: “The shipyard in Førde currently hosts a big variety of actors which share knowledge of needs, opportunities, and solutions in a vibrating and innovation-driven ecosystem. We have gathered a large body of resources and equipment in this infrastructure. Together with the non-profit initiative Campus Verftet, which takes on the role as a facilitator between private enterprises and public institutions, our shipyard has the potential of bringing new ideas through every developing phase before eventually reaching the market, all under one roof”, says Anders Haugen.
Hellenes firmly believes that this is the time to double down on innovation and bet on the future. With every downturn comes opportunities and they are very optimistic about the company’s prospect in the coming years. With the UK branch and a new expansion to Romania, Hellenes’ impact on the European market is starting to gain attention.
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