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Ida Kallmyr Lerheim, Senior Adviser EU at RENERGY and Project Manager for NORHyWAY, hosted the evening at the Trøndelag European Office. On Tuesday 27 October, in the middle of European Hydrogen Week, close to 60 people filled the Trøndelag European Office in Brussels. RENERGY, together with NORHyWAY and Trøndelag European Office, had invited a Nordic and European audience from industry, policy, research and funding to an evening on how Norwegian and Nordic industry can make the most of national and European support, and of the way the two work together. Europe is investing heavily in the green transition, and Norwegian and Nordic companies are increasingly part of it. NORHyWAY, coordinated by RENERGY, is one example: a Large-Scale Hydrogen Valley in Norway, built with EU support through the Clean Hydrogen Partnership alongside Norwegian funding instruments. Lessons from NORHyWAY were one of several perspectives in a programme that looked at how Norwegian and European funding can work together, and what it takes for Norwegian and Nordic companies to turn European funding opportunities into investment, projects and scale. “EU strategy and policy show a stronger sense of urgency than Norway’s, and that is an opportunity Norwegian companies need to recognise and act on,” says Thomas Bjørdal, Cluster Manager at RENERGY. “The EU’s Competitiveness Compass creates opportunities that may simply not exist at the national level, and pursuing them also helps diversify your political risk. If there is one message I would like Norwegian companies to take away, it is this: do not treat EU programmes simply as another source of project funding. Look at them as part of your business strategy.” Thomas Bjørdal, Cluster Manager at RENERGY, sharing lessons learned from NORHyWAY. From project experience to first barriers Hosted by Ida Kallmyr Lerheim, NORHyWAY Project Manager and Senior Advisor EU at RENERGY, the evening opened with a welcome from Katinka Remøe, Senior Advisor at Trøndelag European Office. Thomas Bjørdal, Cluster Manager at RENERGY, set the scene with lessons learned from NORHyWAY and how Norwegian industry can make the most of what the EU has to offer. Guro Fasting, Head of Business Development at GreenH, a RENERGY member and NORHyWAY partner, followed with an industry perspective on breaking the first barriers as a first mover in hydrogen. The view from Brussels and from industry From left: Vegard Frihammer, CEO of Vireon; Johan Vetlesen, Counsellor for Energy at the Mission of Norway to the EU; and Mona Irén Pettersen, Senior Adviser at RENERGY and Project Manager for NORHyWAY, who moderated the fireside chat. In a fireside chat led by Mona Irén Pettersen, NORHyWAY project manager and Senior Advisor at RENERGY, two perspectives met. Johan Vetlesen, Counsellor for Energy at the Mission of Norway to the EU, brought the view from Brussels on where European energy policy is heading. Vegard Frihammer, CEO of Vireon, brought the view from industry on what it takes to get projects built. “The Mission of Norway to the EU is here to help Norwegian industry navigate Brussels,” says Vetlesen. “Meeting places like this make it easier to connect companies, funding bodies and policymakers, and to learn from each other. EU energy policy issues are very vital to follow for Norway and it was a pleasure to contribute” The framework around the projects Ingeborg Frøysnes, Head of Innovation Norway’s office in Brussels. Ingeborg Frøysnes from Innovation Norway then spoke on how Norwegian and European funding mechanisms can be used in tandem, before Petter N. Christiansen, Senior Adviser European Affairs at Statnett, closed the programme with perspectives on the European and Norwegian power systems. Petter N. Christiansen, Senior Adviser European Affairs at Statnett, at the meetup at the Trøndelag European Office. An open conversation The evening was held under the Chatham House Rule, which made room for an open and candid conversation. Katinka Remøe, Senior Advisor at Trøndelag European Office, welcoming the guests to the event. “It was great to see a full house in the middle of a busy Hydrogen Week, and to see conversations continue well beyond the event itself,” says Remøe. “Connecting our region with European networks and opportunities is at the core of what we do. The interest we saw in the event is a clear indication of the potential Norwegian and Nordic industry has to offer, and the value of creating stronger connections between our regional industries and the wider European hydrogen community.” The meetup was part of NORHyWAY’s presence at European Hydrogen Week, where the project also shared a Nordic stand with fellow hydrogen valleys CONVEY, BalticSeaH2 and HiWHyV. Read more about NORHyWAY at European Hydrogen Week. NORHyWAY is supported by the Clean Hydrogen Partnership and its members. Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the Clean Hydrogen Partnership. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

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