INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY

August, 2018

A strategy for transforming The Solar Energy Cluster Norway into a global leader within the solar energy industry

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1. Intro  to  the  solar  energy  industry  in  Norway    

Solar  energy  is  the  fastest  growing  energy  source  in  the  world  in  terms  of  installed  capacity.  It  was  also  the  renewable  energy  source  with  the  largest  investments  globally  in  2017,  closely  followed  by  wind  power.  The  accumulated  installed  capacity  in  2017  reached  400  GWp.  Among  the  drivers  of  growth  are  declining  costs,  critical  support  mechanisms  and  increasing  electricity  prices.  While  previously  driven  from  Germany  and  other  European  countries,  growth  in  the  recent  years  occurs  in  countries  such  as  United  States,  China  and  India.  

The  global  average  price  for  solar  power,  in  $/installed  Wp,  has  been  reduced  by  62  %  since  2009,  and  are  expected  to  drop  below  coal  power  over  the  next  decade,  according  to  Bloomberg  New  Energy  Finance.  

The  digitalization  of  the  power  industry  opens  doors  for  new  players,  new  forms  of  communication,  new  business  models  and  new  management  systems  based  on  predictions,  to  name  a  few.  There  are  developments,  particularly  off-­‐grid,  where  solar  cells  to  a  lesser  extent  are  sold  as  a  single  component,  but  rather  as  a  part  of  a  larger  ecosystem.  Market  development  shows  a  trend  in  which  solar  power  creates  a  market  for  storage  and  smart  power  management,  which  in  turn  creates  a  market  for  new  business  models  in  the  energy  sector.  

Norway  has  several  competitive  advantages  as  a  component  and  technical  supplier  in  the  international  market.  In  production,  Norway  has  managed  to  compete  with  international  competitors  in  solar  grade  silicon  and  wafers  from,  among  others,  China.  Some  of  the  reasons  for  this  are  cheap  and  renewable  power  used  in  production,  high  degree  of  automation,  the  Norwegian  model  and  the  market’s  willingness  to  premiere  low-­‐carbon  products.  Downstream,  closer  to  the  customer,  Norwegian  companies  have  begun  to  assert  themselves  with  a  good  utilization  of  software  and  insights  in  the  future  energy  markets.  

In  general,  Norway  is  expected  to  strengthen  its  position  in  the  global  market  in  several  segments.  There  are  already  today  several  Norwegian  companies  that  develop  both  large  and  small-­‐scale  solar  power  plants  internationally,  and  the  metallurgy  industry  has  shown  before  that  they  are  able  to  keep  up  with  the  fierce  competition  and  price  pressure  in  the  international  market.  As  exponential  growth  is  expected  for  many  years  to  come  in  most  areas  of  the  world,  this  creates  a  significant  market  opportunity  for  Norwegian  companies.  However,  the  competition  is  incredibly  tough  and  it  is  essential  that  the  Norwegian  solar  industry,  through  continued  research,  development  and  competence  building,  is  able  to  maintain  and  strengthen  the  competitive  advantages  it  already  has.  and  Tthis  is  what  The  Solar  Energy  Cluster  aims  to  contribute  to.  1  

2. The  Solar  Energy  Cluster  Norway  

The  Solar  Energy  Cluster  Norway  is  a  unique  partnership  between  private  companies  from  the  solar  energy  industry,  research  institutes  and  universities  as  well  as  public  organisations  and  development  actors  spread  across  Norway.  This  partnership  was  initiated  in  2013  by  the  industry  and  it  aims  to  increase  cooperation  and  the  innovation  capacity  of  its  partners,  as  well  as  to  address  challenges  within  the  Norwegian  solar  energy  industry.  

1  Excerpt  from  the  industry  status  report  ‘Sol  i  systemet  og  system  i  sol’  commissioned  by  the  Solar  Energy  Cluster  and  developed  by  Multiconsult  and  Asplan  Viak.  Report  in  Norwegian,  executive  summary  available  in  English.  Can  be  downloaded  here:  http://solenergiklyngen.no/app/uploads/sites/4/180313-­‐rapport_solkraft-­‐markedsutvikling-­‐2017-­‐endelig.pdf  

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The  cluster  received  ARENA  status  in  2016  and  became  a  Norwegian  Cluster  of  Innovation2,  part  of  the  Norwegian  national  cluster  program  funded  by  Innovation  Norway,  The  Norwegian  Research  Council  and  SIVA.  This  indicates  also  that  solar  energy  became  an  industry  of  national  strategic  importance  with  potential  to  contribute  to  the  diversification  of  the  Norwegian  economy.  The  cluster  has  both  the  ambition  and  the  potential  to  become  a  National  Cluster  of  Expertise  (NCE)  and  advance  to  the  next  level  in  the  cluster  program.    

At  the  moment  when  this  strategy  was  developed,  the  cluster  has  88  partners,  59  of  which  are  private  companies,  12  are  research  institutes  and  universities  and  17  are  other  development  and  innovation  partners.  

Table  1  provides  an  overview  of  the  business  partner  in  the  cluster  divided  into  ten  categories.  This  classification  is  the  same  as  the  one  used  in  the  Business  Partnes  Catalogue  which  can  be  downloaded  on  the  cluster’s  website.3  The  catalogue  provides  an  overview  of  the  competence  in  the  clusters  and  is  a  starting  point  to  better  understand  the  internationalization  needs  of  the  different  companies  in  the  cluster.  

 Table  1.  Classification  of  the  cluster  business  partners    

Category   Companies  Development  and  operation  of  international  solar  energy  projects  

Aega  ASA  Empower  New  Energy  AS  Kube  Energy  AS  Norsk  Solar  AS  Scatec  Solar  ASA    SunErgy  AS  

Engineering  consultancy  and  project  management    

Asplan  Viak  AS    COWI  AS  ECT  AS  ETA  Energi  AS  Enøkplan  AS  InPartners  AS  Kjeller  Vindteknikk  AS  Multiconsult  AS  

Norconsult  AS  Obos  Prosjekt  AS  PQA  AS  Ressurs  &  Miljø  AS  SWECO  AS  Trade  Wind  AS  ÅF  Engineering    

Technology  development  and  production    

Aventa  AS  BRIGHT  Products  AS  Dynatec  Engineering  AS  Eltek  AS  Greenventive  Development  AS  Green  Energy  AS  

2  http://www.innovationclusters.no/english/    3  http://solenergiklyngen.no/partnerskap/  

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Home  Control  AS  Innos  AS  Ocean  Sun  AS  Pixii  AS  Protan  AS  Solar  Village  AS  Tarpon  Solar  AS  

Silicon  production     REC  Soalr  Norway  AS  Energy  utility     Akershus  Energi  Varme  AS  

Eidsiva  Energi  Marked  AS  Equinor  ASA  Fortum  Markets  AS  Smart  Energi  AS  LOS  Energi  AS  NTE  Marked  AS  

Software  development  and  smart  solutions    

eSmart  Systems  AS  Eyasys  AS  

Supply  and  installation  of  solar  panels    

Catch  Solar  AS  GETEK  AS  Integrate  Renewables  AS  Norsk  Solenergi  AS  Norsk  Solstrøm  AS  Otovo  AS  Solar  Technologies  Scandinavia  AS  Solbes  AS  Solbære  AS  Solcellesystemer  AS  Solcellespesialisten    Solel  AS  Solenergi  Fusen  AS  Sol-­‐Energi  AS  Sun-­‐Net  AS  Wen  Energy  AS  

Innovation  and  investments     Differ  AS  Herøya  Industripark  AS  Glava  Energy  Center    Scatec  AS  TechBridge  Invest  AS  Umoe  AS  X2  Innovasjonssenter  AS  

Legal  advisors     SANDS    Human  Resources     Experis  AS    In  addition  to  the  business  partners,  the  cluster  includes  a  range  of  research  institutes  and  universities,  as  well  as  different  development  actors4.      

 

4  List  of  the  entire  partnership  can  be  found  on  the  cluster’s  website  http://solenergiklyngen.no/partnerskap/    

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3. Becoming  a  global  leader  

This  document  establishes  the  vision  for  the  Solar  Energy  Cluster  Norway  to  become  a  global  leader  in  the  industry,  it  describes  the  focus  areas  chosen  towards  this  vision  and  provides  details  on  the  concrete  activities  that  will  be  implemented  over  the  next  two  years  (2018-­‐2019).  

This  internationalization  strategy  has  a  long-­‐term  approach  and  the  action  plan  will  be  updated  every  two  years  to  ensure  the  relevance  of  its  action  plan  for  the  solar  energy  industry.  The  solar  energy  industry  both  in  Norway  and  at  international  level  is  highly  dynamic  and  is  rapidly  changing  therefore  periodic  upgrade  of  the  action  plan  needed.  

The  internationalization  needs  in  the  cluster  vary  greatly.  Some  of  the  cluster  partners  already  work  at  international  level  and  have  many  different  international  partners,  while  others  work  only  in  Norway  but  hold  an  overview  of  the  technology  trends  and  source  the  technology  they  use  from  around  the  world.  This  strategy  aims  to  address  the  internationalization  needs  of  all  the  partners  in  the  cluster  and  the  cluster  secretariat  will  do  its  best  to  support  the  partners  in  their  international  activities.    

Vision:  The  vision  for  the  cluster  is  to  become  international  market  leader  in  providing  technical,  financial  and  operation  &  maintenance  solutions  for  solar  energy  both  in  developed  and  developing  countries.    

Goal:  Create  growth  within  the  Norwegian  solar  energy  industry  and  increase  its  innovation  and  research  capacity.    

Objectives:    

1. Double  the  number  of  international  research  and  innovation  projects  that  the  cluster  partners  are  involved  in  by  2021  compared  to  2018.  

2. Double  the  size  of  the  solar  energy  industry  in  Norway  by  2021  compared  to  2018.  3. Expand  and  improve  the  financial  instruments  needed  both  on-­‐grid  and  off-­‐grid  to  

create  a  viable  and  sustainable  business  environment.  4. Double  the  number  of  people  in  Africa  who  have  reliable  access  to  solar  energy  

thanks  to  Norwegian  initiatives,  solutions  and/or  competence  by  2021  compared  to  2018.    

These  objectives  are  in  line  with  and  will  contribute  to  achieving  the  following  UN  Sustainable  Development  goals:    

3.  Good  health  and  well-­‐being  4.  Quality  education  6.  Clean  water  and  sanitation  

7.  Affordable  and  Clean  Energy    

8.  Decent  work  and  economic  growth    

9.  Industry  and  infrastructure    

11.  Sustainable  Cities  and  Communities    

13.  Climate  Action    

17.  Partnerships  for  the  goals    

 

 

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The  process  of  developing  this  strategy    

The  cluster  secretariat  led  a  strategic  process  to  identify  the  priority  areas  and  to  define  the  action  plan  for  the  years  2018  and  2019.  The  process  involved  meetings  and  discussions  with  the  key  cluster  partners,  the  business  partners  as  well  as  companies  which  are  not  part  of  the  cluster  and  Norwegian  actors  working  at  international  level.  

The  process  of  developing  this  strategy  had  the  following  steps:  

Q2  2017:  Identification  of  geographical  focus    Q3  2017:  Mapping  of  Norwegian  and  international  actors  activating  in  these  markets    Q3-­‐Q4  2017:  Mapping  of  Norwegian  solar  energy  companies  in  prioritized  countries  Q4  2017:  Defining  cooperation  priorities  and  the  role  of  the  Solar  Energy  Cluster    Q1  2018:  Defining  concrete  actions  for  2018  and  2019    The  following  three  focus  areas  have  been  chosen  by  the  cluster  secretariat  based  on  the  strategic  process  described  above:  

1. Strategic  positioning  in  Europe  through  R&D&I  projects    2. Learning  from  global  leaders    3. Business  opportunities  for  electrifying  Africa    

These  focus  areas  will  guide  the  implementation  of  this  strategy  and  will  provide  support  for  defining  a  new  action  plan  for  the  years  after  2019.  

 

Target  group    

The  main  target  group  for  this  strategy  includes  the  cluster  partners.  The  strategy  will  enable  them  to  streamline  their  efforts  under  the  same  objectives  and  in  this  way,  create  growth  in  the  industry.  In  the  same  time,  the  action  plan  informs  the  partners  of  the  concrete  actions  that  the  secretariat  will  focus  on  in  the  near  future.    

The  secondary  target  group  includes  a  wide  range  of  Norwegian  and  international  stakeholders  towards  which  the  cluster  wants  to  position  itself.  For  theses  actors  the  strategy  has  an  informative  role.  It  informs  about  the  existence  of  the  cluster,  its  ambitions  and  the  interest  to  participate  in  international  partnerships  and  projects.  

 

Strategic  cooperation  partners    

There  are  already  a  range  of  Norwegian  organizations  working  to  support  Norwegian  businesses  to  work  at  international  level.  The  cluster  secretariat  has  established  a  dialogue  with  all  those  described  here  during  the  strategic  process  for  this  internationalization  strategy.  The  aim  is  to  have  a  close  cooperation  with  them  during  the  implementation  of  the  strategy  in  order  to  efficiently  use  the  already  available  tools  and  resources.  

Main  cooperation  partners  for  the  implementation  of  this  strategy:    

Innovation  Norway:  The  Norwegian  Government's  most  important  instrument  for  innovation  and  development  of  Norwegian  enterprises  and  industry.  One  of  the  main  focus  areas  of  Innovation  Norway  is  internationalization  of  Norwegian  companies  and  the  organization  has  more  than  30  offices  in  countries  around  the  world.  www.innovasjonnorge.no    

NOREPS:  The  Norwegian  Emergency  Preparedness  System  is  mandated  by  the  Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  to  foster  humanitarian  innovation  and  preparedness.  NOREPS  works  to  ensure  that  smarter  and  better  solutions  are  implemented  in  humanitarian  operations  and  

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development  projects  to  respond  effectively  to  global  challenges.  https://www.innovasjonnorge.no/en/start-­‐page/noreps/    Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs  –  International  Development:  As  a  developed  and  wealthy  country,  Norway  is  one  of  the  biggest  donors  in  the  world,  supporting  developing  countries  on  different  aspects.  Energy  is  a  major  focus  in  Norway’s  development  policy,  especially  in  Africa.  However,  in  recent  years  Norway’s  development  policy  has  shifted  from  simply  providing  funds  towards  more  sustainable  investments  and  involvement  of  the  private  sector  to  secure  capacity  building  and  creation  of  governance  and  jobs  in  the  long  term.  https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/id833/  

Norwegian  Embassies:  the  network  of  Norwegian  Embassies  around  the  world  are  natural  cooperation  partners  in  the  internationalization  process.  

The  Research  Council  of  Norway:  Among  others,  The  Research  Council  works  to  promote  international  cooperation  and  increase  participation  in  the  EU  framework  programme  on  research  and  innovation.  www.forskningsrådet.no  

Norwegian  Energy  Partners  (NORWEP):  Works  to  support  and  assist  in  the  internationalisation  of  the  Norwegian  energy  industry.  NORWEP  is  acting  as  a  catalyst  for  processes  between  Norwegian  industry  and  international  businesses  and  governments.  www.norwep.com    

Norwegian-­‐  African  Business  Association  (NABA):  The  Norwegian-­‐African  Business  Association  (NABA)  seeks  to  promote  business  opportunities  on  the  African  continent  and  serve  as  a  bridge  between  Norwegian  and  African  business  communities.  www.norwegianafrican.no    

GIEK:  GIEK  is  a  public  enterprise  that  reports  to  the  Ministry  of  Trade,  Industry  and  Fisheries.    Facilitates  export  financing  with  guarantees  that  mitigate  economic  and  political  risks  for  exporters,  buyers  and  banks.  www.giek.no    

EksportKreditt:  Offers  Norwegian  and  foreign  companies  competitive  financing  when  buying  goods  and  services  from  Norwegian  exporters  www.eksportkreditt.no    

Norfund:  Norway’s  Development  Finance  Institution.  Norfund's  mandate  is  to  support  the  building  of  sustainable  businesses  in  poor  countries  and  thereby  contribute  to  economic  and  social  development.  www.norfund.no    

NORAD:    Norwegian  Agency  for  Development  Cooperation.  NORAD  works  to  ensure  that  Norwegian  development  aid  funds  are  spent  in  the  best  possible  way.  

ZERO:    is  an  independent  environmental  lobby  organization  working  to  support  development  of  zero  emissions  solutions  and  to  prevent  investments  in  solutions  which  generate  fossil  emissions.    www.zero.no    

 

4. Action  Plan  for  2018  and  2019    

This  section  presents  the  concrete  actions  linked  to  the  three  strategic  focus  areas  which  will  be  implemented  in  the  years  2018  and  2019.  The  actions  have  been  defined  based  on  dialogue  with  the  cluster  partners  and  the  strategic  cooperation  partners.    

 

 

 

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Focus    

Description   Actions   Timeline  

Strategic    position  in  Europe    

Norway  produces  solar-­‐grade  silicon  with  the  lowest  CO2  footprint  in  the  world.  The  cluster  sees  this  as  a  competitive  advantage  for  solar  panels  which  use  silicon  originating  from  Norway,  especially  in  the  markets  where  LCA  is  a  part  of  criteria  for  procurement.      

Branding,  strategic  marketing  and  communication        

2018  -­‐  2019  

Horizon2020  is  EU’s  prestigious,  but  highly  competitive  funding  programme  for  research  and  innovation  projects.  The  cluster  and  its  partners  have  an  ambition  to  initiate  and  to  participate  in  Horizon2020  projects  in  order  to  strengthen  their  research  and  innovation  capacity.  In  addition,  this  will  open  for  new  international  cooperation.    

Establishment  of  a  dedicated  EU  advisor  for  the  Solar  Energy  Cluster.  

2018  -­‐  2019  

Development  of  consortia  and  application  for  funding  from  Horizon2020  

Enable  partners  to  stay  up-­‐to-­‐date  with  European  competition,  trends  and  potential  international  partners.    

Participation  in  the  trade  fair  Intersolar  and  organization  of  a  Scandinavian-­‐International  networking  event      

2019  

Development  of  a  market  report  focused  on  Europe  to  be  distributed  to  cluster  partners  only.  A  special  focus  will  be  put  on  markets  in  Denmark  and  Sweden,  which  are  potential  relevant  markets  for  the  Norwegian  actors  working  only  in  Norway  at  the  moment.    

2019  

Learning  from  global  leaders      

The  solar  energy  sector  is  complex  and  will  be  influenced  by  emerging  trends  such  as  blockchain,  big  data,  energy  systems  and  personalization  of  products  and  services.  There  are  already  hubs  around  the  world,  which  lead  the  development  in  these  sectors.  The  cluster  secretariat  wishes  to  better  understand  the  success  factors  for  these  hubs  and  to  establish  a  contact  with  them.  

Organization  of  study  visit  to  Boston  and  California  

2018  

Singapore  is  leading  within  R&D  on  floating  solar  panels  and  energy  systems,  areas  where  the  Norwegian  solar  energy  industry  wants  to  position  itself  in  the  years  

Organization  of  study  visit  in  Singapore    

2019  

8

to  come.    

Business  opportunities  for  electrifying  Africa      

Innovation  Norway  has  a  global  network  of  experts  to  provide  support  for  companies  working  in  international  markets.  They  also  have  many  different  instruments  and  funding  programmes  with  this  aim.  Two  of  them  are  the  export  programme  Global  Growth  and  the  project  programme  Company  Network  (Bedriftsnettverk).  

Develop  a  Global  Growth  program  for  solar  energy  in  East  Africa  in  cooperation  with  Innovation  Norway.    

2018  

Develop  a  small  network  for  companies  to  work  together  in  East  Africa    

2018-­‐  2021    

More  and  more  companies  from  the  solar  energy  sector  define  West  Africa  as  an  important  potential  market  due  to  very  low  penetration  degree  of  energy  companies.  Little  competition  means  many  opportunities;  however  the  challenges  are  as  big  as  the  opportunities  in  the  West-­‐African  countries.    

Identify  and  assess  the  opportunities  in  West  Africa    

2019  

There  is  a  lack  of  understanding  of  the  impact  that  the  renewable  energy  technologies  have  on  the  lives  of  people  without  access  to  energy  and  living  off-­‐the-­‐grid.    There  is  also  a  lack  of  knowledge  about  the  economic  and  policy  instruments  that  developed  countries  like  Norway  should  implement  to  provide  support  to  their  business  sectors  to  develop,  operate  and  maintain  innovative  renewable  energy  solutions  for  developing  countries.    

Provide  knowledge  to  Norwegian  stakeholders  on  how  Norway  can  more  efficiently  support  the  development  and  maintenance  of  solar  energy  solutions  in  Africa.    

2019