The last gathering of this autumn's ScaleUp was concluded on November 27. After weeks of intense work, new perspectives, and challenging reflections, the participants were able to wrap it up together – and share what this journey has truly meant for them.

The maritime cluster in Møre og Romsdal has a unique, complete, and operational value chain covering advanced ship design, shipbuilding, system integration, and maritime technology. We are establishing a supplier network for maritime defense and preparedness, bringing together companies with relevant expertise and interest in the defense market.

The Norwegian Defence Materiel Agency (FMA) has published a voluntary notice of limited competition and invites Norwegian suppliers to submit qualification applications for vessel design and concept development under Project P1118 – Standardised Vessels for the Royal Norwegian Navy.

— We are pleased that our core partners have received funding approval for projects that contribute to the further development of technology and expertise for green transition. Through the core partners, Norsk Katapult Digital is participating, and this allocation is an example of the close collaboration between the core partners and the catapult.

NCE Blue Legasea was visited at the beginning of December by the steering group of the project Future Feed. The purpose of the visit was to provide the green and blue sectors with better insight into each other's barriers and opportunities in the development of the production of Norwegian sustainable feed raw materials.

Local value creation, CO₂ tax, new perspectives on by-products, and good discussions about what future fisheries will require were among the topics the participants at this year's Fisheries Professional Day had to grapple with.

On November 25–26, Pål Haugen and Ida Fjeldberg from Norsk Katapult Digital (NK Digital) visited the company Quantidoc AS in Bergen for an initial scoping meeting before the launch of the service "CTO for hire". At the meeting, they met Jon Fossheim from Quantidoc.

Now ÅKP has a completely new arena for exploration, learning, and technological collaboration. On Tuesday, December 2nd, Norsk Katapult Digital opened its innovation, Digismia – a place where companies can showcase digital solutions, test new services, and gain insights before moving forward with larger investments.

The ÅKP Summit 2025 gathered leaders from a wide variety of industries. What they shared was a desire to broaden their perspectives, draw inspiration from outside, and gain professional enrichment to take home. The reactions showed that the gathering met a need for leaders who wish to learn, share, and develop in a relevant community.

Young Leaders Møre og Romsdal concluded the year with a gathering that hit the core of modern leadership. From November 19 to 20, participants met in Oslo for the third and final gathering of 2025 – two days filled with insight, reflection, and meetings with key figures from politics, social debate, and business.

In collaboration with BAE Systems, we hosted the seminar "New Frigate Program in Ålesund – Strong Opportunities for Norwegian Industry." The event brought together key players from the defense and maritime sectors to discuss innovation, collaboration, and new projects.

This year's placement for girls from upper secondary schools in Ålesund, Molde, and Kristiansund has once again demonstrated how important it is to give young women early insight into the opportunities available in the marine-based industry.

On Wednesday, November 12th, researchers, industry, and businesses gathered at Gardermoen for the final seminar of the BlueMusselFeed project – a research project funded by the Research Council of Norway, which explores mussels as a sustainable protein source in the Norwegian feed industry.

In this year's final Touchbase Sustainability, we brought together the participants in the forum around the theme of green organizational changes. The goal for the day was to explore how companies can build structures and culture that integrate sustainability into their strategy, a direction that guides daily decisions.

At Skipsteknisk, the work with artificial intelligence has been about solving real needs, not chasing trends. Through "Sprint to AI," they have gained new insights, functional prototypes, and a clearer picture of where the path forward can lead.

The pet food industry network gathered in Ålesund for its second physical meeting in the preliminary project phase. We gained insight into raw materials and ingredient development, regulations, market opportunities, and brand building. The conclusion was: the potential for Norwegian marine ingredients is significant – and it must be lifted together.

— It's about becoming a bit aware of what the opportunities are, and then planting some seeds in the organization, so that they can thrive and grow. Then, we can soon start to utilize new technologies and tools, says Tom Christian Dahl, VP of Digitalization at Cflow.

Vår årlige fiskerikonferanse samlet representanter fra flåten, bransjen, teknologileverandører, forskere og offentlige interessenter for en fokusert dag om råvarer, ressursutnyttelse og det utviklende rammeverket som former Norges fiskeindustri.

Den maritime verden endrer seg raskere enn noen gang. Etter hvert som digitalisering, automatisering og autonomi går fra visjon til virkelighet, sliter rammeverkene som støtter dem med å henge med.

In a world where maritime systems are becoming increasingly complex, no single company—or even sector—can solve the challenges alone.

Personnel safety has become a competitive advantage. Now, the battle for the right minds goes hand in hand with an evolving threat landscape. It is essential to provide maritime businesses with the tools they need to operate safely.

On Wednesday, November 12th, we had the pleasure of hosting Kazakhstan's ambassador to Norway, Adil Tursunov, and his attaché Tanat Suldebayev at ÅKP.

AETHER Nordic has joined the GCE Blue Maritime Cluster with a clear mission: to build solutions that people actually need, not just what you think they need. The Norwegian startup is developing a navigation system designed to keep ships moving safely even when satellite signals fail.

During our event as part of the National Maritime Export Initiative, held onboard AIDAnova, Monty Mathisen, Managing Director of Cruise Industry News, gave a detailed overview of the developments and expectations across the global cruise segments.

It is now confirmed that Håvard Lien, Vice President of Research & Innovation at VARD, will also be speaking at the ÅKP Summit. He will share his experiences on how VARD works with innovation across a larger organization with many companies and departments.

It is not every day that a well-established company with several decades behind it decides to think anew. Yet that is exactly what Ulstein Betongindustri did when they participated in the ScaleUp program with us at ÅKP.

It is not every day that a well-established company with several decades behind it decides to think anew. Yet that is exactly what Ulstein Betongindustri did when they participated in the ScaleUp program with us at ÅKP.

Elisabeth Remøy writes: For me, leadership today is not about eliminating uncertainty, but about building organizations that can withstand it. The market, technology, and society are changing faster than we can draw new plans. Nevertheless, organizations must deliver, and leaders should exude confidence in the process.

In collaboration with NTNU in Ålesund, we hosted a seminar on the status of electrification in the maritime sector. In conjunction with the ReFuel project, more than 50 experts from academia and industry gathered to present the latest projects, technologies, and challenges in maritime electrification.

As part of the Norwegian national export initiative for the cruise and ferry industry, GCE Blue Maritime Cluster and Innovation Norway hosted a dedicated market seminar on board AIDAnova while the vessel was docked in Ålesund on October 29.

When the ÅKP Summit gathers business leaders at Storfjord Hotel on November 21–22, Spilka's director Terje Bøe will be one of the speakers on the second day. He will share the story of how an ambitious board resolution was the starting point of an innovation journey that is now making Spilka a finalist for the Construction Industry's Innovation Award 2025.

GCE Blue Maritime Cluster has launched the Blue Maritime Knowledge Base – a new digital platform that gathers and shares key reports, analyses, and presentations from across Norway’s maritime industry.

Norwegian Katapult Digital strengthens the team. This fall, we are pleased to welcome Ida Fjeldberg to us.

How can we help more Nordic solutions reach the market? That is the question driving the Nordic Nexus Network — a new collaboration led by the Iceland Ocean Cluster and funded by Nordic Innovation.

As part of the National Maritime Export Initiative, Innovation Norway – with valuable support from GCE Blue Maritime Cluster and the Royal Norwegian Embassy in Rome – organized a trade mission to Italy focusing on cruise, luxury yachts, and port electrification.

Under the theme "Sustaining a Global Open Economy," this year’s TCI Global Conference brought together government, business, academia, and NGOs to explore how collaboration can accelerate solutions to significant global challenges.

The EU project OASIS is receiving more funding through the Interreg North Sea Programme. The funds will be used to take more companies out to new markets, conduct pressure tests in Norway, and further strengthen collaboration in the project.

Survitec, a renowned player in maritime safety, is strengthening its position through membership in the GCE Blue Maritime Cluster.

The goal is to strengthen the position of women in the marine industry. After last year's successful deployment, NCE Blue Legasea, in collaboration with the business community and high schools in the region, is ready for a new round this autumn.

On October 1st, the Marin Onboarding launched for the very first time, organized by NCE Blue Legasea. The event brought together participants from various sectors of the industry for a day filled with learning, networking, and practical examples from the entire marine and biomarine value chain.

This is stated by CEO Bjørn Bjerke at ÅKP's incubator company Cyan Energy, who adds: This was a great setup focusing on helping the companies involved.

ÅKP offers a workshop in presentation techniques. One participant says: — Through relevant examples and practical exercises, we gained concrete tools to maintain both our own energy and the audience's attention. It was also very useful to challenge ourselves, put it into practice, and receive feedback on what can be improved.

– For Cyan Energy, the journey actually began when ÅKP as an incubator introduced the company to Norsk Katapult Digital and suggested we should have a conversation.