Nordic consortium to accelerate ocean innovation across borders

Photo: Elisabeth Remøy and Wenche Uksnøy.

A strong Nordic consortium – led by ÅKP together with Danish Ocean Cluster, Iceland Ocean Cluster, A’Pelago and Norinnova – has been awarded funding from Nordic Innovation to launch the Nordic Ocean Cluster Accelerator (NOCA), a three-year initiative to strengthen collaboration and growth in the ocean economy.

NOCA aims to connect strong but fragmented Nordic ocean ecosystems into one coordinated platform. Through a shared digital infrastructure and a cross-border accelerator program, companies will be able to collaborate, test solutions and scale across markets more efficiently.

A joint Nordic effort

As project owner, ÅKP will coordinate the collaboration across partners in Norway, Denmark, Iceland and Finland – working closely with the consortium to build a stronger, more integrated Nordic innovation ecosystem.

What this means for companies

At the core of NOCA is the value for participating SMEs. Through three pilot cohorts, at least 25 companies will gain access to a Nordic ecosystem of partners, investors and industry expertise.

—  For SMEs, joining a Nordic cluster accelerator may open doors that would otherwise take years to unlock. Suddenly, they’re connected to relevant partners, customers, and expertise across the region, which creates very real and immediate value, says Elisabeth Remøy, Senior Advisor at ÅKP.

She points out:

— What I see SMEs gain from this program is very concrete: quicker access to the right people, the right partners, and the right knowledge. Instead of figuring everything out on their own, they can move faster and make better decisions from day one.

The project will also strengthen companies’ investment readiness and facilitate cross-border investor connections.

From collaboration to real impact

— What makes this project particularly exciting is that we are addressing a long-standing challenge: Nordic ocean environments are strong individually, but not strong enough together. Now we are building something that truly connects us across both countries and sectors, says Wenche Uksnøy.

She is head of ÅKP’s marine cluster, Blue Legasea and Project Manager for NOCA. Wenche underlines that this project is about real collaboration:

— For us in ÅKP and the consortium, this is about moving from good relationships to real collaboration – sharing tools, connecting investors, and working in a more coordinated way to strengthen the Nordic ocean economy, she says, and adds:

— For participants, this means new opportunities: access to more markets, stronger networks, and a Nordic setup that makes it easier to test, develop and scale solutions together. I truly believe this can be an important step toward making the Nordics one strong and competitive ocean region.

Strengthening Nordic competitiveness

By bringing together more than 20 ocean clusters and establishing shared tools and structures, NOCA will strengthen both individual companies and the Nordic innovation system – supporting ÅKP’s vision of helping ocean-based companies succeed internationally.