Belgium and Norway join forces on offshore wind innovation

During the recent state visit of Belgium to Norway, an academic session brought together leading universities, research institutes, and industry actors to strengthen collaboration in offshore wind. Organised by OWI-Lab, Innovation Norway, and SINTEF, NTNU, the session focused on a shared ambition: building a European Centre of Excellence in offshore wind energy.

The session opened with Innovation Norway, and VUB/OWI-Lab, highlighting the strategic importance of Belgian–Norwegian cooperation in the energy transition. Setting the scene, Sirris/OWI-Lab and SINTEF emphasised the need for strong alignment between academia, industry, and policy to accelerate offshore wind deployment. The programme demonstrated how both countries contribute complementary strengths across the offshore wind ecosystem.

VUB/OWI-Lab presented Belgium’s success in translating long-term research into industrial impact, particularly in structural monitoring and offshore infrastructure. Ghent University/OWI-Lab introduced the BEL-Float initiative, highlighting the growing Belgian–Norwegian collaboration in floating wind technologies. From an industry cluster perspective, De Blauwe Cluster stressed the importance of time-to-market and valorisation, ensuring that innovation effectively reaches deployment.

Norwegian expertise was showcased through several contributions: SINTEF presented advanced research infrastructure and laboratory capabilities; NGI addressed offshore renewables from ground modelling to installation; and NTNU highlighted the role of predictive digital twins in improving the performance and lifetime of offshore structures.

Digital innovation is increasingly central to offshore wind. NTNU and VUB/OWI-Lab presented work on AI-driven operation and maintenance, demonstrating how scalable digital solutions can improve efficiency across offshore wind farms.At the European level, SINTEF and VUB/OWI-Lab showcased successful collaboration in EU-funded projects such as EU Willow, underlining the importance of cross-border partnerships .

Closing the session, FPS Economy Belgium reflected on the North Sea Summit and the strategic role of Centres of Excellence in aligning national efforts.

The discussions made one thing clear: Belgium and Norway are natural partners. By combining Belgian expertise in offshore infrastructure and industrial valorisation with Norwegian strengths in large-scale systems and harsh-environment operations, both countries are well positioned to lead the next phase of offshore wind development.

Strengthening this collaboration will be key to accelerating Europe’s energy transition—and to turning ambition into impact.

Interested in the roundtable discussions we organized during the Belgian-Norwegian state visit? Then also read this blogpost: https://www.owi-lab.be/post/harnessing-the-north-sea-strengthening-belgian-norwegian-offshore-wind-cooperation