Harnessing the North Sea: Strengthening Belgian–Norwegian Offshore Wind Cooperation

Opera House, Oslo, Norway — 25 March 2026

During the state visit to Oslo, Belgium presented its ambition to establish a Centre of Excellence for offshore wind energy. Building on its strong expertise in offshore wind deployment, operations, grid integration, and environmental monitoring, Belgium aims to consolidate knowledge and accelerate innovation through a structured collaboration between academia, industry, and government. This triple helix approach is widely recognised as essential to translate research more effectively into industrial applications and societal impact.

A round table on offshore wind, bringing together Their Majesties the King and the Queen of the Belgians and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, representatives from government, industry, academia, and knowledge centres from both Belgium and Norway, confirmed a shared understanding: the energy transition in the North Sea requires not only stronger collaboration, but also a more operational and action-oriented approach. While the triple helix model is broadly supported, its implementation remains complex. Policy makers face the ongoing challenge of providing direction and long-term frameworks, while leaving sufficient room for academia and industry to innovate. At the same time, effective policies depend on close interaction with these actors, as regulation must remain grounded in technological and industrial realities.

Scaling up offshore wind requires both sustained investment in research and development and increased standardisation. While innovation remains indispensable, standardisation enables industrial actors to operate more efficiently and to access global markets. The integration of research into real-world projects is therefore key, ensuring that new technologies are rapidly tested, validated, and deployed.

The discussions also highlighted the strong complementarity between Belgium and Norway. Belgium has developed significant expertise in commercial offshore wind and system integration, while Norway brings world-leading capabilities in offshore engineering, harsh-environment operations, and floating wind technologies. This creates clear opportunities for intensified cooperation, particularly in areas such as floating offshore wind, deep-sea cables and pipeline infrastructure, and joint demonstration projects. Strengthening collaboration in these domains can accelerate innovation and reinforce the international position of both countries.

“Norway and Belgium are separated by the North Sea. Norway and Belgium are connected by the North Sea energy” 

At the same time, the growing importance of security and resilience in offshore energy systems was strongly emphasised. Protecting critical infrastructure, such as subsea cables, is becoming increasingly important, and security considerations need to be embedded in all projects from the outset. This also implies stronger links with defence-related expertise, where collaboration within the triple helix can support joint innovation across civil and strategic domains.

Participants expressed broad support for the development of Centres of Excellence as key instruments to organise critical mass, foster multidisciplinary collaboration, and create long-term impact. The Belgian OWI-Lab and the Norwegian NorthWind centre of excellence play a crucial role in connecting science, industry, and policy, but participants agreed that much closer cooperation is now needed.  The centers must function as operational platforms that connect research, industry, and policy, while providing stability, focus, and excellence. Linking these centres to strategic priority sectors is essential to ensure both relevance and sustained investment.

Another important point raised during the discussions was the need to invest in people and future talent. Engaging young generations at an early stage, raising awareness, and motivating them to pursue careers in the offshore energy sector is crucial to sustain innovation capacity over time. At the same time, better communication is needed to ensure that the broader societal value of offshore wind—also in terms of affordability—is clearly understood.

All discussions ultimately converged on the broader challenge of the energy transition trilemma: balancing affordability, security of supply, and sustainability. While affordability and security are increasingly prominent in current debates, participants stressed that sustainability must remain a core pillar and should not be overlooked in decision-making processes.

“ Offshore wind energy has the lowest energy system cost. It is proven again and again. This needs to be communicated to move forward”.

A strong and consistent message throughout the round table was the urgent need for long-term vision and policy predictability. Policy imbalances and short-term approaches risk slowing down investment and innovation, while a stable and coherent framework is essential to support industrial planning and strengthen competitiveness. At the same time, the sector demonstrates that collaboration and competition can go hand in hand: joint efforts in research, infrastructure, and standardisation can reinforce the ecosystem as a whole, while maintaining a dynamic and competitive market environment.

The round table concluded with a clear sense of urgency and shared responsibility. Unlocking the full potential of the North Sea requires immediate action, stronger alignment, and long-term commitment. The message is clear: the energy transition cannot wait . The North Sea offers enormous potential, and unlocking it requires joined actions now.

The round table was an initiative of VLUHR, OWI-Lab, the Center for Excellence of VUB, UGent and Sirris in Offshore wind.

Delegates

Their Majesties the King and the Queen of the Belgians and Crown Prince Haakon of Norway

Ministry of Foreign Affairs Belgium, Government of Flanders Belgium, FPS Economy Belgium, Ministry of Energy Norway,  Ministry of Fisheries and Ocean Policy Norway

Participating companies : EliaGroup, JeraNexBP, Stattnet, Equinor, Smulders, DEME, JanDeNul, GEOXYZ, Aibel, Norseagroup, Seaway7, Akersolutions, DNV, Innovation Norway

Participating research centers : VUB, UGent, KULeuven, UMons, SINTEF, NTNU, UiB

Interested in the academic offshore wind session we organized during the Belgian-Norwegian state visit? Then also read this blogpost: https://www.owi-lab.be/post/belgium-and-norway-join-forces-on-offshore-wind-innovation