Dag Eirik Nordgård, Research Director of FME NorthWind shows the delegation from the Floating Offshore Wind Technology Research Association (FLOWRA) in Japan around at SINTEF Energy Lab in Trondheim, Norway.

“With unique expertise in marine operations, Norwegian companies are ideally suited to help Japan develop its own offshore wind as a crucial source of renewable energy,” states Per Christer Lund, PhD, Counsellor Energy and Technology, The Trade and Technology Office, Norwegian Embassy Tokyo.

Japan and Norway share some striking similarities relevant to offshore wind. Like Norway, most of Japan’s offshore wind potential lies in floating wind. Both are maritime nations with long coastlines, and their mountainous terrains are surrounded by deep waters and rich marine resources.

“In contrast, while Norway is a net exporter of electricity, Japan has an energy self-sufficiency of 11 per cent and relies on the import of primary energy. The Japanese government is seeking to change this,” states Marianne S. Berg, Counsellor Science, Technology and Higher Education, The Trade and Technology Office, Norwegian Embassy Tokyo.

Unparalleled experience in offshore activities

Norway’s particular strength is its 50 years of experience in maritime operations on floating structures under harsh environmental conditions, which is the definition of a floating offshore wind farm. The operations are complex.

“Based on its decades of experience in North Sea oil and gas, Norway has built a substantial offshore industry that is now transitioning to the renewable energy sector, including offshore wind,” explains Lund.

“Norway brings a full value chain in marine operations to offshore wind – everything from vessel operations to the complexity of the installation,” he adds.

Digitalisation propels offshore wind forward

Digitalisation of society is another shared feature of Japan and Norway, with both countries’ capitals scoring in high in global rankings of maritime cities on measures such as digitalisation. The countries are therefore open to innovations in digital solutions for marine operations.

Today Norway is developing a substantial digital value proposition in offshore wind, also based on its experience from the oil and gas industry. This encompasses a wide range of solutions in logistics, planning and optimisation of installations and operations, as well as metocean data and subsea geophysical analysis and assessment.

“Today we see that some of the most successful Norwegian service providers in the Japanese market are now on the software side,” says Lund.

Norway set to solve the vessel shortage

Norway excels at ship design, building and operation, especially specialty vessels for floating offshore wind, again thanks to its North Sea activities. The country has some of the largest vessel owners in the world, such as DOF with its large fleet of offshore wind support vessels.

“The Japanese and Norwegians realise there is a substantial supply chain shortage in vessels. This includes the ship crew and personnel resources. Based on this, there is a good opening for Norwegian companies in the vessel operation space in Japan,” says Lund.

Other major players here include Fred. Olsen Windcarrier, Integrated Wind Solutions and Vard.

Not only is there a shortage of vessels, but of qualified seafarers as well, especially ones trained for specific tasks in offshore wind. Norway can assist in this area through its established seafarer training centre in Manila, which utilises cutting-edge simulation solutions. The large technology company Kongsberg Maritime is a major contributor in this area.

Coexistence on the high seas

One main challenge is resistance in Japan from the fisheries industry, which is concerned that offshore wind farms will disrupt their traditional fishing activities. But Norway has had a successful a policy of coexistence among ocean industries over the past 50 years.

“In areas challenged economically by declining fish resources, offshore wind can offer yet another commercial foot to stand on. In Norway we see coastal societies thriving on conventional fisheries, ocean energy and aquaculture,” he says.

Technology transfer and partnerships

In recent years, Japanese companies have shown a growing interest in collaboration on Norway’s offshore wind activities in the North Sea. One good example of this is the GoliatVIND pilot project for floating offshore wind in North Norway, in which Japan’s Kansai Electric Power Company and ENEOS Renewable Energy are investors.

Moreover, Mitsui O.S.K Lines (MOL), a global Japanese shipping company, is a strategic partner in Odfjell OceanWind, another partner in the pilot project.

“As we know, large investments are needed for offshore wind, and we are seeing more interest from Japanese investors and financing institutions such as banks and venture funds. This is a positive sign for the future of the industry,” states Lund.

Wind Expo Tokyo 2025

Norwegian companies with offshore wind solutions attend trade fairs in Japan on a regular basis, the largest being Wind Expo Tokyo. Norway is always represented by the three companies with established operations in Japan: DNV, DOF and Equinor, which has been present in Japan as an offshore wind developer for eight years. Many newcomers attend as well, including Autronica, Cranemaster, Jotun, LanoPro, Scanmudring and Seaonics and in the O&M space and OneSubsea and Safelink in engineering and consultancy.