On Tuesday, April 30th, Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth (Labour Party) and Minister of Research and Higher Education Oddmund Hoel (Centre Party) unveiled the government's strategy for increased investment in research and development in the business sector.

Eirik Hovstein in Maritime Robotics demonstrating the Otter for Cecilie Myrseth and Oddmund Hoel. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset

The government has set an ambitious goal for Norway to allocate three percent of GDP to research and development (R&D) by 2030. The aim is for two out of the three percent to come from the business sector. The launch took place at Maritime Robotics in Trondheim, a leading supplier of advanced autonomous technology for maritime operations.

Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset

"One of the messages from the Minister of Research and Higher Education was that Norwegian research needs more wealthy uncles and aunts," said the ministers. In addition to speeches from the ministers, there were presentations by Alexandra Bech Gjørv from SINTEF and rector Tor Grande from NTNU. Vegard Hovstein presented the success story of Maritime Robotics, Bjørn Jalving from Kongsberg Maritime emphasized the importance of collaboration in the ecosystem, and the tripartite cooperation between business, research, and education. Much of Kongsberg Group's research is conducted as part of further development in already established product lines. Several speakers highlighted the importance of research in defense, societal security, and emergency preparedness.

Minister of Research and Higher Education Oddmund Hoel. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset

Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset

There was also ample time for demonstrations, including Kongsberg Maritime's test vessel Ocean Space Lab, Maritime Robotics' autonomous vessels, and Blueye Robotics' underwater drone. Both Kongsberg, Maritime Robotics, and Blueye Robotics are members of the Ocean Autonomy Cluster.Minister of Trade and Industry Cecilie Myrseth. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset/Ocean Autonomy Cluster

Both ministers and other guests followed with interest and also had the opportunity to try out the vessels.

NTNU students Tomas Wedege and Andreas Ødegård presented their project combining a Blueye underwater drone with an Otter from Maritime Robotics. Both are industrial design students. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset/Ocean Autonomy Cluster

Testing underwater drone with Blueye Robotics. Photo: Lars Bugge Aarset/Ocean Autonomy Cluster