On 22 May 2023, John Olav Giæver Tande (Chief Scientist at the Norwegian research organization SINTEF and Director of the Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME) NorthWind) and Dr. Stephan Barth (Managing Director of the Centre for Wind Energy Research ForWind) signed a Memorandum of Understanding in the presence of the German Ambassador Dr. Detlef Wächter. Detlef Wächter, Minister President Stephan Weil, Economics Minister Olaf Lies and State Secretary for Science Prof. Dr. Joachim Schachtner signed a Memorandum of Understanding for closer cooperation in the field of offshore wind energy research.
In the future, potentials will be explored as to how infrastructures can be used jointly and how scientists and students can work more closely together by exchanging data and research results. As part of the collaboration, both partners want to identify opportunities for European and Norwegian-German research cooperation in the field of offshore wind energy.
The cooperation gives the partners the opportunity to work together on the development of a European Center of Excellence for offshore wind energy. In this research network, expertise and ideas can be brought together in order to achieve the targets set for the expansion of offshore wind energy in Europe in good time. In addition, this cooperation would also act as a hub for the training and qualification of urgently needed specialists for the wind energy sector. The collaboration is based on the existing good cooperation within the framework of European research projects and the coordination within the European Energy Research Alliance. Together with other leading research institutions from this alliance, the aim is to establish a sustainable cooperation framework that reflects the importance of offshore wind energy for Europe.
FME NorthWind is a Norwegian research cooperation. The center, which brings together leading Norwegian and international universities, research institutions and industrial companies, offers a dynamic and comprehensive platform for interdisciplinary research. The diverse research activities are aimed at the further development of wind energy technology, particularly in the offshore sector, environmental impact assessments and the transfer of research to the participating industrial companies.
