internationalization strategy solar energy cluster...
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INTERNATIONALIZATION STRATEGY
August, 2018
A strategy for transforming The Solar Energy Cluster Norway into a global leader within the solar energy industry
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1. Intro to the solar energy industry in Norway
Solar energy is the fastest growing energy source in the world in terms of installed capacity. It was also the renewable energy source with the largest investments globally in 2017, closely followed by wind power. The accumulated installed capacity in 2017 reached 400 GWp. Among the drivers of growth are declining costs, critical support mechanisms and increasing electricity prices. While previously driven from Germany and other European countries, growth in the recent years occurs in countries such as United States, China and India.
The global average price for solar power, in $/installed Wp, has been reduced by 62 % since 2009, and are expected to drop below coal power over the next decade, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance.
The digitalization of the power industry opens doors for new players, new forms of communication, new business models and new management systems based on predictions, to name a few. There are developments, particularly off-‐grid, where solar cells to a lesser extent are sold as a single component, but rather as a part of a larger ecosystem. Market development shows a trend in which solar power creates a market for storage and smart power management, which in turn creates a market for new business models in the energy sector.
Norway has several competitive advantages as a component and technical supplier in the international market. In production, Norway has managed to compete with international competitors in solar grade silicon and wafers from, among others, China. Some of the reasons for this are cheap and renewable power used in production, high degree of automation, the Norwegian model and the market’s willingness to premiere low-‐carbon products. Downstream, closer to the customer, Norwegian companies have begun to assert themselves with a good utilization of software and insights in the future energy markets.
In general, Norway is expected to strengthen its position in the global market in several segments. There are already today several Norwegian companies that develop both large and small-‐scale solar power plants internationally, and the metallurgy industry has shown before that they are able to keep up with the fierce competition and price pressure in the international market. As exponential growth is expected for many years to come in most areas of the world, this creates a significant market opportunity for Norwegian companies. However, the competition is incredibly tough and it is essential that the Norwegian solar industry, through continued research, development and competence building, is able to maintain and strengthen the competitive advantages it already has. and Tthis is what The Solar Energy Cluster aims to contribute to. 1
2. The Solar Energy Cluster Norway
The Solar Energy Cluster Norway is a unique partnership between private companies from the solar energy industry, research institutes and universities as well as public organisations and development actors spread across Norway. This partnership was initiated in 2013 by the industry and it aims to increase cooperation and the innovation capacity of its partners, as well as to address challenges within the Norwegian solar energy industry.
1 Excerpt from the industry status report ‘Sol i systemet og system i sol’ commissioned by the Solar Energy Cluster and developed by Multiconsult and Asplan Viak. Report in Norwegian, executive summary available in English. Can be downloaded here: http://solenergiklyngen.no/app/uploads/sites/4/180313-‐rapport_solkraft-‐markedsutvikling-‐2017-‐endelig.pdf
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The cluster received ARENA status in 2016 and became a Norwegian Cluster of Innovation2, part of the Norwegian national cluster program funded by Innovation Norway, The Norwegian Research Council and SIVA. This indicates also that solar energy became an industry of national strategic importance with potential to contribute to the diversification of the Norwegian economy. The cluster has both the ambition and the potential to become a National Cluster of Expertise (NCE) and advance to the next level in the cluster program.
At the moment when this strategy was developed, the cluster has 88 partners, 59 of which are private companies, 12 are research institutes and universities and 17 are other development and innovation partners.
Table 1 provides an overview of the business partner in the cluster divided into ten categories. This classification is the same as the one used in the Business Partnes Catalogue which can be downloaded on the cluster’s website.3 The catalogue provides an overview of the competence in the clusters and is a starting point to better understand the internationalization needs of the different companies in the cluster.
Table 1. Classification of the cluster business partners
Category Companies Development and operation of international solar energy projects
Aega ASA Empower New Energy AS Kube Energy AS Norsk Solar AS Scatec Solar ASA SunErgy AS
Engineering consultancy and project management
Asplan Viak AS COWI AS ECT AS ETA Energi AS Enøkplan AS InPartners AS Kjeller Vindteknikk AS Multiconsult AS
Norconsult AS Obos Prosjekt AS PQA AS Ressurs & Miljø AS SWECO AS Trade Wind AS ÅF Engineering
Technology development and production
Aventa AS BRIGHT Products AS Dynatec Engineering AS Eltek AS Greenventive Development AS Green Energy AS
2 http://www.innovationclusters.no/english/ 3 http://solenergiklyngen.no/partnerskap/
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Home Control AS Innos AS Ocean Sun AS Pixii AS Protan AS Solar Village AS Tarpon Solar AS
Silicon production REC Soalr Norway AS Energy utility Akershus Energi Varme AS
Eidsiva Energi Marked AS Equinor ASA Fortum Markets AS Smart Energi AS LOS Energi AS NTE Marked AS
Software development and smart solutions
eSmart Systems AS Eyasys AS
Supply and installation of solar panels
Catch Solar AS GETEK AS Integrate Renewables AS Norsk Solenergi AS Norsk Solstrøm AS Otovo AS Solar Technologies Scandinavia AS Solbes AS Solbære AS Solcellesystemer AS Solcellespesialisten Solel AS Solenergi Fusen AS Sol-‐Energi AS Sun-‐Net AS Wen Energy AS
Innovation and investments Differ AS Herøya Industripark AS Glava Energy Center Scatec AS TechBridge Invest AS Umoe AS X2 Innovasjonssenter AS
Legal advisors SANDS Human Resources Experis AS In addition to the business partners, the cluster includes a range of research institutes and universities, as well as different development actors4.
4 List of the entire partnership can be found on the cluster’s website http://solenergiklyngen.no/partnerskap/
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3. Becoming a global leader
This document establishes the vision for the Solar Energy Cluster Norway to become a global leader in the industry, it describes the focus areas chosen towards this vision and provides details on the concrete activities that will be implemented over the next two years (2018-‐2019).
This internationalization strategy has a long-‐term approach and the action plan will be updated every two years to ensure the relevance of its action plan for the solar energy industry. The solar energy industry both in Norway and at international level is highly dynamic and is rapidly changing therefore periodic upgrade of the action plan needed.
The internationalization needs in the cluster vary greatly. Some of the cluster partners already work at international level and have many different international partners, while others work only in Norway but hold an overview of the technology trends and source the technology they use from around the world. This strategy aims to address the internationalization needs of all the partners in the cluster and the cluster secretariat will do its best to support the partners in their international activities.
Vision: The vision for the cluster is to become international market leader in providing technical, financial and operation & maintenance solutions for solar energy both in developed and developing countries.
Goal: Create growth within the Norwegian solar energy industry and increase its innovation and research capacity.
Objectives:
1. Double the number of international research and innovation projects that the cluster partners are involved in by 2021 compared to 2018.
2. Double the size of the solar energy industry in Norway by 2021 compared to 2018. 3. Expand and improve the financial instruments needed both on-‐grid and off-‐grid to
create a viable and sustainable business environment. 4. Double the number of people in Africa who have reliable access to solar energy
thanks to Norwegian initiatives, solutions and/or competence by 2021 compared to 2018.
These objectives are in line with and will contribute to achieving the following UN Sustainable Development goals:
3. Good health and well-‐being 4. Quality education 6. Clean water and sanitation
7. Affordable and Clean Energy
8. Decent work and economic growth
9. Industry and infrastructure
11. Sustainable Cities and Communities
13. Climate Action
17. Partnerships for the goals
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The process of developing this strategy
The cluster secretariat led a strategic process to identify the priority areas and to define the action plan for the years 2018 and 2019. The process involved meetings and discussions with the key cluster partners, the business partners as well as companies which are not part of the cluster and Norwegian actors working at international level.
The process of developing this strategy had the following steps:
Q2 2017: Identification of geographical focus Q3 2017: Mapping of Norwegian and international actors activating in these markets Q3-‐Q4 2017: Mapping of Norwegian solar energy companies in prioritized countries Q4 2017: Defining cooperation priorities and the role of the Solar Energy Cluster Q1 2018: Defining concrete actions for 2018 and 2019 The following three focus areas have been chosen by the cluster secretariat based on the strategic process described above:
1. Strategic positioning in Europe through R&D&I projects 2. Learning from global leaders 3. Business opportunities for electrifying Africa
These focus areas will guide the implementation of this strategy and will provide support for defining a new action plan for the years after 2019.
Target group
The main target group for this strategy includes the cluster partners. The strategy will enable them to streamline their efforts under the same objectives and in this way, create growth in the industry. In the same time, the action plan informs the partners of the concrete actions that the secretariat will focus on in the near future.
The secondary target group includes a wide range of Norwegian and international stakeholders towards which the cluster wants to position itself. For theses actors the strategy has an informative role. It informs about the existence of the cluster, its ambitions and the interest to participate in international partnerships and projects.
Strategic cooperation partners
There are already a range of Norwegian organizations working to support Norwegian businesses to work at international level. The cluster secretariat has established a dialogue with all those described here during the strategic process for this internationalization strategy. The aim is to have a close cooperation with them during the implementation of the strategy in order to efficiently use the already available tools and resources.
Main cooperation partners for the implementation of this strategy:
Innovation Norway: The Norwegian Government's most important instrument for innovation and development of Norwegian enterprises and industry. One of the main focus areas of Innovation Norway is internationalization of Norwegian companies and the organization has more than 30 offices in countries around the world. www.innovasjonnorge.no
NOREPS: The Norwegian Emergency Preparedness System is mandated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to foster humanitarian innovation and preparedness. NOREPS works to ensure that smarter and better solutions are implemented in humanitarian operations and
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development projects to respond effectively to global challenges. https://www.innovasjonnorge.no/en/start-‐page/noreps/ Ministry of Foreign Affairs – International Development: As a developed and wealthy country, Norway is one of the biggest donors in the world, supporting developing countries on different aspects. Energy is a major focus in Norway’s development policy, especially in Africa. However, in recent years Norway’s development policy has shifted from simply providing funds towards more sustainable investments and involvement of the private sector to secure capacity building and creation of governance and jobs in the long term. https://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/ud/id833/
Norwegian Embassies: the network of Norwegian Embassies around the world are natural cooperation partners in the internationalization process.
The Research Council of Norway: Among others, The Research Council works to promote international cooperation and increase participation in the EU framework programme on research and innovation. www.forskningsrådet.no
Norwegian Energy Partners (NORWEP): Works to support and assist in the internationalisation of the Norwegian energy industry. NORWEP is acting as a catalyst for processes between Norwegian industry and international businesses and governments. www.norwep.com
Norwegian-‐ African Business Association (NABA): The Norwegian-‐African Business Association (NABA) seeks to promote business opportunities on the African continent and serve as a bridge between Norwegian and African business communities. www.norwegianafrican.no
GIEK: GIEK is a public enterprise that reports to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries. Facilitates export financing with guarantees that mitigate economic and political risks for exporters, buyers and banks. www.giek.no
EksportKreditt: Offers Norwegian and foreign companies competitive financing when buying goods and services from Norwegian exporters www.eksportkreditt.no
Norfund: Norway’s Development Finance Institution. Norfund's mandate is to support the building of sustainable businesses in poor countries and thereby contribute to economic and social development. www.norfund.no
NORAD: Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation. NORAD works to ensure that Norwegian development aid funds are spent in the best possible way.
ZERO: is an independent environmental lobby organization working to support development of zero emissions solutions and to prevent investments in solutions which generate fossil emissions. www.zero.no
4. Action Plan for 2018 and 2019
This section presents the concrete actions linked to the three strategic focus areas which will be implemented in the years 2018 and 2019. The actions have been defined based on dialogue with the cluster partners and the strategic cooperation partners.
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Focus
Description Actions Timeline
Strategic position in Europe
Norway produces solar-‐grade silicon with the lowest CO2 footprint in the world. The cluster sees this as a competitive advantage for solar panels which use silicon originating from Norway, especially in the markets where LCA is a part of criteria for procurement.
Branding, strategic marketing and communication
2018 -‐ 2019
Horizon2020 is EU’s prestigious, but highly competitive funding programme for research and innovation projects. The cluster and its partners have an ambition to initiate and to participate in Horizon2020 projects in order to strengthen their research and innovation capacity. In addition, this will open for new international cooperation.
Establishment of a dedicated EU advisor for the Solar Energy Cluster.
2018 -‐ 2019
Development of consortia and application for funding from Horizon2020
Enable partners to stay up-‐to-‐date with European competition, trends and potential international partners.
Participation in the trade fair Intersolar and organization of a Scandinavian-‐International networking event
2019
Development of a market report focused on Europe to be distributed to cluster partners only. A special focus will be put on markets in Denmark and Sweden, which are potential relevant markets for the Norwegian actors working only in Norway at the moment.
2019
Learning from global leaders
The solar energy sector is complex and will be influenced by emerging trends such as blockchain, big data, energy systems and personalization of products and services. There are already hubs around the world, which lead the development in these sectors. The cluster secretariat wishes to better understand the success factors for these hubs and to establish a contact with them.
Organization of study visit to Boston and California
2018
Singapore is leading within R&D on floating solar panels and energy systems, areas where the Norwegian solar energy industry wants to position itself in the years
Organization of study visit in Singapore
2019
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to come.
Business opportunities for electrifying Africa
Innovation Norway has a global network of experts to provide support for companies working in international markets. They also have many different instruments and funding programmes with this aim. Two of them are the export programme Global Growth and the project programme Company Network (Bedriftsnettverk).
Develop a Global Growth program for solar energy in East Africa in cooperation with Innovation Norway.
2018
Develop a small network for companies to work together in East Africa
2018-‐ 2021
More and more companies from the solar energy sector define West Africa as an important potential market due to very low penetration degree of energy companies. Little competition means many opportunities; however the challenges are as big as the opportunities in the West-‐African countries.
Identify and assess the opportunities in West Africa
2019
There is a lack of understanding of the impact that the renewable energy technologies have on the lives of people without access to energy and living off-‐the-‐grid. There is also a lack of knowledge about the economic and policy instruments that developed countries like Norway should implement to provide support to their business sectors to develop, operate and maintain innovative renewable energy solutions for developing countries.
Provide knowledge to Norwegian stakeholders on how Norway can more efficiently support the development and maintenance of solar energy solutions in Africa.
2019