OSLO – Allready in january 2015, we will have an intern at our headquarter in Asker to work specially with the coordination between aerospace and subsea companies, says Preben Strøm, managing director at Subsea Valley.
After signing the MoU at Ambassade de France in Drammensveien, Strøm and his French counterpart Agnès Paillard, CEO at Aerospace Valley was congratulated by a crowd of players in the French-Norwegian business environment. The most eager to foster new combined possibilities in aerospace and subsea sectors is ambassadeur Jean-Marc Rives, hosting the signing ceremony.
Mr. Rives points out that the close business relations between the two countries are at the next step in its developtment.
– What is explored in the air in France can be useful in the exploration of oil and gas in Norway, says ambassadeur Rives.
Robotic research and testing
The first area to explore cooperation between the two clusters will be use of remote controlled robotic technology from aerospace companies in severe challenging conditions in deep subsea oil & gas activities e.g. in the arctic seas.
Agnès Paillard, CEO Aerospace Valley, says to Oslo Business Memo, thart Airbus Defence & Space are specifically looking for a project in collaboration with Norwegian subsea interests to test remote controlled robotic technology.
According to Paillard there has been contacts with both Statoil and SINTEF to discuss possible projects where the french aerospace robotic technology can be tested subsea. Robotic technology was also a theme at a workshop at ONS.
– This is the first MoU entered by Subsea Valley, and we have great expectations for the value it will bring to the cluster. This agreement is the result of a process that started more than two years back, and which has been intensified over the last year, says Preben Strøm.
The first official joint event was taking place at the Subsea Valley Conference in April 2014, with a follow-up by a new workshop at the ONS conference in Stavanger in August, initiated by the Aerospace Valley Cluster.
Ambitious plans
– We have already seen specific projects as a result of our collaboration, and the plans for the future are ambitious, says Strøm.
– As a subsea cluster, we believe that the potential in working closely with clusters from other industries, can be of great benefits for our members, and areas where we see potential for collaboration are within: Robotics, simulation and safety, material technology, operations in harsh environments, standardization, internationalization, r&d and education.
The Subsea Valley manager emphasizes the great work and effort performed by ambassador Rives and his team at the Embassy and UbiFrance, as well as Agnes Paillard and Mr Thilo Schønfeld from the the Aerospace Valley organization, and the French Norwegian Chamber of Commerce to make the MOU agreement become a reality.
Mr. Strøm also emphasizes that the signing of a MOU is not the end of a process, but hopefully the start to a long-term relationship.
– As a small cluster with limited resources, we need to consider very carefully how we use these. We believe its better to have a few trusted partners that we pay a lot of attention rather than signing MoU`s just to make things look good on paper. Therefore we have the ambitions to employ an intern from France to work at our offices in Asker and be our main contact for all projects between our clusters. This can be done due to very attractive arrangements from the French Government.
The agreement
Initiated during 2013 and confirmed at the Subsea Valley Conference 2014, the two clusters Subsea Valley and Aerospace Valley have established preliminary relationships in view to draw closer cooperation in the future.
WHEREAS, the Aerospace Valley association, that gathers large firms, SMEs, research and training organizations, universities and engineering schools as well as regional authorities and public bodies in the field of aeronautics, space and embedded systems in the two French Regions Aquitaine and Midi-Pyrénées.
Designated in 2005 by the French national government as “global innovation cluster”, Aerospace Valley aims at supporting growth of enterprises through regional and national R&D and innovation programs and international cooperation. In the context of this international cooperation and relationships, Aerospace Valley assumes the leadership among the three French aerospace clusters. and
WHERAS Subsea Valley is a cluster organization comprising 235 companies, mainly subsea engineering companies and subcontractors, but also operators and R&D institutions. The majority of member companies are located between Oslo and Kongsberg, better known as Subsea Valley. Through continuous training and working together whenever possible, Subsea Valley members are focused on cutting edge engineering in the global subsea market. Subsea Valley was in 2013 granted Arena status from Innovation Norway to establish and execute several projects to develop the Subsea Valley cluster, whereas Internationalization is to be considered as one of the most important projects.
The participants decide to sign this MoU in the following terms and conditions:
Article 1 – PURPOSE AND NATURE OF COLLABORATION
By this instrument, the participants commit to:
1.1 Coordinate the use of their own mechanisms for promoting and funding, in order to facilitate partnerships between Aerospace Valley and Norwegian subsea related enterprises in the development of new technologies, products, processes or services, a special focus shall be given to enterprises located in the Subsea Valley axis.
1.2 Collaborate in promoting the National Innovation Systems of both countries and exchange experiences in managing innovation and managing public and private resources for innovative companies in France and Norway.
1.3 Jointly promote cooperation in R&D and education among universities, technical schools and other educational units that are affiliated with the Participants including European projects under Horizon 2029
1.4 Seek to encourage our members to participate in each other’s conferences to explore common opportunities.
1.5 Collaborate in promoting technological cooperation and matchmaking between member companies of the Participants, with a focus on small and medium sized enterprises – SME’s, by supporting innovative projects while enabling the participation of research institutions.
1.6 Promote exchange of key personnel in order to facilitate for training for the benefit of companies from the participants and with the long-term objective of being more competitive.
1.7 Seek to improve the cooperation between members by exchange of key personnel for e.g. training, coordination of projects and establishing partnerships. The aim is to increase competitiveness of the members of our organisations.
1.8 Each Party will bear its own costs and expenses, (including legal and accounting fees and expenses), incurred in connection with this Agreement and the transactions contemplated hereby.
1.9 Aérospace Valley will implement the necessary measures in order to recruit a VIE (Graduate Trainee), potentially in collaboration with another French cluster whose activities are complimentary with its own. Subsea Valley will host the said VIE in their office at Asker.
Article 2 – MECHANISMS AND FINANCING
The funding of the cooperation will be done by the Participants member companies’ own recourses. Financial support from local and federal governments will be explored. The Participants intend to allocate necessary resources to achieve the goals set forth in this agreement.