SeaAhead Sails to Norway

An offshore floating wind turbine off the coast of Haugesund, Norway. 

Floating wind days in norway: What we saw, what we learned, and what’s next

As SeaAhead continues to expand, our emphasis is increasingly directed toward cultivating global partnerships, recognizing their indispensable role in addressing major environmental issues. 

Recently, SeaAhead’s Investment Principal, Luke Sawitsky, traveled to Norway for Floating Wind Days 2023, a conference held by Norwegian Offshore Wind, to build connections and learn about renewable energy advances in Europe. We caught up with Sawitsky to hear more about his recent trip.  

SeaAhead: Can you describe your role at SeaAhead?  

Sawitsky: I am an investment principal here. That means I am responsible for running our Blue Angel Network. I do a lot of diligence and look deeper into the companies we talk to after their initial pitches. I look at the pipeline activities, financial history, etc. I am also a resident fisheries and aquatic ecosystem expert, so I do provide some of our companies and startups within our programs with relevant expertise when necessary. 

SeaAhead: What was the purpose of your trip to Norway? 

Sawitsky: The purpose was to go to the Floating Wind Days, which is a two-day conference in Haugesund, Norway, focused on the budding offshore wind and floating offshore wind markets. I also met with people who are relevant to SeaAhead’s work either as investors or startups. I was able to make good network connections for us to know, both in the larger floating wind and offshore wind spaces and in Norway in general, because they have a very robust blue economy ecosystem. 

SeaAhead: Interesting. Would you consider Norway a leader in ocean innovation and development of the blue economy? 

Sawitsky: Absolutely. I mean, they're absolutely a leader in this space and in several sub-sectors, including aquaculture. They have a very large shipping presence. They certainly have been leaders in oil and gas exploration in the ocean and they are now looking at turning that expertise towards wind.  

SeaAhead's Investment Principal, Luke Sawitsky (second from left), pictured with other attendees of Floating Wind Days 2023.

SeaAhead: What are some of the most promising trends or ideas you encountered on your trip? 

Sawitsky: I think that there's a lot of positive momentum behind floating wind. I think there are also a lot of challenges. But I was very heartened by the optimistic attitude of many of the people there and their ability not to be pessimistic about the challenges ahead of us.  

There were a lot of interesting companies there that were in the enabling technologies space. As these designs continue to mature and get deployed, there will be increasing opportunities for innovation and this enabling tech will help to bring down costs. The prominent areas I saw being represented at the conference were the digital twinning and simulation space as well as autonomy, AI, and robotics. 

SeaAhead: Very cool. And you got to visit some of the floating offshore wind turbines? 

Sawitsky: It was a very fun visit to a turbine test site. It was great to see the scale of them and understand what was going on. They deployed multiple turbines in water that is 600 feet deep, much shallower than the depths a lot of people are considering deploying floating offshore wind in. So, it was cool to observe a different way of doing things.  

SeaAhead: Would you say the US is following in Norway's footsteps in terms of innovation or lagging behind? 

Sawitsky: The US is doing a lot on fixed bottom wind, and I think Denmark is actually the leader in fixed bottom wind right now. Norway certainly has some fixed bottom wind as well. I think both the US and Norway are in a similar position when it comes to floating offshore wind because it's such a nascent space. Norway is a little farther along since they have deployed an actual test site, but California certainly is very focused on catching up and I certainly think it's a very exciting place to be both for us and for Norway. 

SeaAhead: What are the next steps for SeaAhead in exploring global partnerships? 

Sawitsky: We're following up with a lot of interesting people I met in Norway and we’re very excited about those conversations and some of the alignment that we saw. I think that we're always open to working with other blue tech clusters throughout the world. It has been very exciting to start seeing some of these relationships bear fruit. 

Sawitsky presenting on SeaAhead’s mission at Floating Wind Days 2023.