Surface effect ship funding
Norway’s Sørlandet Knowledge Foundation and the Regional Research Council Agder have granted Norwegian naval architects ESNA funding to develop the next generation Surface Effect Ship for offshore service operations.
The grants run from 2016 through 2018 and involve collaboration with the local university UiA (University of Agder) in Grimstad/Kristiansand, NTNU (Norwegian University of Science and Technology) in Trondheim and the highly specialized CFD/FEM consultant cDynamics, all in Norway.
“These grants are a confirmation that our business set-up is right”, said Trygve H. Espeland, co-founder and naval architect of ESNA. “These organisations have performed a technical and commercial evaluation of our R&D programmes and our competence and have concluded positive”.
“The grants provide the economical freedom we need to further develop vessel transfer and access technologies for offshore windfarms both further offshore and nearshore. We are currently working with new and innovative ideas we hope to present to the market soon”, says co-founder and naval architect Nere G Skomedal. “This financial input also allows us to strengthen our team, so that we are now on the search for a new colleague”.
Regional Research Council Agder (RFFAgder) is one of seven regional research councils in Norway. It covers the counties of Øst Agder and Vest Agder. Grants from RFFAgder shall support regional research activities for regional innovation and development.
The Sørlandet Knowledge Foundation (SKF) is a financier of R&D and knowledge- building projects in Vest Agder county. The Foundation was established in 2001 with the overall objective to create and secure jobs and improve social conditions in the region. Since then it has donated some 400 MNOK to more than 800 projects.
By Jake Frith
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