All posts by Janice Gundersen

Noreg kan satse på KI-forsking med ny nasjonal superdatamaskin

Business News, Technology

Regjeringa har lova å bruke minimum ein milliard kroner over fem år på norsk KI-forsking. No er arbeidet i gang med å ruste opp reknekrafta som trengst for å følge opp satsinga.

No er kontrakta signert. Noreg får ei ny superdatamaskin. Det var Hewlett Packard Enterprise Norge som i slutten av mai vann anbodskonkurransen, med ein kontraktsverdi på 225 millionar kroner. Den nye superdatamaskina er den kraftigaste i norsk historie og vil bidra til eit betydeleg løft for nasjonal forsking og innovasjon innan KI.

– Dette er eit stort steg vidare for Noreg som kunnskapsnasjon. For å henge med i KI-kappløpet, må vi vere mindre avhengige av utanlandske aktørar. Vi må syte for at vi har nok reknekraft sjølve. Det er avgjerande for å sikre norsk kunnskapsberedskap og nasjonal tryggleik, seier forskings- og høgare utdanningsminister Oddmund Hoel (Sp).


Read full article here.

U.S. military officials engage Norwegian construction industry as part of growing European Deterrence Initiative construction mission

Business News, Defense / Security

OSLO, Norway – Engineering and construction professionals from throughout Norway and across Europe recently gathered here to learn more about military construction contracting opportunities with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District in support of regional security initiatives.

Europe District personnel provided nearly 100 members of industry details on how firms can register to compete for U.S. contracts as well as a broad overview of the roughly $200 million in design and construction work planned for the Royal Norwegian Air Force’s Rygge Air Station south of Oslo. The projects are funded through the U.S. European Command’s European Deterrence Initiative using U.S. Air Force military construction funds.

“The Ministry of Defense very much appreciates the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers taking the time and effort to arrange this industry day,” said Norwegian Ministry of Defence Department of Investments Senior Adviser Svein Gjeruldsen when addressing the members of industry at the event. “It confirms the U.S. intention to strive to utilize Norwegian suppliers to the greatest extent practical.”

Read full article here. 

AmCham Defense Forum: Strengthening Alliances: Insights on the Norwegian Long-Term Defense Plan 

AmCham News

AmCham Sustainability Forum: Plastics & Aviation

AmCham’s latest Sustainability Forum, hosted by NHO, brought together members representing diverse industries to learn about the NHO’s newly launched single-use plastic products partnership and from Avinor on how Norway is ideally suited as an international test arena for zero and low-emission aircraft.

 

Plastics and the Business Sector: The Norwegian Plastic Partnership

Andreas Pihlstrøm, lawyer at NHO and board member of the Norwegian Packaging Association, discussed the newly launched partnership between the Ministry of Climate & Environment and a number of business organizations to reduce the consumption of single-use plastic products. He illustrated how Norwegian businesses can take lead on the ambitious sustained reduction in the consumption of certain plastic products (SUP art. 4). Next is implementation of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR) – setting legally binding goals and deadlines. 

He also presented on legal trends within plastics and shared resources for public access to information  and documentation on the different environmental acts and directives:

  • The Environmental Information Act, imposes a duty for companies to have and to give environmental information
  • The Transparency Act: Responsible business conduct in the supply chain, due diligence duties: Åpenhetsloven

Zero and Low Emission Aviation in Norway

Energy Transition Lead Erik By and Infrastructure & Drone Program Manager Terje Orskaug from Avinor unpacked Norway’s integral initiatives and political ambitions set in motion to advance the development of zero and low emission aviation in Norway. These include government actions, promising new technologies, and the creation of an ecosystem to facilitate innovation and establish Norway as an international test arena for new technologies. Furthermore, they discussed the government’s plans and ambitions laid out in the National Aviation Strategy 2023 and the National Transport Plan 2025-26. The aviation industry, with its high political and social importance, has established five main important work packages:

  • Market Dialogue
  • Airports, Infrastructure & Airspace
  • Energy Supply
  • Regulatory Sandbox
  • Communication & Knowledge Sharing
IMG_2376
IMG_2373
IMG_2385
IMG_2371
IMG_2382

About the AmCham Sustainability Forum

Future success is dependent upon running a sustainable business – for people, planet, and profit. Hence, since 2018, AmCham has brought select, cross-industry member company representatives together to discuss opportunities, facilitate open exchange and determine how AmCham members can best contribute to Norwegian and US sustainability agendas going forward.

Read more about our Sustainability Forum and please contact Janice.Gundersen@amcham.no for interest in future meetings.

Northrop Grumman and Andøya Space to Collaborate on Supporting Norway’s Long Term Defense Plan

Business News, Defense / Security

 

OSLO, Norway – May 28, 2024 – Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and Andøya Space signed a Memorandum of Understanding formalizing their collaboration to support Norway’s Long Term Defense Plan. This includes developing advanced autonomous maritime intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities to meet Norway’s priorities. This partnership will catalyze innovation, stimulate economic growth and establish Andøya as a global leader in autonomous technology.

Read full article here.

KONGSBERG to deliver Joint Strike Missiles (JSM) to USAF

Business News, Defense / Security

Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace (“KONGSBERG”) has signed an Undefinitized Contract Action (UCA) with the United States Air Force (USAF) for the delivery of Joint Strike Missiles (JSM) for their F-35A aircraft. The contract has a not-to-exceed value of $141 million and deliveries will start in 2026.

We are very pleased that the US Air Force – as the world’s largest operator of the F-35A Lightning II – has decided to procure JSM. JSM combined with the extremely advanced F-35 aircraft creates a formidable strike capability and validates JSM as the internal strike capability for the F-35A.  

“The selection of JSMs by both the USAF and Royal Norwegian Air Force also fully supports NATO’s vision for interchangeability of equipment between allied nations” said Eirik Lie, President of Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace.

Read full press release here.

 

 

KSAT Inc selected by NOAA to investigate future ground station architectures

Business News, Defense / Security

KSAT will analyze technologies and methodologies to enable a Network-Centric ground station model to support future NOAA programs. 


KSAT Inc, a wholly owned subsidiary of the world leading ground station as a service provider, Kongsberg Satellite Services – KSAT, will conduct a study to evaluate the future of satellite ground networks for NOAAs demanding mission applications. During this study, KSAT will analyze how recent developments in phased array antennas, API’s, ground network virtualization, and data processing are enabling a network-centric approach to ground stations.

A network-centric approach emphasizes connectivity and interoperability among multiple ground stations to enable timely data delivery, resilient information flow, and cost optimization. What would it take for Ground Station services to resemble terrestrial cellular networks more closely? How do we leverage common interfaces to make ground networks more resilient and affordable? KSAT takes the lead in a NOAA study to answer these questions and others.

Read full article, here.

Equinor to accelerate digital transformation with Seeq analytics, AI platform

Business News, Energy

(WO) – Seeq, a leader in industrial analytics, AI, and monitoring, and Equinor announced a multi-year commercial agreement for the Seeq Industrial Analytics and AI platform, to be leveraged across Equinor’s global assets to further accelerate digital transformation outcomes.

Equinor will implement Seeq’s platform to empower its engineering teams to optimize production and improve energy performance across a variety of assets. Initially, the company plans to leverage Seeq to monitor well and process behavior, thereby gaining a deeper understanding of daily operations to maximize production, enhance workforce collaboration and increase efficiency.

Seeq delivers a self-service, industrial analytics and AI platform that accesses and leverages vast amounts of historically underused data. By incorporating leading-edge technologies, including AI, machine learning and other capabilities, into its platform and leveraging its global partner network, Seeq powers a range of use cases for employees across the enterprise to accelerate digital transformation outcomes such as operational excellence and profitability, workforce upskilling, and sustainability.

Read full article here.

President Biden Announces Key Nominees

Business News, Government

WASHINGTON – Today, President Joe Biden announced his intent to nominate the following individuals to serve as key leaders in his administration:

  • Mark Angelson, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Norway
  • Michael G. Heath, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Republic of Malawi


Mark Angelson, Nominee for Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary to the Kingdom of Norway

Mark Angelson has had a distinguished career in law, in business, in education, and as a dedicated public servant. Service as a member of the President’s Intelligence Advisory Board is just one of Angelson’s recent roles. Others include serving as Chair of the Institute of International Education, which administers the Fulbright Scholarships and other programs for the Departments of State and Defense; Chair of the Rutgers University Board of Governors; and Member, Council on Foreign Relations Membership Committee. Angelson is a former Deputy Mayor of Chicago. He is a prominent business leader who has served as Chairman and CEO of two Canadian public companies and CEO of RR Donnelley, at the time a Fortune 200 Company that did business the world over. His earlier, distinguished career as an international lawyer was capped by his role as a partner in the firm of Sidley & Austin, where he practiced in the Republic of Singapore; New York, New York; and London, England. His service in education also includes service as a Life Trustee of Northwestern University and Adjunct Professor of Mergers and Acquisitions at Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management. Angelson earned B.A., J.D., and Honorary Doctorate of Humane Letters degrees from Rutgers University.

Read full press release here.

Proactive Security in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

AmCham News

Proactive Security in the Age of Artificial Intelligence

Together with the US Embassy, AmCham hosted a session on AI technologies and what they mean for the security of your business, institutions, and data. AmCham member representatives and members of our Tech Talent Network were welcomed with opening remarks from Chargé d’affaires Sharon Hudson-Dean, followed by an informative panel discussion together with representatives from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Norwegian Police Security Service (PST), and DNB.

AI – especially generative – has rapidly evolved from poor to excellent performance, but future threats remain unpredictable, necessitating proactive defense strategies for businesses and institutions. Balancing budgets between investing in new AI technologies and updating end-of-life systems is crucial to avoid falling behind. The high cost of hardware creates a divide between large, well-funded companies relative to their smaller counterparts. AI should be integrated as a collaborative platform rather than just a tool, with experts needed to discern the value of AI outputs due to AI’s language-based perceived intelligence. Thus, with AI’s power to convince, the need for competency in reading AI outputs will become increasingly important. 

Speaker

 Sharon Hudson-Dean

Misleading AI advice and misuse, such as swatting for amusement, pose significant risks. Great attention in the media on the good, bad, and ugly of AI has pushed the field into the policy-making spotlight and we are seeing an increasing amount of legislation being debated around the world. Regulatory frameworks are essential to guide AI use, balancing safety, public well-being, and business freedom. The public sector, despite needing AI the most, is likely to adopt it last, but there’s a growing cultural shift towards valuing security and public safety. Improved collaboration between public and private sectors will foster better regulation and policy development.

The main takeaway? Stay informed!

AmCham’s Tech Talent Network at Microsoft: Tech Geopolitics & AI Era Innovation

January 26, 2024 No Comments

AmCham’s Tech Talent Network (TTN) gathered at Microsoft Norway’s offices, with Nordic Director of Government Affairs Kristine Beitland warmly welcoming participants and addressing the era of tech geopolitics. Beitland emphasized the need for knowledge sharing on fast-paced technological developments for robust regulatory frameworks, especially during periods of global instability

Read More »

Wintershall Dea to deploy Halliburton’s “industry first” drilling solution offshore Norway

Business News, Energy, Shipping & Offshore

(WO) – Halliburton Company and Wintershall Dea have announced a license agreement, under which Wintershall Dea will use Halliburton Landmark’s new Unified Ensemble Modeling (UEM) solution.

Source: Wintershall Dea
UEM is an innovative approach that, for the first time, simultaneously integrates static and dynamic data in real time to represent subsurface conditions across multiple scales. This method improves the accuracy of reservoir models by consistently incorporating geologic uncertainties, making UEM vital to optimize reservoir recovery under uncertainty.

The first application of DecisionSpace 365 will be deployed in Norway’s Maria offshore field. UEM allows Wintershall Dea to continuously update their risk assessments for active drilling programs after drilling each new well. This continuous cycle of evaluation and adjustment is critical to increase drilling efficiency, reduce costs, and improve worker safety.

“The ability to update a drilling target and its uncertainties in real time provides operators unparalleled decision-making capabilities”, said Nagaraj Srinivasan, senior vice president, Landmark, Halliburton Digital Solutions and Consulting. “By updating earth models at speeds never before possible with well data acquired while drilling, Wintershall Dea will align subsurface and drilling objectives, thereby improving well productivity at a lower cost.”

The real-time drilling data will enrich Wintershall Dea’s database and help to refine model realizations and uncertainties. This rapid pace of model updates is made possible through Landmark’s unique ensemble-based technologies and workflows.

Read full article here.