Business and industry in the Bergen region

Bergen has been a meeting place for almost 1,000 years. Ever since the Hanseatic era in the 14th century, Bergen has been a centre of knowledge and a place where different industries come together.

Research and development

Bergen is home to large educational institutions such as the University of Bergen, Western Norway University of Applied Sciences and the Norwegian School of Economics. This is part of the reason why Bergen has such a strong and wide-ranging research community and leading expertise in important sectors. Norce, which works towards finding solutions that benefit the community, and increase sustainable value creation nationally and globally, and the Institute of Marine Research are just two of many organizations in this field.

Bergen also has a large number of Centres of Excellence (CoE) within different areas. Among these are the Global Centre of Expertise (GCE) in Ocean Technology, which is recognized worldwide, Norwegian Centre of Excellence (NCE) Maritime CleanTech, and the Norwegian Centre of Expertise (NCE) in Media, which is getting a lot of attention as a leading international hub for media and technology innovation.

Energy

The Bergen region is Norway’s main landing point for North Sea oil and gas, with companies covering the entire supply chain from exploration, field development and production to decommissioning. The oil and gas industry has many years of experience with regards to operating in harsh North Sea environments.

Many companies are now using this expertise to expand into new, sustainable ocean industries, including wind energy, wave energy, hydrogen production and CCS. The industry is also exploring the potential for underwater mining, which could provide a new source of raw materials in coming years. Energy firms are also working together with Norway’s aquaculture industry, and developing new technology that is helping fish farmers to increase their harvests.

Technology

The last couple of years Bergen has seen a big development within technology innovation. Companies such as Vizrt and Vimond are at the forefront of developing new, state of the art media technology, with NCE Media acting as a further conductor through their excellent media lab for innovation and research, as well as a business development incubator.

Other areas with a high level of innovation are Fintech, powered by NCE Finance Innovation, and Proptech, powered by Proptech Innovation, a cluster for innovation in the real estate and construction industry.

The Ocean capital (Havbyen)

There is a long tradition in the Bergen region for harvesting and producing seafood, and the region has a dominant position in catching, producing , processing and selling seafood to the global market. The region is home to important national players in all parts of the aquaculture industry, which leads the field in developing efficient and sustainable production methods.

Bergen also has one of Europe's biggest ports, and is home to a complete maritime ecosystem, including clean energy and shipbuilding firms. These companies are at the forefront in terms of developing new technologies that will deliver lower carbon emissions. This includes battery hybrid vessels, as well as new power sources such as hydrogen fuel cells.

Health and welfare

The health and care sector in Norway is a crucial asset for public health and social and economic justice. A publicly funded medical scheme, and public hospitals provide an efficient and solidary health service, child welfare and care for the elderly.

Haukeland University Hospital is the regional hospital for Western Norway and one of the busiest hospitals in Scandinavia. Haukeland is one of Europe's leading hospitals in many medical, science and research fields. Internationally, Haukeland is a major contributor in research in areas relating to cancer, burn damages and pandemics. The hospital is a teaching hospital and cooperates closely with The University of Bergen and Western Norway University of Applied Science.

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