We need more professionals and entrepreneurs, Norwegian or from abroad, who will focus on transformative solutions that go beyond pure IT services that only reflect human tasks, writes Aggrator partner Salvador Baille today in Shifter .
On Monday, April 28, the power went out throughout Spain . People died in hospitals. The country, which has been a model for the use of renewable energy in Europe, went into a blackout, taking Portugal and parts of France with it.
The reason for the blackout is easy to understand. The power grids that exist in Spain and around the world today were built for a different time. They are designed to handle electricity generated by stable and reliable energy sources - coal, nuclear, hydro and gas - which can largely be finely tuned to match power supply and demand almost instantaneously.
Renewable energy sources such as wind and solar, on the other hand, produce electricity that is uneven and unstable by nature, and cannot do this trick. The electricity grid in Spain collapsed because it was unable to handle a huge overproduction of solar energy in the west-south of Spain without backup from gas and nuclear power.
Spain is not the first case, however. Chile experienced the same thing in February. Germany, for its part, has avoided ending up in the same situation several times because heavy industry was downgraded in extreme cases, at the expense of production. The consequence has been a massive relocation of industrial companies in recent years.
Green shift at a high price
The problem is partly solvable, but extremely demanding. Risky investments in solar and wind require large subsidies, but this is only the tip of the iceberg. The degree of electrification based on solar and wind that the European climate goals require implies a brutal modernization of the power infrastructure. The grid must be greatly upgraded based on new digital solutions for stabilizing power transmission, new infrastructure for energy storage, plus the creation and maintenance of backup power plants based on gas or nuclear power. The electricity bills that Europeans have complained about until now may seem like a distant and happy dream in the future.
The geopolitical aspect cannot be underestimated either. Solar panels and wind turbines are mostly imported in whole or in part from China, where the extraction and processing of the most critical raw materials in these devices also takes place. Furthermore, we do not know what kind of software these devices contain, what information they store and transmit, or whether they have a “kill switch” in case customers do not behave “in parallel” with China’s interests.
Yet it is highly unlikely that European bureaucrats will change their minds. That would have meant political suicide for them, and even more support among voters for right-wing parties that are already causing headaches in Germany, Poland, Romania and the UK. Moreover, the goal of net zero remains a global commitment.
The good news is that this represents a golden opportunity for Norway and Norwegian innovators.
Firstly, Norway still has a small share of installed wind (and solar) power, and has the margin to electrify more without changing much in the grid. The country also has good enough finances to transform the electricity system before andre countries around us, and could thus offer enough stable power to companies from all over Europe. In addition, hydropower is designed to compensate for the fluctuations in power caused by the sun and wind. All of this must be weighed against the geopolitical risks described earlier, but still creates a competitive advantage.
For that andre The world's future power grids will need new technologies and smart elements that protect and stabilize against a greater role for renewable energy sources. There is still no country that has emerged as a clear leader in this area.
In this context, Norway has companies and institutions that are pioneers when it comes to artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and smart electricity management. As in many andre areas, Norway is also an extremely good test arena here too. After the events in Spain, support programs such as RePower Europe will probably focus even more in this direction. Norwegian entrepreneurs can build a new smart electricity industry that the whole world needs.
Norway must dare to hold the key
Norway will need managers in the policy apparatus to understand the seriousness of the situation we find ourselves in, understand the technology behind it, and grant support to innovative solutions with real commercial potential in power.
We need more professionals and entrepreneurs, Norwegian or from abroad, who will focus on transformative solutions that go beyond pure IT services that only reflect human tasks.
We need investors who dare to invest in more than just SaaS and screens with search boxes. Investors who are willing to consider the enormous potential behind the right physical products and understand the fundamentals behind technologies that are inherently complex, but not complicated.
Finally, we need politicians who understand the potential that Norway has in this area, and who will attract talent and capital to the country, and not push them away.
Spain and Europe are witnessing the dream of an electric future being shattered. Norwegian innovators must dare to hold the key that can revive it.