project — research

ACES

In this project, we've shipped our knowledge of transition management to the Norwegian ports of Kristiansand, Borg and Bodø.

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Igno Notermans

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DRIFT has applied its knowledge of transition management to the Norwegian port sector in the ACES project: ACcelerating Energy and Sustainability transitions in ports. We’ve strengthened the knowledge of our research partners through trainings, resulting in four transition arenas in the port sector in the coming years.

Norwegian ports in transition

The Norwegian port sector is in transition: it is facing the challenge of becoming zero-emission in 2030 while the economy is heavily dependent on oil and gas. Where the port’s many (regional) functions and actors meet, from freight to electricity and from fishery to ferrying, they face transition pressures and opportunities.

Ace up our sleeves

The ACES project aims to facilitate and accelerate this transition in Norwegian ports. There are differences between the Norwegian ports in their level of adaptation to the energy transition, and the challenge is that their industrial, economic and governance are connected to each other. Therefore, ACES connects port-specific transitions with national visions and intersectoral perspectives: zooming in and out.

Duration
2021-2025

Funding
Research Council of Norway

Research partners
Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) & SINTEF (Stiftelsen for industriell og teknisk forskning).

Collaboration partners
Ports of Norway, Port of Bodø, Port of Borg, Port of Kristiansand, Coast Center Base, Norwegian Coastal Administration, Norwegian Maritime Authority, Norwegian Public Roads Administration, Norwegian Rail Authority, Norwegian Environment Agency, Norwegian Coastal Shipowners, Norwegian Logistics and Freight Organisation & Skift Norge.

Transitions for three ports

Together with leading research institutes in Norway, we’ve worked on the first application of transition management in the country. As the ambition is to accelerate the transition in the entire Norwegian port sector, the project has worked on a national transition agenda next to agendas for the Ports of Kristiansand, Borg and Bodø.

DRIFT’s Role

ACES includes a total of four transition arenas, and to prepare them, DRIFT took it on to strengthen the theoretical and practical transition management knowledge of our research partners. We developed and executed specific knowledge and trainings around transition management in ports and cities in the first year. This has resulted in specific transition management plans for different arenas.