“The purchase of 12.5% shares in STRI (Swedish Transmission Research Institute) is a natural step in our drive to support both the electrification of the oil and gas industry, as well as the integration of renewable energy and the large investments in the power transmission sector,“ says Kjell Eriksson, Director of the Energy Programme in DNV Research and Innovation.
“We have known about STRI for many years and started a cooperation agreement in June 2011. Our joint service offering gives us the opportunity to provide integrated solutions to our customers and meet the growing demand in the market place.”
According to Mr Eriksson, the electrification of both conventional offshore platforms and subsea oil and gas installations, and the growth in offshore wind energy are the main drivers behind the collaboration with STRI. Both drivers will require new technical and operational solutions to power transmission he says.
STRI is a specialist consultancy firm providing advanced studies of high voltage power transmission systems and accredited high voltage testing. “By combining STRI’s knowledge in power systems with DNV’s risk management expertise in offshore installations, we can contribute to setting new, smart demands to what is needed to develop the technology and how to make it robust and reliable enough to transmit large amounts of electricity offshore,” adds Mr Eriksson.
“Vattenfall’s use of STRI’s services has declined over the years and we therefore see less of a need to be a partner,” says Karl Bergman, Vice President, Research and Development at Vattenfall. “The cooperation has been very fruitful, but as our needs have changed, it is now a good time to liquidate our holdings in STRI. We will certainly continue working with STRI but as an ordinary customer.”
“Since STRI was founded we have had a very interesting and close collaboration with Vattenfall covering a large number of investigations and R&D projects. It has been a very exciting journey and we are looking forward to keep our good relations and continue our businesses with Vattenfall. With DNV as a shareholder and business partner, the successful development of STRI adds further opportunities for the future. Since our cooperation with DNV started a year ago, it has become very clear to me that our common resources offer very powerful services to the market,” says Dan Wikström, STRI President , and adds, “DNV is most welcome as a new shareholder in STRI and it will be very exciting to further develop our cooperation.”
In December last year, DNV obtained a controlling stake in Netherlands headquartered KEMA, the global energy consulting, testing and certification company as part of a push to expand its presence in the power generation, transmission and distribution sectors. The acquisition of Vattenfall’s shares in STRI will further strengthen DNV’s position in power systems, particularly in the Nordic countries.
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Offshore WIND staff, March 30, 2012; Image: dnv