Post by Monica Paulsen

Many thanks to Norways Minister of Regional development and Digitalization Linda Hofstad Helleland for inviting representatives from the Helgeland region to present some of our perspectives for regional development earlier this week. The main messages for the minister from me were: • We develop new industrial value chains for battery, hydrogen and carboncapture, and new circular economy solutions • Public support for these industrial initiatives will help create thousands of jobs in our region, jobs that will accelerate the green shift • Some of the public funding scheemes for regional development are less effective in the Northern Norway than intended • The Government can support and accelerate innovation and growth across all sectors, by making strategic investments in research centers and infrastructure for large scale pilot tests in proximity to the industry • Public investments in our region trigger large investments from the private sector • Investing in the productive Helgeland region will pay off and help secure future wellfare Arve Ulriksen Siva SF Innovasjon Norge Norges forskningsråd Enova SF Nord universitet Nordlandsforskning AS - Nordland Research Institute