They've got money to spend on marine innovation, and they're not afraid to use it.
By Ryan Skinner (email)
59° 56' N kicks off a new feature: The Marine Tech & Innovation Chat. Basically, I go one-on-one with a leading figure in the marine tech and innovation community to talk about what's going on, what's hot, what's not and so on.
Here you get the words straight out of the investors' and the technologists' mouths, via direct publishing of the Skype'd chat. If you're into marine and technology, it's worth it to follow these chats. If you've got a lot of ideas and opinions on the subject, let me know; maybe you'll be the next interview object.
This first chat, with BW Future's Joachim Bakke, is a premier. Next time, I will announce the interviewee ahead of time via my twitter and LinkedIn feeds, and anyone can submit questions that I will pose to the interviewee (as long as they're on topic).
With that, here's the first marine tech & innovation chat. Enjoy!
Ryan Skinner: Voila! Marine and tech
innovation chat with Joachim Bakke of BW Future
Ryan Skinner: We could maybe get started if
you could give me an elevator pitch for BW Future. What's it all about?
Joachim Bakke: BW Future was set up in 2007
to increase innovation in BW Gas. It is now a part of the Strategy and Projects
team. What we do is to look for companies or ideas where we can contribute with
competence and financing. The traditional approach has been to test out other's
ideas on our vessels and maybe get a deal on one or more installations later.
We are now actively seeking opportunities to help the companies grow together
with us, through being a reference customer and a partner
Ryan Skinner: How much money is in the BW
Future "pot"?
Joachim Bakke: The BW Green Marine Fund has
been allocated 250 mUSD
Ryan Skinner: That's a pretty big number.
Made any investments yet?
Joachim Bakke: We started looking for
investments a little less than a year ago. So far we have taken a stake in
Advanced Marine Coatings (carbon nano tube reinforced epoxy coating) and Amroy
(the technology company behind AMC)
Ryan Skinner: What kinds of
companies/projects are you looking for?
Joachim Bakke: We are in serious
discussions with a number of players in the maritime field, most of them have
green technologies that may help reduce emissions and/or meet upcoming
requirements
Ryan Skinner: How many different technologies/solutions
have you considered (ballpark)?
Joachim Bakke: We are currently working on
a list of maybe 20 technology related projects.
Ryan Skinner: What is your opinion of the
state of innovation in terms of environmental/green technologies in shipping today?
Joachim Bakke: When we first started
looking at innovation in a general terms, we were intrigued with the amount of
green technology innovation. There is a vast number of ideas that may or may
not impact of the industry
Ryan Skinner: What kinds of green
technology ideas do you like?
Joachim Bakke: If you separate the
innovations into incremental and quantum leap, the latter is often the most
sexy. But a lot can also be achieved by small steps, or working smarter
Ryan Skinner: When you refer to quantum
leap innovations, what would that be, for example?
Joachim Bakke: I can of course not go into
details on specific solutions we are looking at, but there are technologies
that may change the way energy is managed worldwide, not only in the maritime
industry.
Ryan Skinner: OK. But would you say your
focus is more on the "hard" side (components, materials, etc.) or the
"soft" side (software, business model innovations, etc.)?
Joachim Bakke: So far, we have focused on
the hard side. That is where BW has most of its competence at the moment
Ryan Skinner: OK. Are there any blind
avenues, you think? That is, areas where you explicitly do not think major
progress will be achieved?
Joachim Bakke: It is difficult to be
bombastic. We may have our opinions ,but then suddenly there is another genius
solution to be found
Ryan Skinner: It seems to me that you are
looking pretty widely and then applying general innovations/technologies to new
applications in the marine sector? Is that accurate?
Ryan Skinner: Or are you pretty
marine-specific (that is, the innovators are already thinking shipping)?
Joachim Bakke: We are looking for any
technologies that may have uses in the maritime industries where we already
have a presence (Shipping and Offshore).
Joachim Bakke: That is where we can
contribute as an industrial investor, not only as a financial one. That is also
where we can draw on our vast in-house expertise
Ryan Skinner: Do you feel like the
difficult regulatory picture makes it hard for technology innovators to succeed
in the maritime sector?
Joachim Bakke: It is difficult without some
sort of background or understanding of the maritime world. But a lot of the
players we are talking to have some of this understanding, and we can help fill
in the gaps
Joachim Bakke:
Ryan Skinner: I know that many tech
companies struggle because the regulatory framework around their technology
gets changed. This particularly true in the maritime field. True?
Joachim Bakke: If the technology is not
flexible enough and just meets some of the requirements that may be true. We
see more and more that the technologies need to be integrated and not only
installed to solve single regulations. That is also an area where our growing
network may pull it's weight, by combining the technologies in our portfolio
Joachim Bakke: There are also opportunities
related to the regulatory picture. New regulations often triggers innovation.
However, changes in the maritime regulatory framework do not happen
overnight...
Ryan Skinner: I see. Can you give me some
more details around how you invest in technology? What's the time horizon? What
share of the company do you like to take? What kind of returns are you aiming
for?
Joachim Bakke: We are a medium to long term
investor. It will depend on the specific case, but our horizon is 3-7 years
Joachim Bakke: We are not locked into any
stake limits, but we prefer to let the founders and key personnel have an
incentive to grow with us, either by owning shares or in other ways
Joachim Bakke: We are aiming for a
reasonable return on our investments. We are not looking for quick exits, but
if we believe the company is better off with more different owners we will
facilitate this
Ryan Skinner: Do you need to find
investment projects? Or do they usually find you? Where do you see the most
opportunity (Scandinavia? Elsewhere in Europe? US?)
Joachim Bakke: We have received a lot of
attention from our network and from some press articles. We are also actively
looking, and believe that a combination of the two is good
Joachim Bakke: We see that a lot of the
green innovation is happening in Scandinavia, but we are not bound by that. If
we see something interesting elsewhere, we will pursue this
Joachim Bakke: The companies we are talking
to at the moment are from Asia, US, Europe, and Scandinavia
Ryan Skinner: When it comes to investing in
technology, what would you describe as specific to the marine sector?
Joachim Bakke: I think this is changing at
the moment. Shipping companies have been customers but not investors. When you
look at the owners of Ballast Water Treatment Systems today, there are some
ship owners.
Joachim Bakke: It makes sense to be on the
other side if you have to purchase expensive systems for your vessels, and
others also need to be committed to being long term customers.
Ryan Skinner: Does BW see this kind of
investment as a form of tech risk reduction?
Joachim Bakke: Not primarily. We see it as
a way to use our resources for other things than just operating ships, and
therefore as a way of diversifying
Ryan Skinner: OK. Just a couple more
questions: Would you characterize the marine tech field as sufficiently
capitalized, underfed, overfed?
Joachim Bakke: A bit of all. There are some
large companies that are dominating, and there are small companies that lack
the resources to get their technology to market. It is a very difficult market
to penetrate before you have a track record
Ryan Skinner: Are there any particular
forces that you would say stifle/slow innovation?
Joachim Bakke: This is a conservative
business. Many owners will not change from a standard specification before they
are required by regulations
Joachim Bakke: And on the other side, there
are major improvements to be made for the owners that wish to reduce their
environmental footprint and fuel consumption
Ryan Skinner: So it seems we're talking
about a half empty/half full view of things. Depends on your perspective.
Joachim Bakke: I would say so. It is
difficult to talk of ship owners as one group, there are certainly some
conservative and some innovative ones
Ryan Skinner: Right. One last question:
What would you describe as the most difficult thing about what you're trying to
do?
Joachim Bakke: When looking at so many
different technologies for so many different applications, it is a challenge to
make informed decisions. But being in a marine environment with so many skilled
and knowledgeable people around us certainly makes the job easier.
Joachim Bakke: Also, we are putting our
brand name behind the companies we are co-operating with. So we need to make
sure that we are comfortable with that. Maybe that is why we have not invested
more up to now?
Ryan Skinner: Right. I can see that there's
some reputational risk involved.
Ryan Skinner: Then I will just thank you
for the opportunity to chat.
Joachim Bakke: Thank you
I am certainly looking forward to what BW is cooking for their innovation in the ocean freight shipping industry :)
Posted by: ocean freight | February 14, 2011 at 12:21 AM