The Bellona Environmental Foundation is an international science-based non-profit organization headquartered in Norway. Founded in 1986 as an action and protest group, Bellona has evolved into a recognized technology- and solution-oriented organization with offices in Oslo, Brussels, Berlin, and Vilnius. Today, more than 70 engineers, ecologists, physicists, chemists, economists, political scientists, and journalists work at Bellona.

Purpose

The foundation strives to identify and implement sustainable solutions to the world’s most pressing environmental issues. Its main goals are to combat the climate crisis, environmental degradation, pollution-induced hazards to human health, and the ecological consequences of economic development strategies.

How?

Bellona’s work is rooted in a firm belief that it is possible to address environmental challenges in a constructive and progressive manner, and that industry and business can adapt to new challenges provided they have the right long-term and predictable framework conditions.

Thus, Bellona aims to be a bridge between industry and decision-makers, working closely with the former to help them respond to environmental challenges within their fields and proposing policy measures that accelerate the deployment of new technology with minimal impact on the environment. Bellona is accredited and has observer status in the UNEP Governing Council, UNFCCC, and IMO.

History

Unconventional measures have often contributed to Bellona’s work in shaping environmental policy. In 2020, The Guardian published the story “Norway and the A-ha moment that made electric cars the answer” about how Bellona and the pop group A-ha collaborated through a series of stunts that garnered massive media attention to influence authorities to facilitate laws and infrastructure for electric cars. Soon after, electric vehicles were exempted from toll charges, one of several incentives over the years that have helped make Norway the country with the most electric cars per capita in the world. Car manufacturer Nissan stated that Norway has been an essential test market for the development and distribution of electric vehicles on a large scale, for the global market.

The Drive for Carbon Capture & Storage

Bellona has been an early proponent of the development of carbon capture and storage (CCS) technologies for decarbonizing industry. For several decades, as the most active NGO promoting CCS in Europe and globally, Bellona has influenced Norwegian and EU policies to support carbon capture projects and develop storage facilities. Bellona was a significant contributor to the development of NER300, a support scheme that became a blueprint for the EU’s Innovation Fund. The establishment of the Norwegian “Longship” project was a milestone for Bellona’s CCS efforts.

Putting Russian Nuclear Waste on the Global Agenda

Nuclear waste was another issue that Bellona worked on from the outset. With the fall of the Soviet Union, a number of environmental issues came to light. In 1994, Bellona first exposed the nuclear waste repository in Andreyeva Bay, a Soviet military base where 23,000 used fuel rods from nuclear-powered submarines and icebreakers were stored, some under very dangerous critical conditions. Bellona drew massive attention to the issue and led the secretariat for an inter-parliamentary working group between Russia and its international partners, spearheading an extraordinary environmental effort that included the United States and Russia, as well as Norway, the EU, and several G7 countries. The cleanup of Andreyeva Bay began in 2017 when the first shipment of used fuel rods was sent from the base for storage. The last fuel rods are scheduled to be removed in 2025/2026.

International Recognition

The Bellona Foundation is the recipient of the Nordic Council’s Environmental Prize. The prize is awarded to a Nordic organization, business, or individual who has integrated respect for nature and the environment into their activities or work, or who has otherwise made extraordinary efforts for nature and the environment. Bellona’s founder, Frederic Hauge, has won numerous awards for his tireless efforts for the environment and has been named a “Hero Of The Environment” by Time Magazine.

Our Roles Within the EU System

The Bellona Environmental Foundation has several roles and responsibilities within the EU system. For more than a decade, Bellona representatives have held positions as vice-chair of the EU Commission’s Technology Platform for CO2 Capture and Storage (ZEP). Bellona has also had long-term representation in the European Technology and Innovation Platform on Bioenergy. Bellona founder Frederic Hauge participated in a group of 15 international experts who developed the “Energy Roadmap 2050,” presented by the Vice President of the European Commission responsible for energy, Günther Oettinger.

Food, Fresh Water, and Clean Energy in the Desert

The internationally recognized Sahara Forest Project (SFP) was initiated and founded by Bellona. (Read more under Bellona Holding.) The initiative was later designated as “a gold standard” for sustainability by UNDP leaders. Under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah II of Jordan and His Royal Highness Crown Prince Haakon of Norway, the Sahara Forest Project Launch Station in Jordan was inaugurated in 2017.

This unique facility is located outside the Jordanian port city of Aqaba. The Sahara Forest Project utilizes proven environmental technologies, assembled into a new system, turning waste streams into resource streams. The project harnesses solar energy, saltwater, desert areas, and CO2 to produce food, freshwater, and clean energy.

Since its establishment in 2009, Bellona has been a long-term partner with the SFP Foundation to enable restorative growth in some of the world’s most water-stressed environments. SFP has been recognized by international leaders such as Sheikh Hamad bin Jassim bin Jaber Al Thani, Prime Minister of Qatar, Jens Stoltenberg, Prime Minister of Norway, EU Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs, and Lord John Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.

Sahara Forest Project Jordan Seminar in 2012. From left: HRH Crown Prince Haakon, Frederic Hauge, Bellona, Kjetil Stake, and Joakim Hauge, Sahara Forest Project.

Among Europe’s Biggest Seaweed Producers

Together with leading Norwegian seafood producer Lerøy, Bellona has established Ocean Forest. The initiative aims to develop and establish new forms of biomass production related to aquaculture while finding solutions to the environmental impacts from the aquaculture industry such as fish farming. Ocean Forest collaborates with a wide range of researchers and technology providers to reduce the costs of offshore biomass production and to develop products for food, feed, energy, and raw materials for industry and agriculture. Ocean Forest is now one of the largest seaweed producers in Europe.

Our Key Role at UN Climate Negotiations (COP)

Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide, Bellona founder Frederic Hauge, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, Sahara Forest Project CEO Kjetil Stake, Research Council CEO Mari Sundli Tveit, and Aker Horizons Chief Economist Fridtjof Unander enjoyed Sahara Forest Project vegetables at the opening of the pavilion at the UN Climate Summit in Sharm El-Sheik in November 2022.

Bellona has been present at UN climate negotiations (COP) since its inception in 1992. As one of the very few non-governmental organizations, Bellona is invited into the negotiation arena, with its own pavilion and events. Over the years, Bellona has hosted hundreds of side events and workshops with current and former heads of state, leading UN officials, international business leaders, leading climate scientists, and leaders of international non-governmental organizations. During the 2021 and 2022 negotiations, the Bellona pavilion was opened by Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre of Norway along with Climate and Environment Minister Espen Barth Eide, both emphasizing the importance of Bellona’s work in promoting a solution-oriented approach to addressing the climate crisis.

Who Do We Work With?

Pollution knows no borders, so Bellona works with and against all those relevant to our work, both nationally and internationally. This includes the general public, politicians, bureaucrats in ministries and agencies, decision-makers in business, the media, other non-governmental organizations and foundations, actors in research and education, and more.

You can find the statutes for the Bellona Environmental Foundation here.

Solutions in Focus

In 1997, Bellona established its collaboration program with the business sector. The Environmental Foundation further found that the development of climate technology and solutions was progressing too slowly and established Bellona Holding AS in 2010.

However, Bellona has always been and will always be an independent watchdog that investigates and reports any form of environmental crime we discover.

Bellona visits the Nature and Youth summer camp and holds courses in activism at sea.

Our Board of Directors

Chairman of the Board: Henrik Lund, Board Members: Frederic Hauge, Birgit Marie Liodden, Runa Amanda Skarbø (employee representative), Igor Koudrik (employee representative), Benjamin Strandquist (alternate member).

Bellona Holding

Bellona Holding AS works on the establishment and acceleration of green industry. The company was formally established in December 2010 and is wholly owned by the Bellona Environmental Foundation. Today, the company has three full-time employees and ownership stakes in two companies: Ocean Forest AS and BEBA AS.

BEBA

The battery company BEBA was established in 2016 to accelerate the development of the battery industry. BEBA stands for “Bellona Energystorage, Battery and Applications” and brings together Bellona Holding’s work on the electrification of transport. The company will also conduct research and development of competitive batteries with the lowest possible environmental footprint.

Until 2023, the company owned 60% of eRoute 71, which was then sold to the charging company Kople. BEBA also has a stake in Morrow Batteries, established in May 2020 to build a giant battery factory in Arendal municipality. Morrow will deliver competitive environmentally friendly batteries and develop battery technology that reduces energy usage and problematic raw materials. The factory will create at least 2,000 new jobs in the region. Bellona founder Frederic Hauge started work on what is now Morrow Batteries in 2015. Collaboration with the technology company Graphene Batteries (now Morrow Technology) was established in 2015, and in 2017, Bellona enlisted Bjørn Rune Gjelsten to the team.

In addition to managing the company’s ownership stakes, BEBA is currently engaged in business development, capital raising, and the startup of new companies in the battery value chain.

Ocean Forest AS

Ocean Forest AS is owned 50% by Bellona Holding and 50% by Lerøy Seafood Group. The company was established in 2013 with the aim of developing knowledge, business models, and industrial solutions for integrated, multi-trophic aquaculture (IMTA). By cultivating species such as seaweed, mussels, and bottom-dwelling animals alongside fish farming facilities, the goal was to produce sustainable clean energy and food for the world’s growing population, capture large amounts of CO2, and minimize environmental damage from the Norwegian aquaculture industry. Today, the company is the country’s leading seaweed cultivator and blue mussel processor and has several initiatives involving other species.

Sahara Forest Project

The first company included in Bellona Holding was the Sahara Forest Project. Bellona is one of the founders of the Sahara Forest Project, which was established as a project in 2009. The company Sahara Forest Project AS (SFP) obtained the rights to develop a facility in Aqaba, Jordan, in January 2011. Today, SFP is not part of Bellona Holdings’ portfolio but continues to exist as an independent foundation that owns the technology and rights and operates the development of the facility in Jordan.