Annual Report 2023

Hafslund’s strategy towards 2035 is based on five strategic focus areas. The Group shall use its core expertise to contribute to strong renewable growth, balancing the energy system of the future, creating greener and smarter cities and contribute to nature positivity. None of this is possible without the most competent people, and Hafslund therefore has “The best people are the key” as its fifth strategic focus area.

2023 was a year in which Hafslund clearly felt the effects of climate change. During the extreme weather event “Hans” in August, Hafslund experienced an extraordinary situation involving enormous amounts of rainfall in almost all of Hafslund’s waterways. 2023 was also the year in which there was a particular focus on the serious grid and power situation in Eastern Norway and Hafslund has worked actively to ensure that district heating is recognised as an important source of energy, which could be a good move for the energy situation in Eastern Norway.

Over the past year, the Group has increased its investment in heavy transport charging, partnered with Telenor to build Norway’s most secure and energy-efficient commercial data centres for national data storage and signed an agreement to acquire seven solar park projects in southern Sweden.

The Klemetsrud carbon capture project entered a cost-reduction phase in 2023 and work is now underway with the goal to make a new investment decision in 2024. A new Board Chair was appointed at the start of 2024 and a record number of students want to work at Hafslund.

2023 was yet another eventful and challenging year. We are witnessing a world around us that is constantly changing, and the previous year was significantly impacted by war, geopolitical unrest and economic uncertainty. These are developments that played a major role in security and energy policy being merged together, and energy preparedness is higher on the political agenda than ever before.