A vibrant hub in northern Europe, Stavanger offers a unique setting where tradition meets technology. As a dynamic region investing in smart industry, energy transformation, and digital innovation it provides the perfect backdrop for advancing robotics and AI dialogue across many sectors. Given Stavanger’s maritime tradition and position, it is fitting that the umbrella theme for ERF2026 will focus on the blue economy as well as on growth in space.
ERF in Stavanger will be organised and hosted by Norce and Sintef, Norway’s leading research institutes in partnership with euRobotics, the European robotics association.
The European Robotics Forum (ERF) is the leading event for the European robotics and AI community, bringing together over 1,000 participants from industry, academia, and the public sector. Held annually in a different European city, ERF is the go-to platform to explore cutting-edge technologies, foster collaboration, and address the latest challenges and trends shaping the future of robotics in Europe.
Apart from the Forum’s own clear attractions for the robotics community, Stavanger offers plenty of additional appeal. Europe’s capital of oil and gas is a compact yet vibrant city within a unique natural landscape of fjords and mountains with much variety for visitors. With this in mind, the organisers expect accommodation in Stavanger to be in high demand during ERF2026 and have block-booked a range of hotel rooms in expectation of this.
About Norce: NORCE is one of Norway’s leading research institutes with wide-ranging scientific expertise and solid knowledge environments. Our activities are centred around research and innovation within energy, health, climate, the environment, society, and technology. Through our network of researchers, experts and partners, we seek to address the key challenges faced by society and contribute to value creation locally, nationally and globally. Through our vision ‘Passion for knowledge – working together for sustainability’, we commit ourselves to being future-oriented and dedicated to promoting sustainable development and the green shift. The largest owners of NORCE are the four universities in Bergen (UiB), Stavanger (UiS), Agder (UiA), Tromsø (UiT) and Stiftelsen Rogalandsforskning.
About Sintef:
SINTEF is one of Europe’s largest research institutes, with multidisciplinary expertise within technology, natural sciences and social sciences. SINTEF is an independent foundation which, since 1950, has created innovation through development and research assignments for business and the public sector at home and abroad. We offer world-leading laboratory and test facilities in a wide range of technological fields. Our advanced laboratories range from microelectronics and nanoscale technologies, to the world’s largest laboratory for the multiphase transport of oil and gas, and the world’s largest marine laboratory.The commercialisation of our research results is part of SINTEF’s role in society. We achieve this by means of licensing and creating new companies based on technologies developed as part of our research activities.More than 90 per cent of our income comes from contracts won in open competition.
About euRobotics:
euRobotics (eu-robotics.net) is an international non-profit association for all stakeholders in European robotics, headquartered in Brussels. Established in September 2012 and serving its founding purpose: to strengthen Europe’s competitiveness and to ensure industrial leadership of manufacturers, providers and end-users of robotics technology-based systems and services, euRobotics forms the largest network of roboticists and business in Europe with more than 200 institutional members, covering small and large companies, associations and institutions, universities, laboratories and RTOs. The objectives of euRobotics are to boost European robotics research, development and innovation, to foster a positive perception of robotics, to support the widest and most effective uptake of robotics technologies and services for professional and private use, and to ensure the excellence of the robotics science base in Europe is maintained.