Viking Holding AS was founded in 1969. It started out chartering an 85,000 dwt tanker from the Japanese company SANKO Steamship and has deep roots in the Norwegian maritime industry with wide-ranging international expertise and experience, especially in Asia.
In the 70s, Viking Holding AS shifted its focus to the offshore industry and for the next two decades it was involved in all kinds of drilling operations, from operating drill rigs and drill ships to designing and constructing drill barges.
In the early 90s, Viking Holding AS embarked on a new challenge in the dredging industry and more recently it has been putting its extensive experience and knowledge of the industry into developing new products. The BulClaimer, a new system used to transport sand using conventional bulk carriers, was a result of this.
In 2008 Viking Holding AS started up with fresh ideas and new activities through establishment of Viking Development Group. The business concept is to provide the capital to develop new business through supporting individuals with innovative and patentable ideas such as the establishment of Viking Heat Engines that is developing the CraftEngine – a heat engine which can convert heat from virtually any renewable energy source into electricity.
The CraftWater is also currently being developed by Viking Development Group. The system produces fresh water from salt or brackish water in such an effective energy-saving way that it can run on solar power alone. In contrast to other similar technologies on the market, CraftWater does not depend on existing infrastructure to work – and can therefore operate anywhere in the world, also in remote areas. CraftWater currently produces water at half the cost of alternative technologies.
The CraftEngine™ technology has been developed as a joint collaboration between Viking Heat Engines and AVL, where Viking has provided the technology foundation, and AVL represents the detailed technical expertise of engine and engine systems design.
Through this collaboration, a comprehensive, cost-effective and reliable ORC technology platform has been developed, which is suitable for many applications in the field of renewable power generation, energy recovery and more.