Hefring Marine was nominated to represent Iceland for the 2026 Nordic Innovation Award, which was presented at a formal ceremony in Oslo last week. Finnish company Weeefiner received this year’s Nordic Innovation Award for its patented technology that recovers metals and valuable minerals from industrial waste. The award recognizes companies that excel in innovation and have created value through the strategic development of intellectual property and technology.
Elmeri Lahtinen, co-founder and CTO of Weeefiner, accepted the award on behalf of the company at the ceremony in Oslo. Weeefiner contributes to the circular economy by transforming waste into valuable resources. Its technology is based on 3D printing with specialized binders and enables the cost-effective recovery of dissolved metals and minerals in very low concentrations from industrial waste streams. The technology makes it possible to clean industrial waste and recycle valuable raw materials in industries where this was previously highly difficult and expensive, such as mining, metal production, the chemical industry, and the energy sector.
The Nordic Innovation Award was established in 2025 by the Nordic intellectual property offices to highlight the importance of innovation and intellectual property rights for the sustainable development of business and society.
Hefring Marine was nominated for the award on behalf of Iceland, and Björn Jónsson, chairman and co-founder of the company, presented the company’s intelligent navigation system in Oslo. The system uses artificial intelligence along with data from various onboard sensors and measuring instruments to provide guidance to captains and fleet managers on safety, fuel efficiency, maintenance, and vessel operations.
At the event, Edda Sif Pind Aradóttir, CEO of Carbfix, also presented Carbfix’s patented carbon mineralization technology, which permanently stores carbon dioxide in rock formations. Borghildur Erlingsdóttir, director general of the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office, participated in a panel discussion on the characteristics of Nordic innovation and how it can be strengthened in the future.
“At the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office, we are extremely pleased to have this opportunity to showcase and support outstanding Icelandic innovation companies on a Nordic platform. Nordic innovation is at the forefront when it comes to solutions that have a real impact on improving global sustainability, and the cooperation between the Nordic intellectual property offices on this award underlines the importance of connecting knowledge, innovation, and intellectual property protection across borders,” says Borghildur Erlingsdóttir, director general of the Icelandic Intellectual Property Office.
Hefring Marine was founded in 2018 and joined the investment portfolio of the Business Venture Fund Kría in 2019. The company was established to develop the Hefring Marine guidance system for boats and smaller vessels.
The guidance component of the system, HM Captain, is designed to provide a recommended maximum speed that dynamically adapts to real-time sea and weather conditions. By following the recommended maximum speed, captains can significantly reduce the risk of accidents and minimize maintenance costs caused by wave impacts and the stress they place on vessels and equipment.
Information collected during voyages — such as actual speed, recommended maximum speed, the number and intensity of wave impacts exceeding safety thresholds, and weather data — is stored in the fleet management component of the system, HM Admin.
Hefring was founded by Karl Birgir Björnsson, Magnús Þór Jónsson, and Björn Jónsson, whose backgrounds include engineering research, design, and the international sales and marketing of boats.
