What Norhard does

Norhard AS is a privately held Norwegian specialist drilling contractor, founded in 2006 and headquartered in Tonstad in Sirdal municipality (often referred to as Norway's hydropower capital). The company develops, builds, and operates a proprietary Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) platform used to construct hydropower pressure shafts, water tunnels, district heating lines, and other underground infrastructure with materially lower surface impact than traditional drill-and-blast methods. Since 2009 it has executed more than 40 projects and accumulated over 46,000 meters of drilled length, including its first international project at Cavaglio Hydropower in Italy in 2020 and a May 2026 world record of a 2.6 km unmanned HDD borehole at Skjerdal Hydropower in Aurland, Norway.

The technical differentiation of the platform rests on an electric drill motor mounted directly on the drill bit combined with a non-rotating drill string, which reduces friction and total system energy consumption to roughly 60 kW while enabling drilling along predefined curves with less than 1 m deviation per kilometre, up to 3 km bore length, 1,000 m vertical rise, and diameters of 0.38-1.5 m. The system is fully electric, remotely controlled, and near-silent, and is sold as an integrated service that can include full-length pipe lining (steel or other) with diameters up to 1.4 m. Norhard positions the offering against conventional drill-and-blast on three vectors: 95% reduction in environmental impact and spoil mass, up to 260,000 kg/km CO2 reduction, and the elimination of extensive access roads in steep or landslide-prone terrain.

Norhard earns revenue through project-based enterprise contracts (one-time per-project licensing of its drilling service) sold via a direct B2B field-sales motion led by Business Development Manager Anders Stene and CEO Geir Birkeland. Customers are hydropower developers and operators, water and district heating utilities, and infrastructure owners in Norway and Europe; pricing is project-specific and not publicly disclosed. The firm is small (11-50 employees), funded historically by a NOK 19 million EU Horizon 2020 SME grant in 2018 (with an additional ~$2.08M EISMEA grant cited in the funding record), and is certified Eco-Lighthouse since April 2025. There is no disclosed revenue, backlog, or institutional investor base, and no M&A, restructuring, or leadership transition activity beyond the founding team is on record.

Name

Norhard

Legal name

Norhard AS

Website

https://norhard.no

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Norhard AS is a Norwegian specialist contractor that develops and operates proprietary Horizontal Directional Drilling equipment for hydropower pressure shafts and trenchless water, district heating, and energy infrastructure projects across Norway and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Directional Drilling Services

NAICS

Oil and Gas Field Machinery and Equipment Manufacturing (333132), Oil and Gas Pipeline and Related Structures Construction (23712)

SIC

Water, Sewer, Pipeline, Comm & Power Line Construction (1623), Oil & Gas Field Services, Nec (1389)

akta.pro primary industry

Cable Installation & Construction Services (trenching, duct banks, HDD, pulling, cable laying) (EUADADAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Offshore-to-Shore Interface Construction (Landfalls, Shore Crossings, HDD) (IMAFAJAK)

Keywords

• Horizontal directional drilling
• Hydropower pressure shafts
• Trenchless drilling services
• Rock drilling equipment
• Infrastructure drilling solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Tonstad

HQ country

Norway

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Directional Drilling Services: Norhard provides specialized horizontal directional drilling services for hydropower pressure shafts, water tunnels, water supply systems, district heating networks, and infrastructure corridors. Revenue is generated through project-based contracts involving drilling operations, including full-length pipe lining services. The company operates as a fully integrated provider supporting drilling and casing solutions onshore with in-house technology development and manufacturing capabilities.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Norhard provides specialized Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) services for hydropower pressure shafts, water supply tunnels, district heating networks, and energy infrastructure corridors. Its proprietary HDD platform uses an electric drill motor mounted directly on the drill bit with a non-rotating drill string, enabling full-profile directional drilling along predefined curves with minimal environmental impact. The company delivers project-based contracts including integrated full-length pipe lining solutions.

Product overview

Norhard offers a single integrated product: its proprietary Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) technology platform. This technology serves multiple applications including hydropower pressure shaft construction, infrastructure trenchless solutions (water, district heating, energy), and challenging terrain drilling where traditional methods are impractical. The company provides integrated full-length pipe lining services as an add-on to its core drilling operations. The HDD system is characterized by an electric drill motor mounted on the drill bit with a non-rotating drill string, achieving up to 95% reduction in environmental impact compared to traditional construction methods. Specifications include drilling diameter of 0.38–1.5m, maximum distance of 3km, elevation capability of 0–1000m, and precision deviation of less than 1m per km.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Horizontal Directional Drilling (HDD) Technology Platform Proprietary HDD platform featuring an electric drill motor mounted directly on the drill bit with a non-rotating drill string, enabling full-profile directional drilling along predefined curves over up to 3 km length and 1,000 m vertical rise. Sold as project-based drilling services to hydropower, water infrastructure, district heating, and energy infrastructure customers.
• Hydropower Pressure Shaft Drilling Services Specialized HDD services for constructing hydropower pressure shafts, waterway systems, and penstock installations with minimal environmental impact. Features full tunnel profile drilling in a single operation, with flexible diameters from 0.38m to 1.5m. Designed for hydropower developers, utilities, and EPC firms operating in steep, environmentally sensitive European terrain.
• Infrastructure Trenchless Drilling Services Trenchless HDD solutions for water supply and drainage systems, district heating pipe networks, and high-voltage energy infrastructure corridors. Enables environmentally friendly urban and rural infrastructure development without open-cut excavation. Designed for municipalities, water utilities, district heating providers, and energy infrastructure operators.
• Challenging Terrain Drilling Services Directional drilling services for steep slopes, exposed rock, and landslide-prone terrain where traditional blasting methods are impractical, costly, or environmentally unacceptable. Uses a non-rotating drill string with up-to-down and down-to-up curves to bypass surface obstacles. Target customers include hydropower developers and infrastructure operators facing difficult topography in Norway and Europe.

Quantifiable outcome

• 95% reduction in environmental impact compared to traditional construction methods
• +6 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Implenia AG: Swiss-based large construction group with tunneling division serving European infrastructure including hydropower. Comparable end-customer overlap (Alpine hydropower developers) but uses conventional tunneling rather than HDD.
• NCC AB: Swedish construction group active in Nordic infrastructure including civil and tunneling. Same end-customers as Norhard (Nordic utilities and hydropower developers) but executes conventional construction rather than HDD pressure shafts.
• Vermeer Corporation: US-based manufacturer of HDD rigs and trenchless equipment. Overlaps with Norhard in HDD category but focuses on softer-ground utility installation rather than hard-rock pressure shafts, and operates as equipment OEM rather than service contractor.
• Skanska AB: Swedish-headquartered global construction and infrastructure developer with significant tunneling and hydropower exposure. Competes for the same hydropower and infrastructure tenders but executes via conventional methods and JV structures rather than specialized HDD.
• The Charles Machine Works (Ditch Witch): Subsidiary of Charles Machine Works, a major HDD rig and trencher manufacturer serving utility contractors globally. Comparable in directional drilling equipment but does not operate in hard-rock hydropower applications.
• The Robbins Company: US-based TBM manufacturer and tunneling services provider for hard-rock applications. Closest large-scale competitor in the hard-rock tunnel-drilling category, though Robbins uses TBM rather than HDD and serves larger-diameter tunnels.

Direct peers

• Herrenknecht AG: German global leader in TBM and HDD/microtunneling equipment. Most directly comparable to Norhard by technology category (directional drilling rigs, navigation systems), although Herrenknecht is far larger and primarily equipment-focused rather than a service operator.

Others

• Multiconsult ASA: Norwegian engineering consultancy designing hydropower and water infrastructure projects that Norhard drills for. Adjacent ecosystem participant — often specifier rather than competitor, but closely connected to the same project pipeline.

Regional players

• Veidekke ASA: Largest Norwegian construction contractor, active in infrastructure, civil works, and hydropower. Domestic market competitor for Norwegian project pipeline, but primarily uses drill-and-blast rather than HDD.
• AF Gruppen ASA: Norwegian contractor with civil engineering and energy infrastructure operations including hydropower. Domestic regional competitor for project pipeline though without HDD specialization.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/norhard-as

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Norhard