Norway to put billions of kroner into renewable energy

The eight research centres will focus on topics ranging from wind, solar and bioenergy to CO2 capture and storage and zero-energy housing, and research groups at SINTEF/NTNU are either leading or participating in six of them.

The aim is for the centres to contribute to the development of good technologies for environmentally friendly energy and to raise the level of Norwegian expertise in this area. In the longer term, they should help to generate new industrial activity and new jobs. Each of the centres is expected to be a national leader in its field.

“These efforts will bring Norway into line with a widespread international trend that is being led by the USA and the EU, with active efforts being made in environmentally friendly technologies”, says Arvid Hallén, president of the Research Council of Norway.

Important contribution at global level

“The development of technology in this field will be one of Norway’s most important contributions in the field of climate improvement,” says Unni Steinsmo, president of SINTEF.

Steinsmo believes that the new centres will be an extremely important facet of Norway’s international efforts in the field of climate technology. The research centres in Trondheim are already collaborating extensively with leading groups in Europe, the USA, China and Japan on climate technology. Now, we will build on these contacts and develop both technology and a consciousness of what is needed to produce a technological revolution.

“Together with our partners, we will contribute actively to ensuring that both Norway and the global community will benefit as much as possible from our efforts. As a supplier of knowledge and technology at international level, Norway can contribute to making cuts in global emissions that will be several times as large as those we can make within our own territory,” says Steinsmo.

This goal is to be achieved by means of three main strategies:

A major increase in electricity generation from renewable sources such as wind, solar power and biomass

– Dealing with CO2 emissions from fossil sources of energy such as coal, oil and gas

– More efficient end-use of energy.

These are the centres NTNU/SINTEF are leading or participating::

Research Centre for Offshore wind Technology

BIGCCS Centre – International CCS Research Centre

The Research Centre on Zero Emission Buildings – ZEB

Centre for Environmental design of renewable energy. (CEDREN)

Bioenergy Innovation Centre

The Norwegian Research Centre for Solar Cell Technology