Research News

Automatic bleeding based on machine vision and robot technology: Norway is now operating the first salmon slaughter line in the world to use such techniques. The innovation makes for more rational operation, says the system’s pilot operator.

The Svelvik Ridge in southern Norway could quite literally become a green laboratory later this year: a unique tool for scientists who are developing the technology needed for secure underground storage of captured CO2.

3500 20- to 24-year-old women from Tromsø and Hamar in Norway were offered free hormonal contraception for a year. The result was that the abortion rate in the trial cities was halved.

The EU’s four-year EuroBioRef project, which was launched on March 1, aims to cover the whole biomass conversion chain from raw materials to commercial products.

Many people feel insecure when they drive in tunnels. However, their anxiety can be reduced

When the Norwegian dairy company TINE makes cheese, it deliberately adds certain organisms to the raw milk. Others get there by chance and shape the end-product. But such games of chance will soon be a thing of the past.

When the Norwegian dairy company TINE makes cheese, it deliberately adds certain organisms to the raw milk. Others get there by chance and shape the end-product. But such games of chance will soon be a thing of the past.

Scientists at SINTEF/NTNU and the University of Oslo have been awarded NOK 25 million by the Research Council of Norway for investments in equipment for surface analysis.

Nanoelectronics technology is improving the way that batteries and motors in electric vehicles are controlled, giving them a longer range on each charge.

When a PC user changes his location, his environment also changes and problems often arise. However, with the aid of the appropriate software the computer’s software can be modified automatically to match the changed situation.

Maybe it looks like a giant arrow or a rocket, but this 13 metre-long, 80-tonne anchor is currently being tested as a new mooring concept for offshore installations.

The EU’s SMARTIEHS project will enable MEMS structures to be tested one hundred times as fast as they can today. This will mean cheaper and more reliable electronic equipment for people you us.

Researchers fear that our personal and consumer data protection is being compromised by the growth of social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

The EU’s three-year FoXy programme has come to an end. The research group is very satisfied, and the EU Commission is handing out praise.

Scientists at SINTEF and StatoilHydro have developed a level-gauge staff that uses pressure differences to measure the levels of water, oil and gas in oil separators.

Jorunn Skjermo is doing her best to ensure that cars will obtain green fuel from the sea

Nanoproducts have entered our lives, almost without being noticed. Artificial particles end up in the atmosphere, earth and water. What happens to them?

SINTEF’s DYNAMIS project received the “CSLF Recognition Award” in London in October for its contribution to CO2 capture and storage.

If we continue to use our hospitals in the same way as we do now, the health service in 2030 will need to employ every second young person in the country and increase hospital bed capacity by 5000.

A specially modified, millimetre-thick, super-absorbent bed sheet solves delivery-room problems

Front-line staff in the nursing and care sector would welcome sensor and robot technology in nursing homes and the homes of elderly people.

SINTEF and the Oslo/Horten-based Northrop Grumman Park Air Systems have been awarded NOK 233 million by the EU over the next eight years for a research programme that aims to streamline European air traffic.

SINTEF ICT and a group of industrial companies from Ireland, Sweden and Norway are currently forming an alliance that will help to give the aviation industry greener and more rapid routes across Europe.

A computer screen in the living room can help dementia sufferers to check the time and date and to remember appointments.

Ultrasonics improves surgeons’ view when they remove tumours from the pituitary gland

For the first time, Norwegian scientists have managed to produce completely new antibiotics from bacteria found in the sea

The most environmentally friendly product in the building materials store could soon be the cheapest too.

Norwegians who suffer from rare disorders feel that they are left to face their problems alone. Since they often fall outwith the conceptual universes of the experts, they find it difficult to explain their situation.

For the first time, Norwegian scientists have managed to produce completely new antibiotics from bacteria found in the sea

Europe is to invest NOK 730 million in joint European laboratories for CO2 capture and storage – and will use almost a third of the total in Norway. NTNU and SINTEF will coordinate the international effort, which will involve building five CO2 laboratories in Trondheim.

Singapore is considering moving its power stations, water reservoirs, harbour warehouses and waste combustion plants below ground. Scientists from Trondheim are helping to shape the first systematic use of underground area in the world.

Fire researchers are sounding the alarm: without innovative thinking on the fire prevention front, more and more old people will die in house fires.

Embedding sperm cells in a gel for artificial insemination increases the fertilisation period for cattle and pigs and give more babies.

The world’s first induction heater with super conductors is based on a Trondheim invention. This technology can generate large savings for the aluminium industry.

Research scientists at SINTEF have developed a control dashboard for the pharmaceuticals industry. This enables all pharmacies, wholesalers and manufacturers to check where products are in the supply chain, availability, what stocks the neighbouring pharmacy has and the future prognoses.

There is to be a change of management at SINTEF Building Research

- Invitation to international conference on waste and biomass combustion

A dark blue Audi with green technology under its bonnet aroused a great deal of attention in Trondheim in May 2006. At the head of the queue of eager sightseers was Børge Brende, the UN’s former “minister of the environment”.

Petroleum activities and marine transport in the Arctic demand a high level of know-how and efficient contingency planning. Around twenty international scientists spent the month of May in finding out how an oil spill behaves, and how it can be dealt with under Arctic conditions.

A robot that can move forward and inspect complicated pipe systems is currently under development. The robot can twist its way vertically up pipe walls.

Norwegian scientists will remove sulphur compounds from Indian petrol utilising custom made, porous materials in the refineries.

Based on an initiative from SINTEF Marine Environmental Technology, StatoilHydro has entered into and financed the construction of an oil spill laboratory in Murmansk.

If something hits you on the head while you are wearing this safety helmet, its soft flexible inner layer will instantly turn into a rock-hard shock-absorbent material.

A model of the Oseberg ship – the oldest and most beautiful Viking ship in the world – has just been tested in Ship Model Tank at Marintek, SINTEF.

Unni Steinsmo, President of the SINTEF Group, has been elected to membership of the European Research Area Board (ERAB).

The most elaborate travel-wear in Norway keeps the body cool in hot helicopter cabins, but will turn into a heat-retaining suit if the helicopter should fall into the sea.

The leading research organizations TNO (the Netherlands) and SINTEF (Norway) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to develop and market their joint services on a number of fields of technology.

The fish-processing industry grades salmon manually into various quality classes. If sensors took over this job, costs could be cut and Norwegian companies could avoid having to set up shop abroad.

The building industry has not taken on board the idea of adapting to local climatic conditions, and is mainly supplying identically designed houses all over the country.

SINTEF scientists are currently helping two major US cities to manage “buried treasure” worth billions of dollars. It may sound like “The Sopranos”, but in this case, they are the “good guys”, who are making water supplies cheaper for everyone.

(Oslo/Trondheim, 9 January, 2008) SINTEF Venture III AS – a SINTEF investment company—and Ignis ASA has entered into an agreement in which SINTEF Venture III acquires 8 million of Ignis ASA’s 25 million shares in poLight AS (formerly Ignis Display AS) for NOK 4.0 million. Following the purchase, SIN...

It's about to become easier to practise for your driving test. A little hand-held PC with GPS can guide both pupil and instructor around the streets.

A Norwegian environmental project for China's cement industry could lead to cuts in CO2 that are equivalent to twice Norway's total emissions of greenhouse gases.

Their day job is to keep trees upright. But now the forest's tiniest building blocks are on their way into fancy products for the future.

The Arctic has huge resources of natural gas and iron ore. Material-producing industrial clusters in this region could be worth a great deal.

Five Nordic partners are now joining forces to further develop and demonstrate proton exchange membrane (PEM) fuel cell technology suitable for operation in cold Nordic climate. The 2 year project is supported by the Nordic Energy Research through a 4.4MNOK grant.

Dag Terje Andersen, Minister of Industry and Commerce, presented the Norwegian government’s maritime strategy on October 3. The strategy contains the government’s plans for supporting the continued growth and development of the Norwegian maritime cluster.

Scientists are working on an underwater wireless network to talk to each other. In a few years, the pilot scheme could be ready to monitor the Barents Sea

New technology that is to monitor astronauts’ “indoor” climate will soon be tested on board the International Space Station (ISS). In the future, similar equipment may help to improve the climate of workplaces on Earth itself.

SINTEF is in the process of developing a sensor that is capable of registering abnormal vibration patterns in machinery on board offshore platforms.

Following an initiative taken by SINTEF, the EU and China are launching a project with the aim of cutting global emissions of greenhouse gases. The cooperative effort will give Europe emission quotas for CO2 – and “green” coal-fired power stations to China.

SINTEF has, together with a group of industrialists and other academic institutions, taken the initiative to establish a Technology Platform for aquaculture – the European Aquaculture Technology Platform.

On December 6, 2006, SINTEF Health Research and Stellenbosch University organised a workshop on the subject of cooperation in health research between South Africa and SINTEF.

The innovation centre that SINTEF helped to establish in Bosnia and Herzegovina has given young people new opportunities in the city of Tuzla. Fifty work-places for highly trained people seeking work have been created in the course of the past year, and there will be yet more by the end of 2006.

The transport sector’s national prize for efforts in the field of intelligent transport systems and services has been awarded to chief scientist Trond Foss (58) of SINTEF Technology and Society.

In the search for a new and improved trawl net, Ulrik Jes Hansen had a brainwave: “What if we turn the net 90 degrees?” This has certainly proved to be a good idea.

A heat pump is an invention that dates back more than 150 years.

In the restructuring process, good bosses clear up chaotic situations and create relaxed working conditions for their employees. Even when time is scarce, they don’t get stressed.

SINTEF is the only Scandinavian partner in the new EU project CityMobil, in which €40 million will help to develop more efficient transport in European cities.

SINTEF Energy Research can tell you when and where lightning has struck. And the data come straight to your pocket.

Due to upgrading to version 7.3 on the eRoom-server, this service will be unavailable for all users during upgrade, which is from Friday June 30 at 19:00 hrs to Monday July 3 at 07.00 hrs (GMT+1). We apologize for the inconvenience.

On Tuesday March 7, the starter’s pistol goes off in Oslo for EU’s efforts to generate fossil-based electricity and hydrogen incorporating CO2 treatment. SINTEF has been given responsibility for coordinating the first phase of the project. In this launch phase, which has been given the name of Dynam...

May Britt Myhr (45) has been appointed President of SINTEF Petroleum Research AS.

In the course of a cooperative effort that has continued for several years, SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture and SINTEF Technology and Society have developed a useful analytical tool for the fishing and aquaculture sector.

On June 24, 2004, Røros woman Gunhild Sollie received the gift of life for the second time. A life-threatening tumour of the cerebellum was already the size of a plum. Utilising a completely new operating method, doctors were able to do the “impossible”. The tumour was removed during a 14-hour long ...

SINTEF is involved in a wide range of applications of nanotechnology, and now presents its research in the form of a strategy document.

Samples of rock from the subsurface of Manhattan are being sent to Trondheim on a regular basis. New York is extending its subway system and renewing its water supply - and both projects are getting help from SINTEF.

SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture, NINA, Norwegian Institute of Fisheries and Aquaculture Research and the University of Alicante, Spain have a new project to look into the ecological effects of coastal sea cage farms on wild fish

This summer, Trondheim will host the world’s biggest ever conference on greenhouse gas control technologies.

Bjørn Svensvik (59) has been appointed President of SINTEF Byggforsk (SINTEF Building and Infrastructure).

SINTEF is to build up a special oil analysis section in Russia’s federal control and test laboratory in Murmansk.

SINTEF Petroleum Research has really got its foot in the door of Brazil’s petroleum industry. The state oil company Petrobras is the client for eight of the Institute’s projects, in which Brazilian interests are investing a total of NOK 15 million.

A great deal of oil may have leaked out of Barents Sea reservoirs 30 to 40 million years ago and during the more recent Ice Ages. A new report from SINTEF tells us which parts of the basin may have been emptied of their petroleum resources.

In Skopje, Macedonia, SINTEF has established with a local office with four employees. The cooperation with other organizations is now expanded with new tenants.

One person died in a fire in a sheltered housing apartment in Trondheim recently. But the authorities and SINTEF are already looking at new ways of saving lives when fires break out in this type of apartment and in the homes of elderly people who live alone.

The initiative "Society for All" - "Workplace for All" seeks to connect stakeholders from the authorities, disabled persons organisations (DPOs), companies (SMEs) and academia to contribute to a greater understanding of the situation in Macedonia and improvement of the conditions in the workplace fo...

Led by SINTEF, a veritable army of scientists and industrialists is to promote the use of bioenergy in Europe, backed up by a quarter of a billion Norwegian kroner!

Fishing is one of Norway’s most dangerous occupations. Now fishermen are to get work clothes that will improve their chances of survival if they fall overboard.

Representatives of South Africa’s CSIR have been on a two-day visit to SINTEF, where they Signed an MOU with the Norwegian research institution.

These apartments will save two-thirds of the energy consumption of an average Norwegian house; a record for the country.

The Centre for Railway Certification at SINTEF ICT has received a new appointed as Notified Body; now for conventional rail systems. Before SINTEF has been appointed Notified Body for high-speed rail systems. The appointments are according to

Anticollision systems will be the next step on the way to even safer cars. Researchers in Trondheim are helping the automotive industry to turn plans into reality.

Hundreds of thousands of Japanese people get their hot shower water by means of energy-saving Norwegian technology. The invention spares the environment and climate by using CO2 – the very gas that has had to carry much of the blame for the greenhouse effect!

Refrigeration scientists at SINTEF and NTNU have been honoured by an award from the International Energy Agency (IEA) for their contribution to solving the greenhouse problems caused by leaking refrigeration systems and heat pumps.

Scientists at SINTEF Materials and Chemistry are among the first groups in the world have developed a process for large-scale production of carbon nanotubes.

Trondheim’s marine scientists are taking new paths. In their search for better solutions for the aquaculture, fishing and offshore industries, researchers are about to adopt a design principle that saves on materials and is widely used by the space sector.

MARINTEK scientists have built a model of "Sea Orbiter" vessel and tested it in the Ocean Basin at the Institute. The model is at the present at the Jules Verne Exhibition in Paris.

Scientists at SINTEF Health Research have developed rapid tests that can identify Legionella bacteria in water reservoirs or biofilms in only a couple of days.

Together with Norwegian and overseas industrial interests, the Research Council of Norway and Gassnova are investing millions of kroner in a new research programme on gas power with CO2 treatment. These efforts make it more likely that Norway will build power stations of this sort in the future, acc...

ResMan AS - a start-up company based on spinning-off technology from SINTEF and IFE - will produce chemical intelligent materials to monitor flows in oil and gas wells. The whole process will take place without the use of cables.

A fish farm that runs itself. A base station that floats on the surface without any form of mooring, but which acts as an information centre for freely floating fish-cages of farmed fish. This is how scientists predict that the fish farm of the future could operate far out at sea instead of in shelt...

The number of admissions to Norwegian hospitals rose by 4.3 percent in 2004, as fresh figures from SINTEF’s Norwegian Patient Register show.

Sixty-nine employees of Rolls Royce in Bergen had their cars damaged by dust. After a court case in which a SINTEF report was produced as useful documention, they were awarded damages.

The classic leather uniforms of the motorcycle police are to be pensioned off. Their replacements are already on the way: specially modified uniforms that will be more visible in traffic.

This tailor-made food is prepared in a drying plant for which three researchers at SINTEF and NTNU had the idea in 1989. Now, the trio’s technology is in the process of making its commercial world premiere.

A recent advance in telemedicine has brought together radiologists in Molde and Trondheim in a “shared office” in cyberspace, saving elderly patients in Romsdal a more than six-hour road trip to and from St. Olav’s Hospital.

A new SINTEF report puts paid to the myth that immigrant women are not interesting in joining the labour market.

Research into the inner life of a soil bacterium has produced a new spinoff company from NTNU and SINTEF. With the aid of gene technology the recently established Biosergen AS intends to persuade its chosen microbe to produce antibiotics with better healing properties.

Here is the aquaculture boat of the future, as SINTEF research scientists see it. From bow to stern, it features solutions designed to look after health, safety and environmental concerns in the aquaculture industry.

SINTEF research scientists at the Micro and Nanotechnology Laboratory in Oslo have developed a flow metre with fluid channels thinner than a strand of hair. The new device controls that patients receive the correct dosage of medicine.