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UN seminar on sustainable energy transport hosted by SINTEF

UN seminar: Alexandra Bech Gjørv, CEO of SINTEF and Ivan Vera, UN-Energy Secretary, Chief of Water, Energy & Capacity Development Branch at United Nations. Photo: SINTEF/ Thor Nielsen
Innovators from developed and developing countries across the world shared best practices in sustainable energy transport during a two-day seminar in Trondheim, Norway. The seminar was hosted by SINTEF, the winner of UN's Energy Grant 2016.

The UN programme "Powering the Future We Want - Recognizing Leadership and Innovative Practices in Energy for Sustainable Development", offers a grant in the amount of one million US dollars to fund future capacity development activities in energy for sustainable development.

The thematic focus for the 2016 Energy Grant was "Energy for Sustainable Transport", and the Grant recipient, SINTEF, was chosen at an award ceremony in December at United Nations Headquarters, New York.

 "This seminar has provided participants with an extraordinary opportunity to share and discuss technical innovation and build capacity on energy technologies, to disseminate knowledge, and to promote dialogue among developed and developing countries in the quest for global sustainable development" said Ivan Vera, UN-Energy Secretary, Chief of Water, Energy & Capacity Development Branch at United Nations.

A wide range of projects under the 2016 Grant Cycle were presented and discussed during the seminar, including:

  • Low cost, solar powered rickshaws in off-grid villages (Pakistan)
  • A multi-purpose utility vehicle that runs on biodiesel (Cameroon)
  • Production of biodiesel from recycled cooking oil as an eco-friendly fuel for transport (Georgia)
  • Solar energy panels on the rooftop of metro stations and boat jetties (India)

"It has been an honour for us to host this event, which has brought innovators from around the world together, many of whom I met when SINTEF won the Energy Grant award in New York in December 2016," said Alexandra Bech Gjørv, CEO of SINTEF. "The participants have shared ground breaking ideas, discussed business models and disseminated experiences and knowledge in the implementation of projects that promote energy for sustainable transport."

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Facts about the seminar:

  • Capacity Development Seminar on sustainable transport systems.
  • Organized by the Division for Sustainable Development of UN DESA (Department of Economic and Social Affairs), in cooperation with SINTEF, under the UN DESA Energy Grant programme "Powering the Future We Want".
  • 16 – 17 October Trondheim.