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Energy efficiency in the industry

Energy efficiency in the industry

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SINTEF creates future-oriented and innovative solutions for energy efficiency in industry, transport and buildings.

Energy efficiency is a vital tool for reducing energy consumption and thus the need for new power sources. This is also an important area for reducing greenhouse gas emissions when fossil fuels are the energy source. SINTEF conducts research on energy efficiency in industry, transportation and in the construction industry. An important research area is efficiency in Norway's power-intensive industries, and the utilization of waste heat.

Contact person

Petter Egil Røkke
Research Director
901 20 221

FME HighEFF - Centre for an Energy Efficient and Competitive Industry for the Future

By increasing energy efficiency, HighEFF will help ensure that Norway has the world's greenest industries.

HighEFF er et Forskningssenter for miljøvennlig energi delvis finansiert av Norges Forskningsråd.

HighEFF homapage

Ekspertice

Aerodynamic analysis of wind turbines and windfarms

Wind turbines are continuously growing in size, and with the increasing focus on offshore installations, accurately analysis of wind loads and intermittency is of great importance.Windfarms typically consists of a large number of such turbines, and the wind interaction between the turbines must be known to be able to optimize the windfarm with respect to electricity production and to low maintenance cost. Such optimization strongly relies on the control systems used to operate the windfarm.
Balram Panjwani
Senior Research Scientist
930 58 731

Building Ventilation

Energy efficiency and increased heating comfort has resulted in modern buildings being more airtight than previous building constructions. Tight buildings have reduced the uncontrolled ventilation, without this being sufficiently compensated through controlled ventilation. Both in existing and future buildings, it is therefore important to install ventilation plants that are satisfactory with regard to air flow rate, reliability, comfort, energy efficiency and usability.
Øystein Fjellheim
Research Manager
402 24 039

CO2 as working fluid for refrigeration, air conditioning, heat pump systems and power cycles

CO2 has gone through a renaissance as refrigerant due to the need to replace the chemical refrigerants with highly negative environmental impact. The main applications where CO2 systems has been commercialized so far are heat pump water heaters (heat pumps for heating of sanitary water), refrigeration systems for supermarkets and within small size commercial refrigeration. SINTEF-NTNU initiated this development in the end of the 1980s. More than 4 million systems are installed to date, corresponding to a turnover of more than 200 billion NOK.
Petter Nekså
Chief Scientist
926 06 519

Drying of food

Drying of food (thermal processing of meat, fish, vegetables and seaweed / kelp) is the most important method of preservation in the world. Drying gives a stable product with a longer shelf life and a product that is easy to distribute. However, drying is energy-intensive, and the quality of the final product depends on the process. Researchers at Process Technology at SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture possesses expertise in both chemistry and technology in order best to solve interdisciplinary challenges within drying of foodstuffs. For an energy efficient and environmentally friendly drying process will reuse and utilization of waste heat using heat pumps be highly relevant. Partial drying can be combined with salting for the production of cured meat. During production of cured meat, lamb ribs, cheese and dried fish will optimal management and control of temperature and humidity in the greenhouse stock be important for quality and yield.
Erlend Indergård
Senior Research Scientist
934 11 312

Heating Installations in Buildings

Installations for waterborne heating has been common in both commercial buildings and residences for many years. Such installations provide flexibility in the choice of energy source. Because of constantly stricter regulations regarding energy efficiency, modern buildings require less and less energy supply in the form of heat. One of the challenges in the future is effective operation of heating installations with low temperatures and small quantities of water.
Øystein Fjellheim
Research Manager
402 24 039

Hydrogen technology and energy storage

Hydrogen will be an important supplement to electricity as an energy carrier in future sustainable energy systems. In addition to being fuel for the transport sector, hydrogen will contribute to increased utilization of renewable energy sources. The need for energy storage will increase dramatically, and hydrogen will be the preferred option for large amounts of energy, and storage over longer periods.
Steffen Møller-Holst
Vice President - Marketing
926 04 534

Integrated energy systems

In the transition towards a sustainable energy supply of the future, it is essential to look at the interaction between different energy carriers such as electricity, heat, biofuels, natural gas and hydrogen. An integrated energy system that exploits interactions and strengths of different energy carriers will be flexible, cost-effective and reliable.  SINTEF Energy Research is home to a leading research community working on precisely this issue.
Ellen Krohn Aasgård
Research Manager
934 06 340

Planning and Building Legislation

The purpose of the planning and building legislation is to promote sustainable development in favor of individuals, the society and future generations. Together with the associated regulations and guidance, the Planning and Building Act is one of the most important framing factors for the Architecture, Engineering and Construction industry (AEC). The provisions of the legislation are implemented through governmental, regional and municipal planning and building administration, and put into practice by the professional actors in the building process.
Cecilie Flyen
Senior Research Scientist
971 83 297

Refrigeration systems for food processing

Because of world population growth, it is estimated that we must produce 70 % more food on the planet by 2050. In addition, it is necessary that we reduce greenhouse gas emissions dramatically. In this picture, it is important to preserve and utilize all the food being produced. One of the key elements is to gain control of the temperature immediately after harvest and capture, through processing and all the way to the end user. SINTEF Fisheries and Aquaculture is analysing, simulating, measuring and improving refrigeration systems to increase the benefit, increase product quality, reduce the negative impact on the climate, and to provide our customers with better profitability.
Tom Ståle Nordtvedt
Senior Research Scientist
930 08 853

Smart transport ICT

Transport is crucial to the society. Freight transport provides citizens and businesses with the goods, and free mobility for persons is a human right in most countries. However, transport has significant negative effects like pollution, causalities, space consumption, reduction in urban life quality, etc. ICT applied in infrastructures, vehicles, fleet management, user applications and traffic management can mitigate the negative effects and facilitate sustainable transport.
Marit Kjøsnes Natvig
Senior Research Scientist
957 06 749

Thermal system modelling

Thermal systems are comprised of components for heat and/or cold production, distribution, consumption and storage. A thermal system can be a local heating or cooling network for a construction area, or an industrial heat or cooling grid for distribution of thermal energy in a factory or between different industrial actors in an industrial cluster. As the costs of investments connected to thermal systems are high, it is beneficial to utilize different modelling tools for optimal system design and operational strategies.
Hanne Laura Pauliina Kauko
Research Scientist
968 76 651

Laboratories

HighEFFLab

National Laboratories for an Energy Efficient Industry for improved utilization of available industrial surplus heat and a reformation of the efficiency in various industry processes.

SINTEF Energy Lab

– a vital tool for energy research in Norway

Smart Grid Laboratory

NTNU and SINTEF have built a new National Smart Grid Laboratory in Trondheim with funding from the Research Council of Norway in cooperation with the Artic University of Norway and Smart Innovation Østfold.
More laboratories

Projects

EnerGizerS - CO2-Enhanced Geothermal Systems for Climate Neutral Energy Supply

04 December 2020

The main objective of the project is to analyse the efficiency of the Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) using CO2 as a working fluid.

CruiZE - Cruising towards Zero Emissions

10 November 2020

Development of innovative and integrated cooling and heating concepts onboard cruise ships

NECast

31 August 2020

Next generation casting process for the ferroalloy industry
More projects

News

Whitepaper on Industrial Heat Pump

06 August 2020

Industrial processes are currently responsible for 20 % of total greenhouse gas emissions in Europe. In order to stay within the 1.5°C scenario of the Paris Climate Agreement, measures to reduce these greenhouse gas emissions from industry are urgently needed.

The story of CO2 as a refrigerant

20 April 2020

Carbon Dioxide is so often cast as the villain in climate change debates. Yet that very same substance along with other natural working fluids has the potential to cut more emissions than any other climate change mitigation technology. Now HighEFF is poised to build on years of Norwegian research and push the technology through to commercialisation in new areas.

Making Norwegian industry the world’s greenest - HighEFF’s Past, Present and Future

16 April 2020

“Energy efficiency is the one research action that contributes to all 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals. It reduces emissions, increases efficiency and provides surplus energy for other uses. The product that comes out of the processes will be produced for less input. So, more value for less input”, says Petter Røkke, HighEFF Centre Director. HighEFF is a long-term Research Centre focused on reducing energy consumption in industrial processes.
More news