SINTEF Energy Research - Annual report 2019

We shape the future's sustainable energy solutions

Who we are and what we do

SINTEF Energy Research is an applied research institute dedicated to creating innovative energy solutions. We offer cutting-edge research-based knowledge and infrastructure both in Norway and globally with the aim of providing our clients with added-value solutions and services. SINTEF Energy Research is part of the SINTEF Group, which is one of Europe's largest independent contract research centres.

SINTEF, globally and locally

With the aim of supporting the UN's Sustainable Development Goals, SINTEF Energy Research carries out world-leading research in fields such as offshore wind, solar energy, bioenergy, batteries, smart grids, electrical power components, hydropower market modelling, energy efficiency, zero-emissions transport, hydrogen, CCS, and low-emission oil and gas production. We work closely with industry to boost Norwegian competitiveness in global markets.

World-leading solutions

We offer world-leading laboratories and test facilities, supported by state-of-the-art digital software and systems. We occupy a strong position in the EU's Framework Programme and are involved in six of the Research Council of Norway’s Centres for Environmentally-Friendly Energy Research (FMEs). We also act as coordinator for LowEmission, a recently established centre promoting research into low-emission oil and gas production on the Norwegian shelf.

Our effort to mitigate climate change

The Covid-19 pandemic and its health-related and economic impacts present us with an entirely new global challenge. It has also illustrated how intense levels of international research and development will aid in halting its spread. The challenge of climate change must also be addressed globally, and collaborative international research will be decisive in this area. The work carried out by SINTEF Energy Research and our partners during 2019 clearly demonstrates that we have made a major contribution in the collective effort to address this challenge.

SINTEF Energy Research and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

SINTEF’s vision of "Technology for a better society” and the objectives of SINTEF Energy Research are focused on shaping the sustainable energy solutions of the future. Sustainability is at the heart of all our research activities.

_{Read more about SINTEF Energy's contribution to the UN's Sustainable Development Goals by clicking on one of the icons below.}

SINTEF Energy Research and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Affordable and clean energy

It is crucial that our research into various energy solutions contributes towards achieving a low carbon footprint and high levels of supply security, but it is also important that the solutions are both efficient and economically viable. The vast majority of our research projects contribute towards achieving this goal.

SINTEF Energy Research and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Climate action

It is important to limit the global average rise in temperature to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels if the planet is to avoid the worst impacts of climate change. Our work with innovative and sustainable solutions to replace less eco-friendly systems, and with emissions-reducing solutions, is making a direct contribution to the achievement of this goal.

SINTEF Energy Research and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Industry, innovation and infrastructure

A well-functioning energy supply infrastructure, both onshore and offshore, is key to the maintenance of a robust society. Many of the projects carried out by SINTEF Energy Research contribute towards the development of a resilient energy infrastructure and a more innovative industrial sector. Many of our projects that promote industrial energy efficiency make an active contribution towards more sustainable industrialisation processes.

SINTEF Energy Research and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Sustainable cities and communities

SINTEF Energy Research is working to promote smart cities and low-emission transport solutions that will contribute to more sustainable cities with more resilient infrastructures.

SINTEF Energy Research and the UN's Sustainable Development Goals

Life on land

SINTEF Energy Research is working to develop energy solutions that safeguard the natural world. We have accumulated extensive experience in this field in connection with our hydropower projects.

How we contribute towards the UN Sustainable Development Goals

1. Hydropower

Our hydropower production scheduling models contribute to the achievement of many of the UN sustainable development goals. Our models ensure that hydropower systems are operated with high profitability and optimal use of resources, while at the same time safeguarding local ecosystems in and around regulated river systems.  Our models promote the added value of renewable energy generated from hydropower. They also enhance flexibility, making it possible to exploit other renewable energy sources such as wind and solar power.

2. SF₆

SF₆ (sulphur hexafluoride) is a powerful greenhouse gas that exacerbates global warming. Considering a 100-year perspective, SF₆ has a warming potential that is between 22,000 and 23,500 times greater than CO₂. SF₆ is used in equipment such as electrical switchgear. In collaboration with the energy sector, SINTEF Energy Research is working to regulate the use of SF₆. We are also working to identify alternatives to SF₆.

3. Refrigerant applications of CO₂

According to the Drawdown project, the single most important action that can be taken to mitigate climate change is to replace refrigerants in air conditioning systems, heat pumps and refrigeration units. A phasing down of the use of HFCs has the potential to save as much as half a degree of global warming. Since the 1980s, SINTEF and NTNU have jointly been conducting research into the use of CO₂ as a natural refrigerant. We have a world-leading research teams in this field that have developed technologies for application in e.g. Norway, Europe, Japan and India.

4. CCS

The term CCS covers a set of technologies involving the capture, transport and safe storage of CO₂ in underground reservoirs. In order to limit the average rise in global temperatures to 1.5°C, it will not be enough to reduce emissions. In the future, we will have to remove them from the atmosphere too. CCS is the only technology that offers sectors such as steel, fertiliser and cement manufacturing an opportunity to achieve net-zero CO₂ emissions. CCS also offers the potential to remove CO₂ emissions from natural gas sources, with pure hydrogen as the end product. In collaboration with NTNU, SINTEF has established world-leading research teams in the field of CCS.

January

In 2018, SINTEF and NTNU launched the development of a joint profile template, which was completed in the spring of that year and put on show at the thermal power engineering laboratories. The photo below shows an "innovation safari”, designed for politicians and clients who often visit the laboratory.

2019 Highlights

February

On Friday 18 February, the Research Council of Norway presented the Norwegian Ministry for Petroleum and Energy with a report showing that investment in energy-related research during the last ten years has proved to be highly profitable. The presentation took place at the SINTEF Energy Lab in connection with a ministerial visit. The report showed that NOK 4 billion has been invested in renewable energy projects over the last ten years. Qualitative gains were also achieved in the form of security of supply, knowledge development and, not least, climate change mitigation. The various FME centres provided data to support the conclusions contained in the report.

2019 Highlights

March

A new joint Swedish-Norwegian research project coordinated by SINTEF will look into the possibilities and costs of transporting CO₂ captured in Sweden for storage in reservoirs on the Norwegian shelf. This is the first project to ever investigate this possibility. The aim is to investigate the possibilities of establishing a full-scale facility for the capture and transport of CO₂ from the Preem refinery and wet gas plant at Lysekil. The project would reduce CO₂ emissions by up to 500,000 tons per year, and the demonstration plant is a step towards establishing a full-scale facility by 2025.

April

Coordinated by SINTEF, the Energytics project arranged a hackathon event for students on 25 April. 28 students from NTNU and the University of Tromsø took part. They worked together in seven groups using data obtained from smart meters, meteorological data, measurements taken from household devices, and electricity prices. Their task was to create something innovative from this data, either in the form of a new business idea or programming code that would be of value to electricity customers. Two winners were announced by a jury made up of representatives from the companies Hafslund, Sensero and Eidsiva. Video in Norwegian.

2019 Highlights

May

John Olav Tande, an offshore wind technology researcher, was selected as a Norwegian Mission Innovation Champion. The Champions received their honours at the fourth Ministerial Meeting in Vancouver, Canada, on Monday 27 May. The prize was inaugurated by Bill Gates and former US President Barack Obama, among others, during the COP 21 Climate Change Summit in Paris in 2015. The prize is awarded to people that develop future products and services in response to climate change challenges. During a long and productive scientific career, Senior Research Scientist Tande has made significant contributions to developments in the field of obtaining clean energy from offshore wind, especially in connection with the concept of floating wind farms.

2019 Highlights

Mai

After several years of commissioning and subsystem testing, the new NorBioLab gasification reactor is now operational at the SINTEF Energy Lab at Blaklia in Trondheim. The reactor enables the conversion of biomass into sustainable fuel. NorBioLab is led by the Norwegian Paper Industry Research Institute (Rise PFI), in collaboration with NTNU, SINTEF Energy Research and the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU). Video in Norwegian.

2019 Highlights

June

The new LowEmission research centre was opened on 14 June. The Norwegian Minister for Petroleum and Energy cut the tape with research scientists and project partners looking on. In the lead up to 2050 the centre will develop new knowledge and technologies that will be applied to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the Norwegian oil and gas sector to zero. The targets also include a reduction of 40 percent by 2030. The total budget for the centre is close to NOK 350 million over a period of eight years. Video in Norwegian.

June

TCCS-10, also known as the Trondheim CCS Conference, was held with the aim of addressing carbon management and CCS issues. Arranged jointly by NTNU, SINTEF and FME NCCS in June every second year, TCCS attracts more than 400 CCS researchers from around the world. There were ten keynote speeches, more than 100 presentations and approximately 150 posters. The conference was held over two days, followed by a Mission Innovation workshop with CCS as its key topic.

July

In 2019, for the thirteenth successive year, SINTEF Energy Research welcomed students to work as researchers during the summer. The institute received 248 applications for 26 summer internships. The students get to work on real research projects under the guidance of a mentor from SINTEF Energy Research. The internships provide an important opportunity for network building and skills development, and for publication and dissemination on the part of SINTEF Energy Research. An open technical seminar was held on completion of the internship period. Here's a video in Norwegian.

2019 Highlights

August

During the annual Arendal Political and Business Forum (Arendalsuka), SINTEF and NTNU held a presentation on sustainable wind power development in Norway. The talk drew a lot of attention, resulting in a 10-minute feature on the Dagsrevyen TV news programme on 13 August. Here are three pieces of advice that we gave politicians at Arendalsuka (in Norwegian).

Read about our advice here (in Norwegian).

2019 Highlights

September

Kristian Thinn Solheim is coordinating an exciting project in which he, in collaboration with Statnett and the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate (NVE), aims to find out how it may be possible to prevent solar storms from interfering with electricity supplies. In autumn 2019, five different types of sensors were installed on a 420 kV transformer owned by Statnett. The sensors will serve to identify the links between the magnetic field created by solar storms and the influence it has on the electricity grid. . From left to right: Kristian Thinn Solheim (SINTEF), Trond Ohnstad (Statnett), Astri Gillund (NVE).

October

The ElPowerLab has acquired a new camera with the following features: one billion images per second, a 3-nanosecond exposure time, 12-bit resolution. SINTEF will use it to film ultra-fast phenomena such as arc flashes. The camera, which will be used for research into the reliability of electrical power components, has now been installed and is available to researchers working on relevant projects. The camera is funded by the Research Council of Norway’s INFRASTRUKTUR fund, which focuses on investments in research infrastructure.

Read about ElPowerLab here.

2019 Highlights

November

SINTEF's Executive Vice-President for Sustainability Nils Røkke is a highly regarded commentator on the global stage in the field of energy research issues such as hydrogen and CCS.

Interview with Nils Røkke, EURACTIV.

2019 Highlights

December

The Hyper project was designed to investigate the potential of producing large volumes of hydrogen in Norway for export to markets in Europe and Japan. Results showed that there is massive potential in the low-emissions production of hydrogen in Norway, both from natural gas using CCS technology and from renewable energy sources. A conference was held in Brussels in December to mark the conclusion of the project, which was funded by the Research Council of Norway and private sector partners Equinor, Gassco, Shell, Linde Kryotechnik, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi Corporation and Nel.

SINTEF Energy Research has clients and projects all over Norway

Read about some of our projects being carried out in Norway to the right.