Department Energy Transition

The disciplines we mainly use are thermodynamics, fluid mechanics, analysis and optimisation of energy processes, energy systems, and value chain analysis. We are about 70 researchers distributed across five research groups: Mobility, Energy Processes, Process Technology, Fluid Phenomena, and Thermodynamics.

We focus on how solutions for the energy transition affect climate and nature, as well as opportunities and risks linked to the development and use of artificial intelligence within our priority areas.

We build knowledge through laboratory work, numerical methods and models, and analysis. The interaction between these approaches forms the basis for new solutions for our customers, while also addressing society’s needs. This is sustainability in practice.

The department develops and leads large R&D projects based on our priority research areas. We lead major national and European projects such as gigaCCS and HYDROGENi, which are Centres for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME). We are also partners in the FME centres MarTrans and InterPlay. In addition, we lead the petroleum centre LowEmission. Within the EU framework programme, we coordinate the projects ACCSESS, H2GLASS, and COREu. We have extensive research infrastructure, both digital (for example ThermoPack and EnergyModelsX) and physical facilities within CCS, hydrogen, and ammonia. We also have equipment for testing heat exchangers.

Priority research areas in the Energy Transition department:

• Integrated energy systems: Closer interaction between energy carriers is essential to achieve climate targets and to use the energy system as efficiently as possible, with increased flexibility, storage, and reduced footprint in terms of land use and CO₂ emissions.
• Hydrogen and ammonia from renewable energy and natural gas with CO₂ management are central to global decarbonisation of power generation, industrial processes, and transport. Hydrogen is also important for energy storage alongside renewable power production.
•  Energy efficiency: Energy as a scarce resource must be used as efficiently as possible across all value chains. This includes the development of energy efficient processes, utilisation of waste energy, and increased symbiosis in industrial clusters with cross sector integration.
• CO₂ management covers capture, processing, transport, injection, and storage of CO₂. It enables significant reductions in emissions from industrial processes, hydrogen and power production, and supports large scale reduction of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions, as well as potential carbon removal.
• Environmentally friendly transport: All ships contracted after 2030 are expected to have zero emission solutions. Aviation must transition, and land transport must be decarbonised. This also requires new infrastructure for zero emission solutions in maritime, land based transport, and aviation.

The department is located at Kolbjørn Hejes vei 1D and Sem Sælands vei 11.

Employees in the Department Energy Transition