Photo: Melinda Gaal

Photo: Thor Nielsen

The SINTEF Group is the largest independent research organisation in Scandinavia. Every year, SINTEF supports the development of 2000 or so Norwegian and overseas companies via our research and development activity.

Business concept
SINTEF's goal is to contribute to wealth creation and to the sound and sustainable development of society. We generate new knowledge and solutions for our customers, based on research and development in technology, the natural sciences, medicine and the social sciences.

Vision
Technology for a better society.

Our services
We solve our customers’ problems through research contracts in the following fields: Health, information and communications technology, marine activities, materials science and applied chemistry, petroleum and energy, technology management and building/construction. SINTEF intends in this way to act as a driving force in the process of restructuring and developing Norwegian society.

In order to ensure that this research is available to society as a whole, we also operate units whose principal activity is consulting. We are also active in testing and certification in a number of areas, not only within the SINTEF Group itself, but also through companies in which we are shareholders and via cooperation with other organisations. These activities make significant contributions to creating added value from the knowledge and solutions produced by our researchers.

We wish to be of use to both small and large companies in our markets. For example, we can help a small-scale gravel producer analyse a rock sample, at the same time as our researchers are playing an important role in developing the next generation of solutions to the problem of energy supply.

By working on a wide range of projects, we are helping to realise our own vision, that of technology for a better society.

SINTEF Materials and Chemistry is a division within the SINTEF Group with 420 employees, and around 30 associated professors, covering fundamental and industrial research related to materials and processes.

The Energy conversion group within SINTEF Materials and Chemistry has specialized in electrochemical energy conversion technologies. The main focus is on research related to PEM fuel cells and electrolysis cells, other activities include alkaline fuel cells and electrodes, ion-selective electrodes and modelling of electrochemical systems. The group is highly experienced with various electrochemical characterisation techniques. Recent research activities have focus on studies of degradation of PEM fuel cells, based on a combination of in-situ and ex-situ (i.e. TEM) techniques. In situ characterisation is mainly based on electrochemical techniques and local temperature measurements together with online monitoring of fluoride emission rate from effluents of PEM fuel cells by utilization of a fluoride selective electrode (SINTEF SINTALYZER system). A liquid chromatograph for detection of degradation products is also installed and available for use. Experiences include also characterisation of alkaline fuel cells, with focus on dynamic behaviour, electrochemical characterisation of ORR in alkaline media. Furthermore, transient models (step changes and impedance model) based on agglomerate structure theory have been developed for the cathodic reaction of alkaline and PEM fuel cells.