Location matters: Balancing renewable energy and biodiversity in Norway
How can Norway provide new renewable energy sources to meet future needs while still protecting its natural environment, and the plants and animals that live there?
Energy and environment
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Propelling the world’s giant ships into the future with new sail systems
Modern sails on large ships are becoming increasingly common to save fuel – and also the climate. Now a research team is looking at how to maximize their benefits, and that turns out to be more complicated than anticipated.
Nearly half of every T-shirt goes to waste before you even buy it
The global consumption of clothing is enormous. However, a significant portion of the textile fibres is lost before the garments even reach the market.
The impact of microplastics on ocean carbon uptake
Marine microplastics affect algae’s ability to grow and photosynthesize. Researchers have now calculated what impact this has on the greenhouse effect and the ocean’s ability to absorb carbon dioxide.
Offshore wind: How to lift thousands of tonnes – without a crane
The substructures for fixed offshore wind turbines weigh thousands of tonnes. If you are planning to install them at sea, only about five vessels in the world can lift that much weight. So now researchers are testing a completely new alternative.
A new “plug and play solution” enables offshore charging for electric ships at sea
Connecting ships to charging stations is a bit of a hassle when you are out at sea. But with a new magnetic charging plug for boats – it is about as easy as putting a cup in a cup holder.
Decommissioning old wind turbines generates thousands of tons of new waste
By 2040, up to 20,000 wind turbine blades could be landfilled or incinerated simply because we lack good ways to process them sustainably.
This drone reveals what lies beneath snow and soil
Using self-developed drones and advanced sensors, researchers can now see both under the snow and into the ground. The scientists’ goal is to reduce societal risk and environmental encroachment.
Europe’s power grid has a big drought problem
Europe’s droughts are challenging its clean energy ambitions — with considerable social and environmental costs. There’s a solution – but it’s not quite what you might expect.
High levels of forever chemicals in Svalbard reindeer
Svalbard reindeer live in a place so remote they have actually evolved to become a subspecies. But that remoteness isn’t enough to protect them from contaminants from the industrial world.
Eyewitness: Bjørn helped dump ammo into Lake Mjøsa
Bjørn Karlstad was a young man when he went out with his grandfather to dump old WWII ammunition into Lake Mjøsa.
Securing the water supply in Longyearbyen is critical
With increased pressure on the Arctic, a secure water supply is becoming a critical part of emergency preparedness in Svalbard. Now researchers are investigating how Longyearbyen’s only source of drinking water can be better secured.
The northern lights’ dark twin is a wild card for the power grid
Scientists are working to understand how magnetic currents from the sun spread beneath the Earth’s crust when the northern lights dance across the sky. Their goal is to tame its “dark twin” and prevent damage to our power grid.
New material can help combat water shortages where water is needed most
A newly developed plastic material of the same type as is used in baby diapers can collect clean and safe drinking water from the air.
A microphone that can sort sounds and measure noise could be coming to a construction site near you
A new AI-based sound metre can distinguish between excavators and seagulls. This is not that easy for artificial intelligence to understand.
Tiny marine organism stressed by warmer Arctic waters
As ocean temperatures continue to rise, one of the smallest but most important organisms may be starting to struggle.
A green solution to replace the use of superpotent greenhouse gas
Many large circuit breakers are filled with sulphur hexafluoride (SF₆) – a greenhouse gas that is 24 300 times more powerful than CO₂. But an ingenious Norwegian solution could offer us a climate-friendly alternative.
Simple steps can reduce microplastic emissions from aquaculture industry
The fishing and aquaculture industries are major consumers of plastic. Feed hoses, nets and ropes all contain plastic – and even washing fish farming nets can be a culprit. But research shows that simple methods can reduce emissions.
Researchers are harvesting green energy from ground vibrations
Vibrations in the ground are found everywhere. They occur when cars pass by, when machines are operating, or when the earth’s crust moves. For most of us, these are invisible forces. For researchers, however, they represent something far more exciting: an untapped source of clean energy.
Here’s why you need to charge your EV more often in the cold
When the temperature drops to -20°C, we electric car owners quickly notice it on our wallets. But is it just a matter of driving with the heat on full blast? And what can we do to save the battery as much as possible?
This special solar cell system produces both electricity and heat
Researchers have developed a solar cell system that uses mirrors to concentrate solar energy. In addition to electricity, it produces heat for a plant that will capture carbon from industrial emissions.
What freezing plants in blocks of ice can tell us about the future of Svalbard’s plant communities
How will a warming Arctic affect plant growth on Svalbard? Researchers encased plant plots in a thick layer of ice during the winter and used little greenhouses to heat up those plots in the summer. The surprise? The plants that got the harshest treatment did just fine.
Is it possible to cut CO2 emissions from European agriculture by 40 per cent?
Research shows that allowing natural vegetation to grow back in mountainous areas and on steep slopes and moving production to more fertile areas will both reduce climate emissions and increase biodiversity.
A solution that could reduce aviation emissions by up to 30 percent
Hybrid cars have been successful. Now the aviation industry is following suit and testing out the combination of electricity and fuel.