Green production of silicon is just around the corner
“We see no technical obstacles to being able to produce silicon without CO2 emissions within the next two to three years,” says Maria Wallin at NTNU.
Technology
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Reducing your electric bill with a predictive control heating system
NTNU has tested a system to predict the heating needs on the Gløshaugen campus. The results show that we can save even more where surplus heat is already in use.
A counterintuitive way to make stronger alloys
By using a cutting edge technique to observe what’s happening at the atomic level inside their material, researchers at NTNU have discovered a surprising new method to make aluminium alloys stronger.
A minute sensor to the rescue
Ships, bridges and wind turbines can all be made safe using sensors that are just a few millimetres across. Researchers have borrowed the principle behind the technology from a vibrating guitar string.
Light’s invisible properties can be used to detect cancer
Machines are currently learning how to identify cancer cells with the help of manipulated light. This approach may help to take the pressure off our hard-pressed health services and reduce waiting times for anxious patients.
Combating severe cancer with a new drug delivery system
Peritoneal cancer is difficult to treat and has a poor survival prognosis. But a new and effective nanomedicine delivery system is offering some hope.
Data-driven heating reduces energy consumption in buildings
Energy consumption in buildings can be reduced by predicting their actual heating needs.
Super quick COVID test uses new technology
The ability of gold particles to reflect light in different colours is used in applications from stained glass to pregnancy tests. Now researchers are set to exploit the same properties in an ultra-fast sensor for the coronavirus.
Breathing new life into waste industrial marine plastics
The fisheries and aquaculture sectors are major users of plastics. A research project has recently been launched to investigate how these plastics can be recycled and made into new products.
A gamechanger for aluminium component production in the car industry
A new Norwegian technology is enabling the removal of an entire process stage from car component production lines. It makes the cars less expensive, more eco-friendly and faster to manufacture.
Enzymes from bacteria and fungi break down plastic
Plastic is useful but also poses an environmental problem. Scientists are now using enzymes from bacteria and fungi to break down plastic.
Eavesdropping on the Earth itself
This summer, a coalition of researchers led by the Norwegian University of Science and Technology reported the first-ever use of a fibre-optic cable network to eavesdrop on whales in the Arctic. Now they suggest these networks be used to establish a low-cost global ocean-earth observatory.
Lots to learn from the Norwegian Public Sector’s IT success
There’s been no lack of scandals in the IT industry. When NAV, the Norwegian Labour and Welfare Administration, experienced difficulties in the middle of a major project, they changed their methods – and came up with a successful solution.
Philosophers and technologists join forces to develop a common computer language that can crack some unsolved mysteries
Linguistic logic rooted in classical philosophy can help us in our search for future eco-friendly materials.
Easier to recycle agricultural plastics
Researchers are currently working to improve the recycling system for agricultural plastics. Their aim is that more plastic shall be recovered and recycling made simpler and more effective.
Can floating solar islands meet the world’s future energy needs?
Covering less than ten per cent of the world’s hydropower reservoirs with floating solar panels would yield as much energy as all hydropower does today, one researcher says.
BitPets get you out for a walk
Are you getting fat from playing way too many computer games? If so, we have good news for you. The game of BitPet requires you to move around in order to do well.
Deep learning may help to prevent salmon escapes in rough seas
Artificial intelligence can be of great benefit underwater and SINTEF, in collaboration with the research centre SFI Exposed, is developing systems that will help to boost fish farm safety and security under harsh sea conditions.
Influenza or a cold? A new technology can help you
Smart gadgets in the home might soon be able to tell you what’s wrong with you. But the technology is good news for a lot of other things too.
The robot inspectors have arrived
Autonomous aerial and ground-based robots have been designed to do the work needed to protect critical infrastructure – quicker and more cheaply than traditional methods.
A vessel that ‘hand-picks’ its catch from the seabed
The Arctic Pearl is setting course for the Barents Sea in search of the shellfish delicacy Iceland scallop. It is the first and only vessel of its kind, crammed with new technology that may herald the start of a new era in bottom fishing.
Action from the building sector is more important than ever as the world races headlong towards 2.5 degrees
If only the Norwegian building and construction industry would embrace a little more digitalisation, this alone would enable Norway to achieve its 2023 emissions target agreed with the EU.
Now we know which airline routes pollute the most
Norwegian greenhouse gas emissions from air traffic are more than twice as high as the worldwide average.
Innovative recovery of valuable raw materials from ‘red mud’
Waste slags from the metallurgy industries often contain valuable materials, but in very small concentrations. This means that large areas of valuable land are used to accommodate reservoirs filled with what is sometimes toxic waste. We now want to use hydrogen to convert this waste into a resource.