Bulk carriers can also be green
Research scientists from 16 countries are joining forces to make a bulk carrier climate neutral – all with the help of a new power train.
Sintef
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You may soon be making coffee powered by your car battery
Power cuts can be caused by heavy snow and icing, as well as lightning strikes and strong winds bringing down power lines. Together with more extreme weather events, Norway is also facing a major power supply deficit. So, what can we do to avoid a total electricity crisis?
Helping low-income families onto the housing ladder
Families who obtained help to purchase their homes improved their lives in many ways. But outcomes were not so positive for those renting as part of affordable housing allocation schemes.
A ‘new’ fish may soon be finding its way onto fresh food counters
Research is revealing that a cod-like fish called ‘cusk’ may soon be making a big splash on Norwegian dinner plates. But you will have to search long and hard to find it on sale today.
What researchers found out after 1,130 tests on Norwegian windows
Results from a major study may contribute towards developing windows that can withstand harsher climatic conditions involving heavier rainfall and stronger winds. Because that’s exactly what we can expect in the future.
Is it safe to feed farmed salmon with bristle worms raised on fish excrement?
It is currently prohibited to provide animals with feed derived from the same animals’ own ‘value chain’. But this legislation is not based on science.
Is there a new deep-sea fishery on the horizon?
Well, some researchers believe this is possible. Species living at depths between 200 and 1000 metres may be very valuable. However, harvesting them isn’t as easy as it might sound because, when taken on board, valuable catches change rapidly from pure gold to ashes.
A technology to help us achieve large-scale carbon storage
SINTEF researchers are applying methodologies used to transport oil and gas in their efforts to upscale a technology for carbon capture and storage. This is good news for the climate.
Ability to identify bone fractures tells us something important about AI
One of Norway’s biggest achievements to date in the practical application of artificial intelligence is in identifying bone fractures. The secret of this success may be of benefit to many of our business leaders.
Why are we scrapping inexpensive and successful innovation funding initiatives?
The Norwegian government has decided to phase out the country’s Regional Research Funds. This is incomprehensible to those of us who have watched this initiative function successfully as a springboard for green innovation and transition in many small businesses.
The next solar storm is on its way – and may cause more problems than you think
Solar storms are no joke. It may get cold and it may get very dark. Our mobile networks may be severely disrupted.
Football may become the game where everyone loses
Match load in international football is becoming so high that it is threatening the health of our players. So much so, that the product itself may also be under threat.
Why we need biofuels
Necessary reductions in greenhouse gases will be achieved too late if we have to wait for all our aircraft, ships and trains to transition from fossil fuels. This is why we need biofuels – in spite of the criticisms levelled at their use in a recent article published on the opinions website ‘NRK Ytring’. Biofuels are no ‘climate change mitigation ruse’, as these authors would have you believe.
Copepods – tiny creatures that can help reduce the need for soya imports
In the sea, fish feed on species lower in the food chain. Can these same species form the basis of a new feed industry supplying the fish farming sector?
New knowledge will offer cheaper and greener rail services
New lubricants, combined with new knowledge about how they should be applied to train wheels and rails, have the potential to reduce rail sector costs in Norway by hundreds of millions of kroner during the next decade.
Neighbours can save money by suspending car charging for 30 seconds
The electricity grid in Norway needs more balancing power. Neighbourhood communities can help by participating in a new market where intelligent consumer planning enables them to save money.
Researchers want to create a forecasting system for oxygen concentrations in sea water
Farmed fish suffer if there is too little oxygen in the water. A system that can display oxygen concentrations may make it easier to supply this essential gas if the water becomes oxygen-poor.
Researchers surprised at levels of toxicity in standard plastic products
Tonnes of waste from standard plastic products have been uncontrollably released into the world’s oceans, where they gradually break down. But how harmful is this plastic to living organisms, and what is it in these plastics that is so damaging?
Technology focused motorists are positive to road pricing
Road pricing may soon be replacing toll charges on Norwegian roads. But researchers still don’t know if this will help to reduce and regulate road traffic.
Energy saving measures in buildings can turn them into Norway’s biggest ‘power plant’
Energy efficiency measures in buildings can offer Norway a three-fold benefit – by contributing to avoiding an energy deficit and high electricity prices, and to achieving its stated climate change mitigation targets for 2030 and 2050.
Six out of ten are worried that their work is affecting their health
The 1,283 workers in the aquaculture sector who have responded to a recent HSE survey are not anxious without good reason. Sixty-two percent have experienced ‘near misses’ in the last two years. However, there is another threat that is making them even more worried.
How much insulation should we be using now that the climate is changing?
Recent research indicates that the best environmental solution is in fact to install less insulation in our homes and consume more electricity for heating. But first, some preconditions have to be met.
Extracting valuable minerals in Norway
Today, products that utilise rare materials are for the most part manufactured in China. However, the EU has recently decided to boost its raw materials supply security. Researchers and the minerals industry are now looking to Norway.
This tiny gadget can tell us all about how a farmed salmon is doing
Sick and injured farmed salmon are a problem, but researchers have recently developed an implant that uses sensors to gather information about the welfare of individual fish.