Abandoned cropland should produce biofuels
More biofuels are needed to counteract climate change. But producing them shouldn’t diminish food production or wilderness areas. The solution may be to grow more grass on recently abandoned cropland.
More biofuels are needed to counteract climate change. But producing them shouldn’t diminish food production or wilderness areas. The solution may be to grow more grass on recently abandoned cropland.
Even though new hydropower dam developments are intended to provide green energy, they can drown areas that are rich in plant and animal species. But this kind of collateral damage can be limited by strategic site selection, a new study shows.
NTNU and SINTEF will be partners in the newly funded FME NorthWind research centre, which will develop competitive offshore wind farms within ten years.
The 2020 ISI/Web of Science Highly Cited Researchers list includes seven researchers affiliated with NTNU. The list includes authors who have multiple articles ranked in the top 1 per cent by citation in their field over the last decade.
The Norwegian research organisation SINTEF will investigate whether rare earth element minerals contribute to pollution in costal areas. Research scientists from Norway, Denmark and Germany are taking part in the project.
Emissions from the production of materials like metals, minerals, woods and plastics more than doubled in 1995 – 2015, accounting for almost one-quarter of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions worldwide. Material efficiency needs to play a larger role in climate planning, a new report says.
The capture and storage of CO2, also known as CCS, from our waste is essential because this refuse is responsible for a large proportion or our cities’ greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the technology represents a relatively inexpensive abatement cost.
We often associate innovation with someone who invents something completely new. But innovation is also about improving and expanding on existing technology. One hundred and ten years of Norwegian engineering history provides plenty of examples.
A new discovery is an important step towards smaller, more advanced electronics. And maybe more environmentally friendly gadgets, too.
Researchers hope to help with more efficient energy storage to increase the use of renewable energy.
The search for the perfect solar cell is not yet over. Norwegian researchers are now adopting a new approach to the cells’ raw material, crystalline silicon, with the aim of making the electricity-generating cells even more efficient.
Ten years ago, the Deepwater Horizon accident in the Gulf of Mexico killed eleven men and resulted in the largest accidental oil spill in history. Years of investigations concluded that the drilling crew missed critical warning signals that would have stopped the problem. A new analysis suggests that wasn’t the case.
CO2 emissions are generally recognized as something we need to avoid. Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just transform the CO2 into useful substances? Plasma technology has been proposed as a way to achieve this, and we have studied the feasibility of the concept from physical, chemical and economical points of view.
“This is international recognition of her many years of efforts to promote smart and sustainable cities,” says Henrik Asheim, Norway’s Minister of Research and Higher Education.
The coronavirus outbreak raised everyone’s awareness of the significance of global supply chains to modern economies. But global supply chains also play an important role in greenhouse gas emissions. How they are managed can either increase or decrease carbon emissions, new research shows.
Hauliers Asko in Norway, are among the first in the world to operate a goods vehicle that runs on hydrogen made from solar power – thanks to a collaborative effort by research scientists and other players.
Offshore wind energy is seeing renewed wind in its sails as a major industrial opportunity for Norway. But researchers warn that economic and political players could hinder this development if they get locked into the existing industrial structures.
Humankind will need to harness carbon capture and storage technologies to help keep global warming to 2 degrees C or less. New research shows that there’s plenty of room to store captured CO2 — in offshore geologic rock formations.
Lithium from Norwegian electric car batteries isn’t recycled that often. Instead, it ends up as waste when other metals it’s mixed with are recycled. But this may change.
Hydrogen as an energy carrier can help us move away from fossil fuels, but only if it is created efficiently. One way to improve efficiency is to use waste heat that’s left over from other industrial processes.
How can we protect nature and act on climate change? In the wake of heated debate in Norway over windpower development, energy researchers from Norway’s largest university and Scandinavia’s largest independent research institute offer politicians some thoughts.