What type of paths do we need to encourage more people to cycle all year round?
Even in Norway, more people than ever are cycling in winter. But what types of cycle paths are best for the cyclist, the bike, the path itself and the environment?
UN Sustainable Development Goals: Sustainable Cities and Communities
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Smarter charger pricing offers effective emergency aid to the power grid
The Norwegian power grid needs relief during periods when ‘everyone’ is using electricity. Research is showing that variable pricing for the fast charging of electric cars may offer a solution.
Home offices continue to affect our travel patterns
When countries shut down during the pandemic, many people stayed home. Some replaced their old habits with new ones, either temporarily until society opened up again or continuing post-pandemic. What do these changes in habit mean for our travel patterns?
Builders rush to learn from the ZEB lab showcase
The ZEB Laboratory has been utilised both as an office building and a sustainable construction laboratory for about two years. It was designed to be the world’s most ambitious ‘climate-adapted building’ and up to now it has been a great success.
New concrete from old buildings
Christian John Engelsen at SINTEF is teaching the world to recycle demolition rubble to make new concrete. Anything and everything can be recycled, he says. What takes time is getting people on board.
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.
Data-driven heating reduces energy consumption in buildings
Energy consumption in buildings can be reduced by predicting their actual heating needs.
In search of a smarter grid
The Norwegian government is committed to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 55 per cent by 2030. This will involve dramatic changes to the electricity grid system.
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.
New solar panels from solar panel waste
Solar energy is good news for planet Earth – but solar panels are not as climate-friendly as they should be. Researcher Martin Bellmann is using what he calls the ‘black gold’ waste materials from solar panel manufacture to make new panels.
Researchers gave an identity to the world’s first fully electric high-speed ferry
Scientists have now found out how to optimise the functional and aesthetic character of the world’s first fully electric high-speed ferry. The aim is to persuade passengers to opt for fossil-free transport.
Making floating solar farms a reality in the North Sea
During the next three years, a team of researchers will be developing a system designed to protect floating solar farms in the harshest ocean environments.
A new high-rise lab for the development of super-efficient solar panels
Not only are they high above us – they also offer us great benefits. From SINTEF’s new solar panel laboratory, you can see all across the city of Trondheim. Here, conditions are optimal for research into solar panel performance at Nordic latitudes.
It is not enough to save water – we must reuse it
Is it safe to use treated wastewater to irrigate lawns and vegetable crops? This is the question now being addressed by researchers and the water industry.
A new reuse guide seeks to reduce material waste
How to know whether building materials are fit for reuse? A new guide can tell.
‘Bio-batteries’ enable us to store solar and wind energy
Up until now it has been a challenge to store the energy we generate when the sun is shining and the wind is blowing. But researchers at a laboratory in Trondheim in Norway have succeeded in doing just this – and entirely without any form of advanced battery technology.
Why there is still hope for our planet
Is it too late to save our planet? Professor Jianguo Liu is the newest winner of The Gunnerus Award in Sustainability Science. He offers us some hope.
Could cusk fish be the new cod?
Today we think of cusk as a bycatch species of little or no value. But our test panel came to quite a different conclusion.
Is it really selfish to complain about electricity prices?
Norwegians are not necessarily being selfish by wanting to go back to the good old days of cheap electricity. Nor do people think it is acceptable to use the situation for some to enrich themselves at the expense of others, says the researcher.
Hydrogen production and carbon capture – in a single step
A team of Norwegian researchers has succeeded in producing hydrogen using a far more efficient method than is currently in use. The technology was ready as early as in 2017. The team has also demonstrated that the process can be scaled up for commercial application.
What are we going to do with all those used EV batteries?
Very soon, there will be enormous numbers of used EV batteries available, but we have yet to work out how we will be organising the reuse of this massive resource.
Hunting down toxic substances in sludge
Chemists behave like detectives as they examine sludge from sewage systems. They hope to contribute to better sludge recycling by identifying the contaminants and toxic substances it contains.
Plastic waste is a resource that doesn’t have to end up in the oceans
Using non-recyclable plastic waste as an alternative to coal may prevent huge volumes of plastic from being discarded into the oceans – and will also reduce CO2 emissions. This is the conclusion of a recently completed pilot project headed by SINTEF in Vietnam.
Suddenly everyone wants ‘super-hot’ heat pumps
High-temperature heat pumps are no longer simply for idealists. They’re contributing to more than just climate accounting, and industrial companies are standing in line to learn more.