Norway – Minister of Petroleum and Energy announced establishment of a new research centre dedicated to hydrogen and ammonia, investment of 200 MNOK.
Minister of Petroleum and Energy Terje Aasland announced an investment of NOK 200 million over eight years from the Research Council of Norway to HYDROGENi, a research centre for environmentally friendly energy (FME) dedicated to hydrogen and ammonia.
The centre shows that it has business relevance by assembling a strong cluster of over 50 partners from industry and academia. Together they will be a key driver of the green shift in Norway and the innovations from the research will contribute to building competence and creating jobs.
Alexandra Bech Gjørv, CEO of SINTEF, said:
🔥 What about we co-host a webinar? Let's educate, captivate, and convert the hydrogen economy!
Hydrogen Central is the global go-to online magazine for the hydrogen economy, we can help you host impactful webinars that become a global reference on your topic and are an evergreen source of leads. Click here to request more details
Hydrogen is a prerequisite for the energy transition globally, in Europe and in Norway.
“This will contribute to strategic autonomy in the energy system, which is a highly relevant issue in Europe. Hydrogen can make the energy system more robust and help us achieve our goal of net zero emissions by 2050.”
Anne Borg, Rector of the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), said:
Hydrogen produced from electricity or natural gas is a growing industry that requires new knowledge and expertise.
“HYDROGENi will do research on how to build a sustainable hydrogen economy. In addition, the centre will educate competent candidates to an unprecedented extent in Norway.”
Hydrogen is a driver of the green shift
In the transition to renewables, hydrogen has been considered a “clean” alternative to fossil fuels in heat and electricity production. However, due to its versatile properties, hydrogen can also replace fossil fuels such as coal in industrial processes and is used in transport in, for example, the maritime sector.
This means that hydrogen is now considered one of the main drivers of the green shift.
In order to realise the full potential of hydrogen, knowledge and technological solutions must be developed and HYDROGENi aims to do just that.
Nils Røkke, executive vice president for sustainability at SINTEF Energy Research and director of HYDROGENi, said:
We are establishing the largest ever academic research programme in an FME by educating 35 PhD/postdoc students and over 100 master/bachelor candidates.
“Their expertise will be adopted by industry, government and academia and give HYDROGENi a lasting impact,”
Norway as an exporter of sustainable energy
HYDROGENi will help pave the way so that Norway can become an exporter of sustainable energy. The centre will be led by Nils Røkke from SINTEF and the activity will be a collaboration between the 50 Norwegian and European partners who together represent the entire value chain for hydrogen.
The industry forms a significant part of HYDROGENi’s consortium, and their support shows both the centre’s importance and potential. Thanks for staying up to date with Hydrogen Central.
“The activities in the centre have an unprecedented and international network and links, which is shown in the strong support from the industry. We aim to establish HYDROGENi as a beacon for European research in hydrogen that will build on our significant portfolio of EU-funded projects that create real added value,” says Røkke.
HYDROGENi will be at the forefront of research and innovations
HYDROGENi will spearhead the research and innovations needed to meet the 2030 and 2050 targets in the hydrogen roadmap.
The work to build a sustainable hydrogen economy will focus on four research areas:
- Cost-effective and scalable production
- Transport and storage in Norway and Europe
- End-use technologies
- Safety and material integrity.
“In order to achieve the hydrogen targets, we must build on our natural resources, experience and expertise. The key will be to implement efficient production of low-emission hydrogen and ammonia in energy-intensive sectors, in a way that is safe and acceptable,” says Røkke.
A new research centre for Hydrogen will contribute to the green shift and job creation in Norway, March 11, 2022
1 comment