Energy Future

Everyone should have access to sustainable and reliable energy at an acceptable cost.  Sustainable energy production is about finding new sustainable energy solutions and reducing emissions related to existing solutions.

The goal is zero emissions

Norway and the world are in an energy transition and the pace of this transition must be increased if we are to stay within the goals set in the Paris Agreement. At the same time, we need more and more energy, and stable and reliable access to it.

The goal is an energy system with zero emissions. To get there, a number of measures are needed, where technology development, innovation and technology implementation play an important role.

We must develop new sustainable ways of producing, storing and transporting energy. The range of today's energy sources is large, from coal, oil and gas, nuclear and hydropower to renewable energy. Norway has unique expertise from the oil and gas industry and natural advantages that can be used to develop new solutions for sustainable energy systems.

What do we do?

NORCE contributes, across different disciplines, with research and technology development used to create environmentally- and climate-friendly energy solutions.  We do this nationally and internationally in close collaboration with industry, business and academia.

NORCE conducts research in renewable energy forms and oil & gas, with the emphasis on cost-effective and safe energy utilisation, which ensures the lowest possible carbon footprint.

For a number of years, NORCE has done research into developing renewable solutions and systems. The research includes offshore wind, hydrogen, battery, geothermal energy and CO2 storage, as well as the design and development of new energy systems that integrate new forms of energy from production to distribution systems, storage systems and consumers.

Hydrogen

The government’s hydrogen strategy states that the development and use of hydrogen-based solutions can contribute both to value creation and to significant cuts in emissions. NORCE is well underway in developing expertise in the field of hydrogen. We head the national hydrogen centre, HyValue, which will contribute to faster decarbonisation. The centre will develop knowledge, methodology and innovative solutions for hydrogen energy carriers.

At NORCE, we are focusing especially on innovation and cost-effectiveness in hydrogen technology, using our breadth and interdisciplinary expertise to carry out research and development throughout the value chain for hydrogen: production, storage, distribution and use. We also research the societal perspective of starting to use hydrogen. Two examples are projects related to value chain hydrogen in maritime transport and the development of uncertainty models for quantity and quality measurement in supply chains.

Carbon storage

Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) will be a major part of the Norwegian climate solution, and the Government has an ambitious commitment related to large-scale storage off the coast of Western Norway called "Longship". The longship project also requires new research in CO₂ storage. NORCE will contribute to the preparations for Norway to be able to store 50 million tonnes of CO₂ per year.

NORCE focuses on solving technical, societal, and economic challenges through collaborative research within an internationally recognized research program. Experienced research staff utilizes state-of-the-art infrastructure both physical laboratories and specialized software and decision workflows to solve the acute challenges within CCS / CCUS. NORCE research contributions are specifically focused on CO2 storage, utilization, and societal acceptance.

Digitalization for reduced emissions from the petroleum industry

NORCE contributes to research and development to digitalize, automate and improve cost-effectiveness in the oil and gas sector, both in Norway and internationally. This is done in close collaboration with the industry and will contribute to lower emissions in connection with oil and gas production. The research includes drilling and well technology, reservoir modeling and simulation, improved recovery, CO₂ storage, plugging and abandonment (P&A) of wells, and flows and flows measurement. This includes analysis of measurement stations, assessment of measurement and allocation uncertainty, and risk-cost-benefit assessments.

NORCE heads the National Centre for Sustainable Subsurface Resources (CSSR), which aims to develop new knowledge about how the subsurface can be used in the green shift. NORCE also leads SFI DigiWells, where researchers and industry partners will develop more efficient drilling of oil and gas wells through increased digitalization and automation.

NORCE has the following infrastructure for testing new solutions. We use these both for technology qualification for our customers and for our own research and technology development:

We are in the process of further developing the infrastructure at Ullrigg Test Centre so that we will also have a full-scale test facility for P&A. With thousands of wells to be closed and abandoned in the next few decades, this is work that must be done in a safe and efficient manner – with as low an environmental footprint as possible. The combination of modeling, laboratory testing, and full-scale testing helps reduce the time it takes from idea to technology qualification, which in turn helps to increase the rate of innovation for ready-to-use technologies.

Offshore wind

NORCE has decades of expertise in offshore wind. We led FME NORCOWE from 2009-2017, where we developed new measurement methods for wind resources for use in a national and international context. Good knowledge and prediction of incoming wind fields is important so as to be able to operate wind farms profitably by both minimizing wear and tear and optimizing energy production.

We use our expertise in oil and gas to optimize the planning of installation of offshore wind farms and monitoring of facilities and we investigate environmental impacts and analyze people's attitudes to wind energy.

We develop innovative methods for collecting data and have our own research groups that develop airborne and ocean-going drones. We also have extensive experience with satellite data and LIDAR technologies.

In order to use data to make the right decisions, good tools are needed that are adapted to the individual's needs. We develop decision support tools and AI-based analytics tools.

Geothermal energy

NORCE researchers are developing technology for more efficient and sustainable use of geothermal energy. Nationally, and together with our clients, we contribute to developing and demonstrating good geothermal facilities, often as integrated energy solutions where bedrock or groundwater is used as a heat source and energy store. 

NORCE is the host institution for the Norwegian Centre for Geothermal Energy Research (CGER).

Internationally, we participate in a number of major projects to develop geothermal solutions. Geothermal energy is an environmental technology that combines expertise in energy efficiency and energy systems with the experience of decades of petroleum activities. Many of the major groundwater reservoirs in Europe have the same geological origins as the oil and gas reservoirs in the North Sea. Good geological understanding and insight into energy systems and energy use are required to find good, environmentally friendly and efficient solutions.