NorRen 2024 brought together 27 PhD students from various universities, all working within the field of sustainable energy, to explore topics related to green industrial transformation and decarbonization. The summer school explored emerging technologies and value chains for industry decarbonization as well as the political, social and regulatory challenges.
– We hope this week helps you see how your research fits into the bigger picture and contributes to the ongoing transition, said Vebj?rn Bakken, director at UiO:Energy and Environment, as he welcomed the students to the summer school.
Expert lectures
This year’s weeklong interdisciplinary and interactive program featured a series of state-of-the art lectures and collaborative group activities. PhD students from diverse universities and institutions engaged in discussions covering a wide range of rising topics.
Experts provided insights into the latest advancements and challenges in the field of sustainable energy. The lectures varied from cross-cutting issues such as the development of novel energy carriers and renewable energy production, labor in a green economy, justice and transparency in global value chains, as well as transitions to a more circular economy.
– A meeting place of the academic world and the real world
Shaua Fui Chen, a PhD fellow from the Department of Interdisciplinary Studies of Culture at NTNU, was among the attendees.
– The Summer School is a meeting place of the academic world and the real world. It is packed with lectures on the emerging technologies and the industry visits that showed us the drivers and real challenges in materialising some of these technologies. It serves as a great reminder of the active role played by the government, as well as international, regional, and national policies in making these low emission technologies happen. Participants from various disciplines have enriched the learning and socialising experiences. Friendships are built and wonderful memories are created, says Shaua.
Industrial site visits
As part of the NorRen 2024 program, the students visited key industrial sites to gain practical insights into the ongoing green transitions.
The first visit was Heidelberg Materials' cement plant in Brevik, the world's first CO2-capture facility in the cement industry. Heidelberg Materials, as well as Aker Carbon Capture personnel, presented the Brevik CCS project. Large amounts of CO2 are produced in the cement process itself, and needs to be captured (and stored) to eliminate these emissions. Brevik CCS is part of the Norwegian Longship project, which aims to demonstrate the capture, transport and safe storage of CO2 from industrial sources.
The second visit was Her?ya Industry Park, one of Norway’s largest industrial parks and Yara, a Norwegian company specializing in the production, distribution, and sales of nitrogen-based mineral fertilizers and related industrial products.
During this visit, students had the opportunity to see and hear more about the site’s ambitions and concrete actions to decarbonize the process industry. Among these actions, the students were introduced to Yara’s brand new 24MW electrolyser, which enables small-scale production of carbon-free synthetic fertilizers. The visit concluded with lectures at the companies’ technology centre, discussing a selection of ongoing initiatives for achieving climate neutrality by 2050.
Geovania: The geopolitics of renewables
The intense week was rounded off by an interactive negotiation game called Geovania. Here the students experienced the benefits of collaboration for the better good. The game is designed to immerse students in the complexities of transition to renewable energy. Geovania is created in collaboration between Ghent University, Delft University of Technology, Technical University of Munich and University of Stavanger. The students expressed that they enjoyed the game, finding it both educational and engaging as a fitting culmination to their week.
- Learn more about NorRen here
- Learn more about the Geovania game here
- Professor Grete Rusten from UiB lectured at NorRen; read her presentation summary on industrial symbiosis (in Norwegian)
- PhD candidates Marte Samuelsen Skogen and Julià Tudó Cisquella from UiB attended this year. Read their thoughts on the summer school here (in English)