Energy in the time of climate crisis: Forest Of Pillars
1. Nuclear power
Nuclear power and energy politics
When the atomic nucleus splits, intense things happen. Scientists discovered fission in 1938, amid violence and war in Europe. The knowledge was used to develop atomic bombs. Nuclear weapons still play a central role in balances of military power, but fission is mainly triggered to generate electricity in a nuclear power plant.
Norway has no operating nuclear power plants, but it was an early tester of the technology. The Institute for Nuclear Energy, now called the Institute for Energy Technology (Institutt for energiteknikk, IFE), established in 1948, was responsible for building and operating four research reactors. The last of these was shut down in 2019.
In 1979, the Storting (Norway’s parliament) decided that the country’s energy supply should not be based on nuclear power. This stance was reiterated in 2023. The debate had taken on new dimensions due to the climate emergency, with the argument that nuclear power does not cause greenhouse gas emissions. Some political parties were, therefore, open to considering the possibilities of this energy source. An association of Norwegian cities and towns also formed. They saw small-scale nuclear power as interesting for their economic development.
JEEP I
Atom
The atom consists of a nucleus with electrons orbiting around it. The nucleus contains protons and neutrons, which are themselves composed of quarks.
Source: KF/ Store norske leksikon (Great Norwegian Encyclopedia)
Fission
The process where an atomic nucleus splits into two smaller parts, called fission, releases a large amount of energy. Fission is the basis for nuclear power plants and nuclear weapons.
Source: KF/ Store norske leksikon (Great Norwegian Encyclopedia)
Fusion
When two light atomic nuclei come together to form a heavier nucleus, it is called fusion. The same process powers the sun and other stars. Fusion has been researched since the 1940s, both as a military tool and as a beneficial power source. Fusion was tested and established militarily as the “H-bomb” or hydrogen bomb in the 1950s, but as an energy source, it is still at the research stage as of 2024.
Source: KF/ Store norske leksikon (Great Norwegian Encyclopedia)
Nuclear power plant
The nuclear process called fission is sustained in a nuclear power plant. The atoms split, releasing heat in the reactor. The heat boils water, and the steam from the boiling water creates pressure, setting a turbine in motion. The turbine is a rotating device connected to a generator that converts rotational energy into electric current.
Source: US Nuclear Regulatory Commission
Lise Meitner (1878–1968)
Reactor - technical drawing
The world was at war and nuclear research was secretive when Odd Dahl and Gunnar Randers went to the USA in the 1940s. But with Dahl’s ability to make good sketches they gained enough knowledge to draw up plans for a Norwegian reactor. Technical draftsman Odd Dahl was also an electrical engineer, telegraphist, aviator, filmmaker, and explorer.
Source: Odd Dahl
A national occasion
King Haakon, scientists, and guests on their way to the official opening of the JEEP I nuclear reactor at Kjeller on 28 November 1951.
Photo: Unknown/ Norsk Teknisk Museum
Control room
Work in the control room of the reactor JEEP I, Gunnar Randers sitting in the middle. Randers was called "Atom-Gunnar" at the time. He led both the nuclear committee set up by the Defense High Command's Technical Committee and the physics department at the Defense Research Institute at Kjeller.
Photo: Unknown/ Norsk Teknisk Museum
Invention for mass killing
Soon after the discovery of fission in 1938, it was used to make atomic bombs. The first two were dropped on 6 and 9 August 1945 over the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Around 135 000 people died from direct radiation, burns, and flying debris. In a short time, twice as many died due to radiation, radioactive dust, and contaminated food and water. This picture shows the bomb over Nagasaki.
Photo: US National Archives and Records Administration
Research and sharing
The construction of nuclear reactors in Norway immediately after World War II took place under the auspices of the Norwegian Armed Forces and had a simultaneous goal of developing nuclear weapons. Many were skeptical of the unilateral military research, but after NATO was established in 1949, this was toned down. Developing one's own weapons became less important.
The plants at Kjeller and in Halden were given the status of pure research reactors, where Norway supported other countries' development in the area. Israel and the former Yugoslavia were among these. Central to the Norwegian contribution was heavy water, produced at Norsk Hydro. The substance is an important element for developing nuclear reactors and weapons.
The nuclear discussion took place on several levels. Norway contributed expertise in reactor technology and was also a supporter of the "test moratorium" from 1955 - an international ban on testing nuclear weapons.
The research reactors at Kjeller and Halden were closed in 2019 and 2018, respectively. Plans for decommissioning exist – including demolition, clearing, and removal of radioactive material. However, those plans will begin only after a phase of thorough preparations, lasting until 2028.
Nuclear power at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
The goal was “to enlighten the anxious man and woman about the positive aspects of nuclear energy,” according to the head of education at The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology , Olav Wetting. On March 18, 1971, he was given new opportunities when a nuclear department opened at the museum. The photo shows the control room of the JEEP I reactor, moved from Kjeller.
Photo: Unknown/ Norsk Teknisk Museum
Opposition
When the Storting (Norway’s parliament) decided in 1979 that domestic energy needs would be based on hydroelectric power, that was largely on the basis of the population’s opposition to nuclear power. That opposition had increased over the 1970s. Some of what provoked and created unrest was a 1973 report by the Norwegian energy directorate (NVE) called “Locating a nuclear power plant in the Oslo area” and an accident at Three Mile Island in the USA in 1979.
Photo: Arbeiderbevegelsens bibliotek og arkiv (The Labor Movement's library and archive)
Nuclear power in a green future
Nuclear energy was a "saving angel" in a time of energy scarcity, said NVE Director Fredrik Vogt in 1956. Similar formulations are used by the technology's supporters in the 2020s when describing small modular reactors. They should be easy to manufacture, transport and easy to adapt to the landscape. Will they also be easy to adapt to the population?
Environmental organizations point to high prices and unsafe solutions for long-term storage of radioactive waste.
Illustration: Vaclav Volrab
Thorium
At a literature festival in 2019, the radioactive substance thorium was named the national element of Norway. It was believed to have large deposits in the country and newspaper headlines such as “energy adventure” and “future resource” indicated that there were high expectations for its exploitation.
Thorium is used in cancer medicine and is part of the extensive debate about, and research into, new forms of nuclear power. The use of thorium produces radioactive waste, but to a somewhat lesser extent than uranium.
Radiation meter
Battery-powered, portable radiation meter.
Produced by A/S Elektriks Bureau 1950–1960 in collaboration with Gastor Radiofabrikk. Probably the Civil Defense's first Norwegian-built Geiger counter. For use by the Civil Defense's ABC patrols for mapping and controlling atomic bomb fallout (gamma radiation).
Highly visible button
The Danish “Smiling Sun Logo®” was designed in Aarhus in 1975 for the Organization for Information on Atomic Power (OOA). It became a popular symbol for opponents of nuclear power in many countries, including Norway.
2. Wind power
Power of the wind
The wind grabs a cap, it flies out to sea, and hair blows in all directions. Wind is a noticeable and usable force. With wind in the sails, people traveled along the Norwegian coast, to islands and to other countries when the sea was the main route. With the help of sailing ships, the nation built wealth and power with trade voyages, alliances and war.
Wind power has been used to pump water and grind grain for almost two thousand years. Wind turbines, windmills for the production of electrical power, started up in the USA and Scotland towards the end of the 19th century. The turbine was connected to a dynamo or a generator. In Norway, it was mostly hydropower that contributed in this area. On Jæren, the terrain is flat and the conditions for hydropower are poor. Here, farmers used simple windmills to make farm work easier. In 1875, Rogaland had more than 500 mechanical wind machines.
Today, several thousand wind turbines stand in the mountains and in the sea. It is the energy in the wind's movements, converted into electricity, that has taken on new and almost symbolic significance for the green shift.
Along the whole Norwegian coast
In 2023, NVE, Norway’s energy supply regulator, proposed 20 areas along the Norwegian coast for offshore wind farms. The fields span from Skagerrak in the south to the Barents Sea in the north. They were described as areas with good winds and relatively low conflicts among environmental interests, fisheries, and other business interests. Bird experts are concerned about whether seabird migration routes are included in the assessments.
Source: NVE
From wind to electricity
The wind turbine faces the wind. The rotational energy of the blades drives a generator that produces electricity.
Source: NVE
The oldest mills
Approximately 1000-year-old mills in the Iranian village of Nashtifan. These are still used to grind grain.
Photo: Hadidehghanpour
Profile in a flat landscape
Egeskov mill, in Denmark, built in 1895 for grinding grain. This classic type was used in Denmark and the Netherlands until well into the 1900s.
Photo: Norsk Teknisk Museum
The wind shifts
The wind changes direction with different seasons and temperatures. In 1910, engineer Jens Jørgen Bull-Andersen built a wind power plant on his family farm in Elverum, Norway. However, the windmill was fixed in one direction: it only produced electricity when the wind came from the southwest. The windmill was sold in 1913, presumably at a low price.
Postcard: Anno Glomdalsmuseet
Wind power and phone calls
This windmill was installed on Risøya island, north of Tromsø, Norway, in 1946. It powered a dynamo that charged the batteries for a six-watt telephone transmitter. Before then, residents had no communication with the outside world except by boat. Nor was electric power available. Farmer, fisher, and collector Jacob Carl Jacobsen ran the telephone station until 1960, when a telephone cable was laid to Risøya.
Building for wind power
Hydropower is based on a Norwegian specialty – high mountains and mighty waterfalls. But wind is everywhere in the world, and here we have to try our hand at technology and location. A single windmill was set up on Smøla in 1989, as part of a pilot program, and the site was chosen because of good wind conditions. But was the lack of resistance among the residents perhaps just as important? Around 25 years later, Smøla also became the area for testing offshore wind.
It is not surprising that a company that operates offshore oil and gas production is involved in the development of floating wind power. At the Hywind Tampen site in the North Sea, Equinor is using its expertise from large offshore projects to build new structures out at sea. The offshore wind farm supplies electricity to oil and gas platforms. A cleaner form of energy, but offshore wind is being developed to keep oil production going and the wind turbines themselves are also based on fossil technology through the production of foundations and rotor blades, and the need for lubricating oils.
It is difficult to predict how offshore wind farms will affect underwater life without conducting extensive field studies in the areas in question.
Changing the landscape
Storheia in Trøndelag, in northern Norway, is part of the wind farm called Fosen Vind, Europe's largest onshore wind power project. Over the construction period, from 2016 to 2019, this mountainous area was significantly transformed.
All energy production has an impact on nature. The extent of the impact caused by building a wind power plant depends on the respect the governmental authorities choose to show toward nature when deciding where the turbines will be placed.
Source: Heiko Junge/NTB
Birds and wind turbines
Wind farms pose a deadly threat to migratory birds and local species if the wind turbines are located along migration routes or between nesting and feeding areas. During construction work, blasting, heavy machinery, and helicopters can obstruct bird movement. This photo was taken on the Smøla islands, off the west coast of Norway, where researchers have investigated how eagles move among the wind turbines.
Source: Espen Lie Dahl
Floating offshore wind
Hywind Tampen is a floating offshore wind project that will supply the Snorre and Gullfaks fields in the North Sea with electricity. In order to stabilize extensive constructions at great sea depths, Equinor uses concrete technology here. This is an example of how technology from the oil and gas industry can be used to develop renewable energy. But according to the EU's criteria, all fossil energy is excluded from being called green, including the development of offshore wind to reduce emissions from the continental shelf.
Source: Pål Christensen/Stavanger Aftenblad
Bolt from a wind turbine
"Wind turbines and forest in fog"
Kjølberget wind farm, Finnskogen, Våler kommune, Innlandet.
Source: Bård Løken/Anno Norsk skogmuseum
Pictures from Odal wind farm
Screen with various images from Odal wind farm.
3. Hydrogen
Hydrogen in Norway – a long history
In 1929, the world's largest factory for the production of what we today call green hydrogen opened at Vemork in Telemark. Hydrogen was an important input factor in Norsk Hydro's fertilizer production and was produced through electrolysis of water. The process means that water is split into hydrogen and oxygen using large amounts of electrical power.
Electrolysis makes it possible to make hydrogen without releasing CO2. Another and much more common production method is based on natural gas. It involves methane gas being converted into hydrogen with the help of heat and water vapour. The process makes it possible to make cheap hydrogen, but the disadvantage is that it releases large amounts of CO2.
The climate crisis means that interest in electrolytic hydrogen is increasing. The company Nel Hydrogen has over several years further developed Norsk Hydro's old electrolysis technology with the hope that renewable hydrogen production will in the future be able to compete with hydrogen from natural gas.
Electrode plate and membranes
Part of an electrolysis cell from the 1960s–70s, developed by Norsk Hydro. The process, called electrolysis, uses large amounts of electricity to split water molecules (H2O), creating two parts hydrogen (H) and one part oxygen (O) for each molecule of water. These two gases bubble up along each side of the large round electrode plate and are led away in separate channels at the top of the plates. The two collection channels have different sizes.
The hydrogen factory at Vemork
When the hydrogen factory at Vemork was completed in 1929, it was the largest of its kind in the world. Hydrogen was produced through electrolysis of water. This made it possible for the company Norsk Hydro to produce fertilizer without using fossil fuels, even after the shift to the Haber-Bosch process, which is not typically “green".
The factory at Vemork is best known for a byproduct of hydrogen production – heavy water, which was of great significance during the Second World War and the Cold War.
Source: Unknown/Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum
Electrolysis plant at Vemork, 1930s
The photo shows an electrolyser for hydrogen production in operation at Vemork, in Telemark, Norway. The electrolyser was composed of 100 electrolysis cells and could be charged with 500 volts of direct current. The equipment is very similar to that installed nearby at Rjukan in 1987, and which is shown in the film in this display case.
Source: Unknown/Norwegian Industrial Workers Museum
Green steel with green hydrogen
It’s hard to imagine a world without steel. Each year, the world produces almost two billion metric tons of crude steel, equivalent to around 285 000 Eiffel Towers. The steel industry represents around 7 percent of the world’s total CO2 emissions.
Steel is usually produced by using coal as fuel in the smelting process itself and as a reducing agent to remove unwanted oxygen. Using hydrogen instead of coal as a reducing agent is therefore important in the green shift.
Electrolysis equipment at Rjukan in the 2020s
This equipment was put into operation at Rjukan, Norway, in 1987. The electrolyser is composed of 230 cells. Each cell consists of an electrode plate placed between two membranes. When the electricity is switched on, the electrically conducting water solution circulating in the electrolyser starts splitting into hydrogen and oxygen: hydrogen gas rises along the negative electrode, and oxygen along the positive electrode.
Screenshot of video.
4. Solar power
A brilliant future?
Energy from the sun, both heat and light, has profoundly shaped culture and society for a very long time. The sun has been regarded as a divine force. People have scrutinized its movements to get a better grasp on things like time and navigation.
Solar energy represents a clean, easy to access, and inexhaustible resource. Solar power is solar energy transformed into electricity, which can be generated directly through solar cells or indirectly by concentrating the sun’s rays to produce heat and steam.
In recent years, the energy situation has led to enormous investments in solar energy across the world. China is the country with the greatest built capacity for solar power. In Europe, Germany has come the furthest. By 2030, Norway aims to increase today’s production of solar power 33-fold, from an area equivalent to 227 football fields (pitches) to an area equivalent to 7 500 of them.
Photosynthesis - the basis of life on Earth
The sun is our most fundamental energy source. Energy from sunlight is the origin of nearly all other energy sources on earth, both renewable and non-renewable. When plants use sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide to create glucose and oxygen, it is called photosynthesis. It is one of nature's keystone biochemical processes.
Capturing the sun's rays
Augustin Mouchot was a pioneer in solar energy from the 1860s. He worried that coal, which was so important for industry, would run out. At the 1878 World’s Fair in Paris, he displayed an enormous parabolic solar collector that could make water boil to power a steam engine. The steam engine transferred energy to a refrigerating machine that produced blocks of ice. The transformation of sun into ice earned Mouchot a gold medal.
Facsimile: Le Monde Illustré, 19 October 1878, dessin de M. Fèrat
Precursor to today's solar collectors
In 1927, the magazine Le Petit inventeur on Abel Pifre, who continued the work of Augustin Mouchot. Among other things, Pifre demonstrated how a printing press could be powered by solar energy. Despite cloudy weather, the machine printed 500 copies of a newspaper. Today's solar collectors are based on the same technology: water is heated by concentrating the sun's rays.
Facsimile: Le Petit inventeur, no.
Fjell skole in Drammen stores heat in a "thermos"
A large part of today's energy consumption goes to heating buildings. When Fjell School was modernized in 2020, it was equipped with solar collectors on the roof for heating and solar panels for electricity. The excess heat from the solar collectors is stored in a so-called geothermal system underground and used when the school needs heat.
Source: Miljøstiftelsen ZERO
Geothermal principle
Source: Edvard Solbakk Simonsen
Solar power plants need space
This picture is from the solar park at Hjolderup in Denmark. It is the largest in Northern Europe and supplies electricity to about 75 000 households. The village is surrounded by solar cell panels that cover an area of about 500 football fields (pitches). Since solar cells can generally only harness about 20 percent of the sun’s energy, solar parks take up a lot of room.
Source: Mads Claus Rasmussen/Ritzau Scanpix
Thermal battery for cooking
This bucket is a prototype that can store solar energy for cooking at high temperatures. A solar panel provides power to a heating element that causes a salt in the bucket to melt. The bucket is insulated to preserve the heat. When the insulation is removed, the heat stored in the salt can be reused for frying or boiling. The bucket is part of a larger Norad project in which NTNU and universities in Tanzania and Ethiopia, among others, are collaborating on research into storing solar heat.
"Solar Salt"
Solar salt, used in the bucket (the thermal battery). As long as the salt melts, its temperature stays constant at around 220 degrees C. Solar salt is a blend of two salts: sodium nitrate and potassium nitrate. Variants of solar salt are used as thermal batteries in solar power plants to store excess heat.
"Solar Salt"
South of the Sahara, almost 1 billion people use wood or charcoal as fuel for cooking.
Combustion of wood and charcoal causes poor indoor climate and health damage. Fuel is often expensive, and gathering wood can lead to deforestation in several places.
By collecting and storing the heat from the sun, you can cook food completely without fuel. The fact that solar ovens are not so widespread is due, among other things, to challenges in storing the heat.
The Department of Energy and Process Engineering at NTNU collaborates with several African universities and Norad on research into the storage of solar heat.
This bucket is a prototype of how to store energy from the sun, and use it for cooking when the sun is not shining.
The sun shines on a solar panel that powers a heating element in the bucket. The bucket is filled with solar salt.
The heating element heats the solar salt, which melts at 220 0C. The bucket is insulated to preserve the heat from the salt. When cooking, the insulation is removed and the heat is used for cooking.
Several countries south of the Sahara are researching different ways of storing heat for cooking.
Just as batteries create electricity, the solar salt in the bucket acts as a battery to keep warm.
Various salt mixtures are also used to store heat in several solar power plants.
An example of this is the solar power plant in Gemasolar in Spain.
In the solar power plant, the salt is heated directly by the sun, which is centered on a tower using lenses or mirrors.
The salt technology can also be used to store heat from other heat sources.
For example, research is being done on methods that can help us with surplus heat from industry.
Wafers – silicon disks for solar cells
Solar cell wafers produced at Scancell AS in Narvik in 2005. Wafers are the thin silicon discs that solar cell panels are made of. These are multicrystalline wafers made up of several types of crystals. The most common today are monocrystalline wafers, which consist of only one type of crystal. These have the highest efficiency.
Silicon ingot produced by NorSun in Årdal in 2023
A silicon ingot is a block of pure silicon, a semiconducting material used in electronics and solar cells. Ingots are made by melting pure refined silicon, mainly derived from quartz. This process requires high heat.
China has become the world’s leading silicon producer. At the beginning of the 2020s it produced 95 percent of all ingots for solar cells. The other 5 percent is primarily produced by NorSun in Årdal, Norway.
Wafers by NorSun – Europe's last manufacturer?
Wafers are sliced off a silicon ingot using a diamond saw. This is a single-crystal wafer, which has the highest efficiency in solar cells.
The factory in Stor-Elvdal
On Saturday, March 8, 1986, Hamar Arbeiderblad wrote about the factory in Stor-Elvdal, which was the only one that produced solar panels in Scandinavia.
Norway's first solar cell factory and Norway's first solar power plant
In 2022 Stor-Elvdal also became the first Norwegian community to get a license to build an industrial-scale solar power plant in Norway. The solar power plant will cover 70 000 sqm and supply 6.4 GWh per year. This will support the power consumption of around 320 homes.
Photo: Solgrid
Norwegian-made solar panel from around 1985
In 1982, the firm Solenergi started Scandinavia’s first solar cell factory at Koppang in Stor-Elvdal, in central Norway. The solar cell panels were sold to Norwegian cabin owners and also to Tanzania, providing electricity for hospital refrigerators. Solar cells have since undergone rapid development, becoming increasingly efficient. Starting in 2024, all new government construction projects must include electricity from solar cells or other energy produced on site.
5. Fossil consumption
The products we buy have a fossil footprint. The more we consume, the more we impact the climate and environment. If you put 500 NOK of goods in your shopping cart, you will contribute to emitting around 20 kg of greenhouse gases. That’s equivalent to driving 100 km in a non-electric car.
Consumption in Norway doubled between 1990 and 2020. This led to increased greenhouse gas emissions not only in this country, but also in the countries we buy goods from. Almost half the emissions created by our consumption occur in other countries.
6. Batteries
Many electrical devices we use every day need batteries. Things like phones, speakers, computers, and portable lamps have to be charged from the power grid into order to work. The climate emergency has made batteries even more important, helping the transition to emission-free electric cars, for example.
So, what exactly is a battery? It’s a group of connected galvanic cells where chemical energy is converted to electricity. There are different types of battery. Primary batteries are for one-time use, while secondary batteries are rechargeable. These are also called accumulators and consist of multiple cells connected in parallel or series.
Battery technology isn’t new. Alessandro Volta invented the battery in 1799. Rechargeable lead-acid accumulators came about in the 1850s. The first batteries were mainly used for physics experiments. Later, large accumulators were used in electrical power plants. Between the two world wars, batteries became consumer items, allowing electrical devices to work without being connected to the power grid.
From a battery factory
In 1956 the company Bilmateriell in Trondheim produced, among other things, car batteries and accumulators. It was one of several Norwegian battery makers in the period after the Second World War.
Photo: Schrøder/Sverresborg Trøndelag Folk Museum
Hellesen's batteries
In 1876, Danish inventor Wilhelm Hellesen invented the dry cell, where the electrolyte is mixed with sand or sawdust to make a solid substance rather than a liquid. He started a battery factory in Copenhagen that was taken over in 1892 by his widow, Marie Hellesen, and chemist Valdemar Ludvigsen. The batteries were produced under the brand name “Hellesens Enke & V. Ludvigsen.” The snarling tiger became the well-known trademark for these batteries. It was designed by the artist Gunnar Biilmann Petersen in 1939.
Recycling of batteries
Employees recycle batteries from electric vehicles at a factory in Weinan in 2023. China is a world leader in battery recycling.
Photo: VCG/VCG via Getty Images
*Due to restrictions related to usage rights, we cannot share this image on our website.
Cell for electric car battery
Batteries contain both rare and environmentally hazardous materials. Recycling is therefore crucial for producing batteries sustainably. Hydrovolt, a pilot plant for battery recycling, opened in Fredrikstad, Norway, in May 2022. It is Europe’s largest battery recycling facility and specializes in batteries for electric cars. The plant is also working on replacing graphite in the anode with nano-silicon, to make batteries lighter with more capacity.
All steel alkaline battery type RA 9
Norsk Teknisk Museum’s oldest electric car, a 1903 Lohner-Porsche, has a battery from Britannia Batteries Limited. The firm produced alkaline batteries, including those for cars. This battery dates to 1929.
Sønnak car battery
Car and truck engines, whether diesel or gasoline (petrol), need batteries to start. This battery is from 2023.
Anker battery factory
The factory was established as Norsk Akkumulator Co. [Norwegian Accumulator Company] in Oslo in 1928 and later moved to Horton. Their main product was lead-acid batteries used in cars, flashlights (torches), and radios. In 1973 Anker merged with battery maker Sønnak, and in 1997 they closed down.
Copy of Ørsted's galvanometer
Danish chemist and physicist Hans Christian Ørsted helped found the field of electrodynamics. His galvanometer contributed to this.
Nife accumulator (rechargeable battery)
Nickel-iron batteries, also called “NiFe” batteries after the chemical symbols for nickel and iron, were patented by Thomas Alva Edison in 1901 and made by the Edison Storage Battery Company in New York.
Birkeland's condenser
Accumulator room
Hauen transformer station at Bøle, Norway, between Skien and Porsgrunn, had a special “accumulator room” for storing electricity, filled with rechargeable batteries, or accumulators. The electricity was transmitted here from Årlifoss hydropower station and distributed to subscribers in the two cities. The facility was owned by the municipal power company in Skiensfjorden and started operating in 1915.
Photo: Anders Beer Wilse/ The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
Physics experiment
Batteries and various types of galvanic elements have since the mid-19th century been used for physical experiments and demonstrations at universities and schools all over the world.
Battery for electric aircraft
This battery used to be inside a Velis Electro electric plane, which is made by the aviation company Pipistrel. Learn more about the time the plane had to make an emergency landing during Arendalsuka 2019, on the column behind you.
8. Carbon capture and storage
When plants and animals die, the organic material is buried further and further into the soil. At high temperature and pressure, the material is converted into oil and gas over millions of years. Enormous amounts of carbon are stored in this way in the earth's crust.
When fossil fuels are burned, the greenhouse gas CO2. The amount of CO2 in the atmosphere is the most important cause of global warming. In order to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees, greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced sharply. Electrification of the transport sector and CO2capture from industry are therefore important measures. What all of these measures have in common is that they require enormous investments and a lot of green energy. But we have no choice.
Wetland and permafrost areas of the globe also store significant amounts of carbon. In Norway, 5 percent of the land area is wetlands. Plants that die in wetlands sink down in the water, forming deep layers of peat that trap large amounts of carbon. Norway’s wetlands store a total amount of carbon equivalent to 66 years of the country’s annual greenhouse gas emissions.
Carbon capture
Many industrial processes release large amounts of CO2. One method of capturing CO2 from the smoke is to cool it down and then pass it into a tank of liquid amines. Amines are molecules that CO2 can bind to. The amine solution is then transported to a new tank where it is heated again, releasing the CO2gas. The CO2gas can now be collected, compressed, stored and transported to the storage site.
Drill plugs from a well near the Oseberg oil and gas field, west of Bergen and Florø. The petroleum-bearing layers in the North Sea lie 2,000-3,000 meters below the seabed, the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods 150-200 million years ago.
Gift from the Norwegian Oil Museum
CO2-fanxiety plant under construction at Norcem's cement factory in Brevik
Cement production is one of the largest sources of CO2 emissionsinto the atmosphere. At the beginning of the 2020s, the cement industry accounted for almost 5% of the world's total CO2emissions. But it is difficult to imagine the world stopping using cement.
Norcem, Norway's only cement producer, began construction in 2021 of what will be the world's first full-scale CO2purificationplant within this industry. The plant will help to significantly reduce emissions at the cement factory in Brevik in Porsgrunn municipality in Telemark. The initiative is part of the Langskip project initiated by the Norwegian government in 2020.
The Fluid Flow experiment/CO2 storage under the seabed
This time-lapse film from the Norwegian Petroleum Museum in Stavanger shows what happens when CO2is injected and moves in a model of the seabed. The experiment was developed at the University of Bergen and actually takes 72 hours.
The seabed in the North Sea is largely sedimentary rocks. This type of rock has pores in many places that contain oil and gas. Above the sedimentary rock there is often denser rock that prevents oil and gas from seeping up to the surface. This principle can also be used to store CO2.2.
Just like in reality, the model of the seabed is built up with layers of different types of sand. The grain size in the different sand layers determines how easily water and CO2 flow through the layer. The blue dye in the water changes color to yellow when it comes into contact with CO2. Although the experiment is not as large, it shows that the same physical processes occur when storing CO2 under the seabed.
"Species are disappearing from our planet at a high rate. That is why it is absolutely necessary to take care of places where especially many species live"
Animation on screen.
CO2 capture directly from the air
To achieve climate goals, it is not enough to just cut emissions. We also need to remove CO2that is already in the air. The picture shows a pilot plant on the roof of a waste incineration plant in Hinwil, Switzerland. A similar plant has been installed at the Hellisheiði geothermal power plant in Iceland. Here, the captured CO2 is stored in basalt rock underground.
The existing technological solutions are very expensive, and capturing CO2directlyfrom the air currently contributes little to reducing the amount of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
Photo: Julia Dunlop/Climeworks
Longship project
Langskip is a full-scale CO2management project, launched by the government in 2020. The project consists of CO2capture from industry, transport and storage deep under the seabed on the Norwegian shelf in the North Sea. The goal in the future is to be able to store 5 million tons of CO2 per year. The Langskip project is mainly state-funded.
Vertical section of marsh at Adalstjernet, southwest of Horten, near the Oslo Fjord
A marsh grows at a rate of up to one millimeter per year. This means that a marsh five meters deep represents nearly 5000 years of geological history. By analyzing the pollen in different layers of a sample, researchers can determine which plants thrived at different times.
The sample was taken by botanist Helge Irgen Høeg on 13 September 2023.
9. Small-scale power plants
All across Norway there are those who wish to build small-scale power plants on small waterways. Due to strict laws concerning watercourse protection and dam safety, it’s difficult to get permission from Norway’s energy directorate (NVE) to establish new small-scale power plants.
Micro power plant – installed capacity of less than 100 kW. A micro power plant can cover the annual energy needs of about 6 single-family homes.
Mini power plant – installed capacity of between 100 kW and 1000 kW. A mini power plant with an annual production of 1 GWh can cover the energy needs of 40 single-family homes.
Small power plants – installed capacity of between 1,000 kW and 10,000 kW. A small power plant with an annual production of 6 GWh can cover the energy needs of just over 200 single-family homes.
Verksfossen mini power plant
The power plant at Hakadal ironworks in Nittedal municipality was built in 1914, and it produced electricity for the operational buildings at the ironworks. The Francis turbine utilizes a 10 m water fall, and it had an annual output of 2 GWh. A newer mini-power plant right next to the old power plant was commissioned in 2002.
Photo: NTM/Håkon Bergseth
Photo: NTM/Håkon Bergseth
Photo: Håkon Bergseth/ The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
Photo: NTM/Håkon Bergseth
Information booklet
Brochure published by Norway’s energy directorate (NVE) in 1981.
10. Nuclear diorama
A safe technology?
If you compare the death tolls related to the production of electric power, nuclear power comes out far better than electricity made from coal, oil or hydropower.
Source: Our World in Data
A safe technology?
No technology is 100 percent safe. Unforeseen events and human error can create situations which those who built a nuclear power station didn’t anticipate. Can you see what has happened to this nuclear power station?
11. Fracking in Vaca Muerta
"Fracking" is a method of extracting natural gas from sedimentary rocks, usually shale. The method involves drilling horizontal wells in the shale layers, where water, sand and chemicals are injected under high pressure so that the bedrock cracks open. Through the cracks, or fractures, natural gas is released.
The method results in very large greenhouse gas emissions and increases the risk of earthquakes. It can also lead to soil and groundwater contamination. In many countries, including Germany, France, Bulgaria and Switzerland, fracking is prohibited.
Despite a cautious approach to the method in Europe, several European companies, including the Norwegian energy company Equinor, engage in fracking in other parts of the world. Equinor has operated a fracking facility in Vaca Muerta, Argentina, since 2017. Vaca Muerta is situated on of one of the largest shale gas formations in the world.
Water from the Neuquen River in Patagonia
This bottle contains water from the Neuquén River in Patagonia, Argentina. Every month, oil companies use over 100 million liters of water from the river for their fracking operations. Area residents argue that the water has become polluted, and they have repeatedly taken action against the oil companies.
Thanks to Cristian Ariel Peña
Loma Campana in Patagonia, Argentina
The pipelines that transport water are called "Anacondas". The pipelines are scattered throughout the Vaca Muerta field and carry water from rivers and lakes.
Photo: Martín Álvarez Mullally/Observatorio Petrolero Sur
12. Tear down and clean up
In Norway, four nuclear reactors have been in operation, three at Kjeller and one at Halden. All are now closed. The Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning Agency (NND) is responsible for cleaning up after nuclear activities. The agency is also responsible for finding solutions for how the waste will be handled. By 2050, the areas will be cleared of traces of nuclear activity. The work is estimated to cost around NOK 7 billion, but much is uncertain in this calculation.
“Decommissioning” of the facilities means that radioactive sources are removed, equipment is dismantled, and buildings are demolished. Radioactive material is transferred to an approved storage facility.
There are not large amounts of spent nuclear fuel in Norway. Nuclear reactors have been used for research and have created less waste than power-producing reactors. But even though the amount is small, it is complicated to find the right solutions for storage. In addition to spent reactor fuel, NND will handle radioactive waste from medicine, research, defense, and industry.
The way down
A stop on the five kilometer long road down to the bottom of the landfill.
Photo: Marit Kolberg
Rod well
Seismologists at work
Angélique Marck and Sara Resaei place measuring equipment in a basement. Potential waste storage sites must not be prone to earthquakes.
Photo: IFE
Warning sign for zone 1
Radiation protection-controlled area with the lowest risk of contamination (impurity) and radiation.
Given by IFE Halden
13. Storage for eternity
Finland is building a permanent storage facility for high-level nuclear waste at the Olkiluoto. 6,000 tons of uranium will be stored here for 100,000 years.
The storage method was developed in Sweden and is called KBS-3 (kärnbränslesäkerhet). The purpose is to shield the waste from the environment as long as it is radioactive.
With KBS-3, storage happens as follows: First, the waste is temporarily stored in a protected location for about 30 years. Then it is placed in a capsule of cast iron and copper. The capsules are placed in a layer of bentonite clay (volcanic ash clay) down a rock shaft 500 meters deep. When the repository is full, the entrance is sealed. After approximately 100 000 years, the radioactivity of the waste should have fallen to the same level as in naturally occurring uranium.
The tunnel system
The film shows a model of the Finnish landfill, which will be located almost 500 meters down into the mountain. The tunnels extend outward in branches and further into smaller wells. In the wells, the copper capsules with radioactive waste will be placed, and they will stay there – until a time and a world we know nothing about.
The way down
A stop on the five kilometer long road down to the bottom of the landfill.
Photo: Marit Kolberg
Seismologists at work
Angélique Marck and Sara Resaei place measuring equipment in a basement. Potential waste storage sites must not be prone to earthquakes.
Photo: IFE
14. Speaker's corner
What will it take to solve the energy crisis facing the world?
- Terje Aasland, Minister of Energy (AP) 1.30
- Gina Gylver, head of Nature and Youth 1.10
- Bård Vegard Solhjell, head of Norad 1.20
- Mina Adampour, reads poems from "Nature" 0.30
Are you engaged in the topic?
Contact the museum if you want to comment on this.
15. New solutions in old patents
This rotary engine caused a sensation when it was patented by Finn Jernæs in Kristiansand, Norway, in 1964. A small and fuel-saving engine could have been an alternative to the car engines of the time. Unfortunately, the invention did not catch on, at a time when large engines in big cars sold better than small ones, and gasoline (petrol) consumption was not a concern. Quite the contrary: many people were interested in selling more fuel.
Jernæs engine
In recent years, interest for rotary engines has increased because they are well suited for cars and heavier vehicles in a transitional period. They weigh less, take up less space, and use less fuel. Emissions are low, and they are suitable as auxiliary engines in combination with electric motors. Could the Jernæs engine become relevant again, or is the time up for combustion engines?
16. An ongoing human rights violation
In 2010, Norway’s energy directorate (NVE) granted a license to Roan and Storheia wind farms. The wind farms were to be built near Trondheim, in a district used for reindeer herding by the north-Fosen and south-Fosen Sámi communities. The reindeer herders argued that the development violated their rights.
While the case was going to court, the company Fosen Vind was granted permission to start construction. The wind farms were finished in 2019 and 2020.
In October 2021, the Supreme Court of Norway ruled unanimously that the rights of the reindeer herders had been violated.
. The wind farms continued operating.
500 days after the Supreme Court’s decision, Sámi youths took action, occupying the reception area of the Ministry of Energy. They were forcibly removed by the police, but they returned and blocked the entrances to several government ministries.
In March 2023, Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre admitted that the operation of the wind farms in Fosen was an ongoing human rights violation.
Mediation between the Fosen Sámi, the Norwegian state, and Fosen Vind led in December 2023 to an agreement with the south-Fosen community. A month later, the north-Fosen community heavily criticized the mediation. They did not feel that they had any real influence.
Several years after the Supreme Court ruled on the matter, the wind farms are still operating.
Outside normal winter grazing
A herd of reindeer that no longer migrates to winter pasture in Roan. The Southern Sámi collect reindeer on the border between Osen and Namsos.
Photo: Frank Lervik
Carried away
The activists who blockaded ministries were forcibly removed by the police.
Photo: Amanda Iversen Orlich
Actions
The demonstrations were linked to Land Back, an international movement that works actively with the rights of indigenous peoples to practice their culture on associated land areas.
Photo: Håkon Bergseth/ The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology
Dusk in the government quarter
For several days, the entrance to the Ministry of Oil and Energy was blocked.
Photo: Thor Due
18. Electrification of air traffic
With the large distances between cities in Western and Northern Norway, planes are a critical part of the infrastructure. The Norwegian short-haul network is well suited for electrification. Flying times are often under an hour, and the planes are relatively small. Companies flying these routes aim to introduce the first electric planes by the end of the 2020s.
For larger planes and longer flying times, electrification is less feasible. For such flights, efforts are underway to develop alternatives to fossil fuels. One possibility is to use “bio-kerosene” made from forest waste. Hybrid solutions that combine several different energy sources can also help reduce the carbon footprint of air travel.
The first electric plane in Norway
Alpha Electro G2 with Dag Falk-Petersen as pilot.
Photo: Avinor
Tecnam P-Volt
The first type of electric aircraft that is planned to be introduced into the Norwegian short-haul network.
Photo: Tecnam
Log book from an emergency landing
Log book from the emergency landing of Dag Falk-Petersen in a pond outside Arendal in August 2019. The two-seater plane Alpha Electro G2 was the first electric plane in Norway.
Dag Falk-Petersen
Dag Falk-Petersen was at the controls when Norway's first electric plane made an emergency landing in a pond outside Arendal in August 2019.
20. The battle for the seabed
The seabed holds vast amounts of minerals and elements that are important for the implementation of the green shift. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate estimates that, on the Norwegian continental shelf alone, there are 38 million metric tons of copper, 45 million metric tons of zinc, and 2 metric tons of gold. However, the cost of extracting these minerals is enormous, and many of the deposits lie in vulnerable marine habitats..
Many countries are positioning themselves to participate in the battle for resources on the seabed.
Model by Geir Christiansen
22. Christerness' solar lamp
The sun lamp for Christerness
Christerness Eugen Kilua (b. 2006) lives with her mother, father and older brother on a small farm in the village of Luale in the Uluguru Mountains in Tanzania. The village is without electricity, and in the evening it gets dark early. In 2022, Christerness's mother bought a small yellow solar cell lamp on the market.
"She bought it so I could read and do other things at home," says Christerness. Hortensia uses the solar lamp when she cooks for the family and takes care of the animals.
The sun lamp for Christerness
Christerness is a bit afraid to go outside in the dark alone. The paths are steep and become very slippery during the rainy season. Since she got the solar-cell lamp, things have changed. “We can stay out longer and use the light when we go home.” In the evenings, Christerness and her friends can play cards in the light of the yellow lamp.
Since 1970, Norad, the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation, has supported Tanzania’s efforts to provide people with access to electricity, especially from hydropower. The statistical bureaus in Tanzania and Norway collaborated on a 2022 survey showing that almost half of Tanzania’s households are connected to the electric grid. In the rural areas, solar lamps are still widely used.
Photo: Lars Kåre Grimsby
23. Bocce ball
The seabed holds vast amounts of minerals and elements that are important for the implementation of the green shift. The Norwegian Petroleum Directorate estimates that, on the Norwegian continental shelf alone, there are 38 million metric tons of copper, 45 million metric tons of zinc, and 2 metric tons of gold. However, the cost of extracting these minerals is enormous, and many of the deposits lie in vulnerable marine habitats..
Many countries are positioning themselves to participate in the battle for resources on the seabed.
Boccia ball in the food waste
This bocce ball got stuck in the grinder at the waste disposal facility shown in the film. It took two days to get the plant up and running again.
Correct sorting of the waste is important!
The Magic Factory
Text in video:
"Where does your food waste go?
Video from the rubbish reception at Den Magiske Fabrikken outside Tønsberg". Food waste (the green bags) comes here from large parts of Eastern Norway.
After being ground up, the food waste is mixed with animal manure from Vestfold. Biogas, biofertilizer and green CO2 are extracted from this mixture.
2.5 kg of food waste, for example, provides enough biogas for a bus to drive 1 km."
24. Co-creation with Lindeberg School
In the spring of 2023, the 20 pupils in year 6a at Lindeberg School were asked the question: "Where do you get your energy from?" These pictures are your answer. The images are created using Playground AI.
The texts below are the keywords that the students used to generate the images.
"lushill style a dandelion on a beach with fresh water"
"a girl is sitting at the ocean and the sun is going down"
"food made style food fruit AR"
"foodmade style a sun in the morning orange round the sun shines on a solar panel on the roof of a"
"sunset with a woman eating and sleeping while drinking water with a cat centered symmetry paint"
"waterfall"
"Water energy water mill"
"A man seeing an apple tree"
"pltn style a sun water waterfall plants grass cute big circular reflective eyes pixar render"
"pltn style tiny waterfall with cats playing in the waterfall realism eating food cute big circular"
25. Fertiliser
Small is good
Since 2010, Norwegian technology company N2 Applied has been working to make individual farms self-sufficient in plant nutrition. Instead of buying synthetic fertilizers made with fossil fuels from large international producers, farmers will be able to make fertilizer with high nutritional value in an environmentally friendly way – using renewable energy and resources already available on the farm. The technology used is inspired by the electric arc process developed by Norwegian physicist Kristian Birkeland in the early 1900s.
Tomatoes in diesel oil
Tomatoes from Almeria in Spain taste good, but they leave a large fossil footprint. Fossil inputs are used in their cultivation in the form of artificial fertilizers, pesticides and plastic packaging. In addition, fossil fuels are needed to heat greenhouses and transport them to markets in Norway and other European countries. Calculations show that the fossil contribution used to grow 1 kg of tomatoes is equivalent to 6.5 dl of pure diesel.
Source: Smile 2022
Plasma generator
The generator on display converts electrical energy into plasma.
Neo
The glass contains fertilizer produced by N2 Applied. The product is called NEO, which stands for Nitrogen Enriched Organic fertilizer.
26. Buying and selling electricity
Since electricity cannot be easily stored, its production and sale need to be coordinated. The first cooperative between electricity utilities in eastern Norway started in 1932.
Deregulation of the power market in 1991 led to the establishment of the Norwegian-Swedish power exchange called Nord Pool. In 2023, 15 European countries were connected in this exchange. Nord Pool is a model for other power exchanges worldwide.
Unlike previous energy trading, transactions at the power exchange are influenced by supply and demand. The system ensures stable and efficient use of energy resources, but it causes electricity prices to vary from hour to hour.
After the outbreak of war in Ukraine in February 2022, Europe sought to become less dependent on Russian gas. Demand for Norwegian gas increased, and the price climbed. When there was a need to import electricity from Europe to Norway in the fall of 2022, this was produced in part using expensive Norwegian gas. The price that Norwegian electricity customers had to pay reached a record high.
The Norwegian carpool at Smestad, 1934
Photo: Oslo city archive/Digitaltmuseum
Nord Pool collaboration in Europe
Pager
The pager belonged to the IT manager at Nord Pool in the 1990s, Tor Åge Halvorsen. A little after 12:00 each day, he received the next day's electricity price on his pager. The message also served as confirmation that the power exchange had calculated and published the price that day.
Today, the algorithm Eufemia calculates the price of electricity. Eufemia starts calculating every day at 12.30, and by 12.47 the hourly rate (spot rate) for the next day is ready. (63)
27. The simplest is often the best
Insulation
An important measure to reduce energy consumption in Norway is good and correct insulation of buildings. Good insulation limits heat transfer between the hot and cold side. The so-called U-value indicates how well a material insulates. The lower the U-value, the better the insulating ability of, for example, a window. Modern insulation materials make it possible to limit the heat loss to the surroundings without the walls and windows becoming too thick.
If all detached houses built in the period from 1960 to 1980 in Norway had been insulated according to today's standards, it would correspond to more than four years' production of electrical energy in the Alta hydroelectric power plant.
Trees capture CO2 from the air. By building in wood laminate (glulam) or solid wood, a house can be well-insulated and can also serve as a carbon store. Reuse of building materials also plays a role in the total energy picture. New building projects and major refurbishments can be environmentally certified through the international certification system BREEAM.
Powerhouse Brattørkaia in Trondheim
This office building, designed by the architecture firm Snøhetta, was finished in 2019. The building produces more energy than it uses, including both construction and operation. The surplus energy supplies nearby buildings with power.
Photo: Ivar Kvaal
Mjøstårnet in Brumunddal
The Mjøstårnet in Brumunddal was, when it was completed in 2019, the world's tallest wooden building. The building is 85 meters high, and was built with glulam and solid wood structures.
Photo: Ricardo Photo
Blown-in attic insulation
Blow-in insulation of cold attics is an effective way to insulate/re-insulate the home. The advantage of blow-in insulation compared to traditional insulation is that the cavity is completely covered without joints and adjustments. Blow-in insulation has been used as a fire retardant in the wall by the large water wheel in the exhibition.
Photo: Isobygg AS
Zero-emission house at Gløshaugen in Trondheim
Zero-emission house at Gløshaugen in Trondheim at ZEB Living Laboratory (NTNU), commissioned in 2015. In a zero-emission house, annual net energy consumption or emissions should be zero. Additional energy needs come from solar cells or other green energy sources.
Photo: Ole Tolstad, NTNU
28. Flooding in Pakistan
On 29 August 2022, a state of emergency was declared in Pakistan. Flooding was caused by a powerful monsoon combined with heatwaves and water from melting glaciers, a consequence of climate change.
At least 1 700 people lost their lives, and 20 million lost their homes. Crops were destroyed, bridges collapsed, and delivering emergency aid became difficult.
Fan
Annam Chaudhry has donated this fan to The Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology and explains:
"The fan is a reminder of climate change. Bibi Mohammad, born in 1914 in Gurdaspur, India, used the fan to cool herself in the heat. In 2003, there was a heat wave in Europe, and Shaukat Ara, Bibi's daughter-in-law, passed the fan on to her son, Hasan Mushtaq, who was going to France to study."
Annam Chaudhry
Annam Chaudry is a climate activist with a master's degree in management and geopolitics in Arctic regions. She grew up in Oslo with roots in Pakistan, a country she regularly visits. In the film, she talks about her commitment to the climate in Norway, Pakistan and the rest of the world.
The film lasts 2 m 34 s
29. Fossil future
Impact assessment and consultation statements for Wisting Wisting is an oil and gas field on the Norwegian continental shelf in the Barents Sea. Oil was found here in 2013. The field is planned to produce around 500 million barrels of oil and a small proportion of gas. It is estimated that burning the field's oil will lead to the emission of 200 million tonnes of CO2.
Impact assessment and consultation statements for Wisting
Wisting is an oil and gas field on the Norwegian continental shelf in the Barents Sea. Oil was found there in 2013. The field is planned to produce around 500 million barrels of oil and some natural gas. It is estimated that burning the field’s oil will lead to emissions of 200 million metric tons of CO2.
Wisting is located 300 km north of the Finnmark coast, southeast of Bjørnøya. If put into operation, it will probably become the world's northernmost oil field.
When should we stop?
Source: Wisting field/Equinor
