After the start in the autumn of 2021, the work on the energy exhibition entered a new phase in 2022. The implementation of a tender ended with the architectural office LPO being engaged as exhibition designer. The contract was signed in February at the same time as a new project manager/controller took office. The collaboration with LPO has laid the framework for most of the activities throughout the year. Regular meetings and workshops have been held where the architects together with the project group have discussed how the exhibition concept can be given a spatial expression. At the end of the year, LPO is in the process of finishing the architectural detailing work. As part of this process, a Bauprobe was carried out where design elements and installations were tested on a realistic scale at the museum. London-based Science Project participated during one of the workshops. The work has resulted in design proposals for two of the exhibition's main installations – the Oracle and the Acceleration Tunnel. A tight budget contributes to the fact that work has been done to strengthen the exhibition's financing. Among other things, support has been applied for from the Sparebankstiftelsen for a contribution to the development of the oracle. The project group wanted the exhibition concept to be "put out for consultation" and is planning several workshops and open meetings at the museum where the public is invited to help influence the design of the exhibition. design. The concept has also been presented to a group of teachers from Linderud School who act as a focus group for the project.

The energy theme is broad. Energy can be described in technical and scientific terms, but can also be related to wider societal contexts. Turnover and use of energy must be understood in the light of political, social, economic and cultural conditions. The museum's collection of objects provides a unique opportunity to describe the development and use of different forms of energy in Norway, both fossil and renewable. Not least this applies to the electrification of society within industry and households from the end of the 19th century until today. The exhibition has a historical structure, but is nevertheless framed by today's energy crisis. Because we are in the middle of the debate about how to solve this crisis, the exhibition must also handle a future perspective. In the exhibition, the Oracle is the place where the public is invited to participate in the discussion about what future society might look like. In this part of the exhibition, not only the technological challenges related to future energy use are discussed, but also the need for a more sustainable organization of society.

The exhibition is supported by Equinor. The research project Sustainable energy narratives, which is a collaboration between the museum and other museums and institutions in the Network for industrial and technological history, is supported by the Norwegian Cultural Council. The exhibition opens in January 2024.

Photo: Norsk Teknisk Museum