Major initiative for the renewal of Norwegian hydropower
This week marked the launch of the national research center, RenewHydro, which will receive NOK 370 million to usher hydropower into a new era. NHH is one of the key research partners.
The Norwegian Research Council and the hydropower industry plan to invest approximately NOK 370 million over the next eight years to make hydropower a cornerstone of the energy transition.
At the new center, Norwegian Research Centre for Hydropower Technology (RenewHydro), researchers will explore how hydropower can collaborate with other renewable technologies like solar and wind power while adapting to new climate and market challenges.
Developing Smart Solutions
Researchers from across Norway and selected international universities will collaborate to develop innovative solutions. Experts in technology, biology, and economics will work together.
`Our goal is to achieve more environmentally friendly hydropower that ensures stable electricity supply and provides substantial revenues for Norwegian society, ‘ says Professor Mette Bjørndal from the Department of Business and Management Science at NHH.
Bjørndal is part of the leadership team at RenewHydro and leads the research program on technical, economic, climate, and environmental frameworks.
Recruited Postdoctoral Fellow
`At NHH, we will focus on market developments, flexibility products, and price dynamics in an evolving energy system, ´ says Bjørndal.
RenewHydro
The research continues and expands on the work from FME HydroCen (2017–2024).
NTNU serves as the host institution for RenewHydro, with key research partners including the Norwegian School of Economics (NHH), the Norwegian Institute for Nature Research (NINA), and SINTEF Energy. Additional research partners are the University of South-Eastern Norway (USN), the Norwegian University of Life Sciences (NMBU), NORCE, Luleå University of Technology, ETH Zurich, and Kathmandu University.
NHH and Bjørndal have already recruited a postdoctoral fellow, Kyriaki Tselika, who holds a doctorate from NHH.
`She has also spent a year working with hydropower researchers at SINTEF Energy, ´ Bjørndal adds.
Bjørndal also serves as Research Director at FME NTRANS, a national research center focusing on the development of sustainable energy from a societal perspective.
Green Transition
`Hydropower will be brought into a new era, ´ says center leader Liv Randi Hultgreen from NTNU in a press release.
The hydropower industry and management will be closely involved, participating in tasks such as testing models in laboratories and implementing specific solutions at power plants and waterways.
`To achieve a green transition, we need more sources of clean energy production. Flexible hydropower is the key to this, and it requires more knowledge and expertise. The energy system is changing, and we must address complex technical challenges while considering nature and the environment, ´ says Andreas Ulvestad from Statkraft, who chairs the board of RenewHydro.
RenewHydro has approximately 40 national and international partners from research, industry, and government sectors.