A new national battery laboratory will reduce dependency on patents and raw materials from other countries, according to Norwegian research organisation SINTEF.
President and CEO of SINTEF Alexandra Bech Gjørv and industry minister Jan Christian Vestre opened the new SINTEF Battery Lab in the northern town of Trondheim. Gjørv said Norwegian businesses can now develop their own battery solutions and become competitive internationally.
The laboratory will facilitate electrode preparation, assembly of battery cells in a dry atmosphere, and electrochemical formation and testing of batteries.
SINTEF has for years participated in EU-funded battery research programmes to develop the European value chain. It has 150 battery researchers and participates in the Sustainable Materials for the Battery Value Chain (SUMBAT) project, set up last year. It gets funding from the laboratory network called Norwegian Advanced Battery Laboratory (NABLA).
Vestre, who represents the Labour Party, said the Norwegian battery industry is developing quickly, with more players setting up. “They need skills and access to facilities to maintain and improve competitiveness in the Norwegian battery industry over time. SINTEF’s Battery Lab will create a leading ecosystem for research and development of battery technology and will be an important element in the battery value chain so that we realise the aims in Norway’s battery strategy.”
It joins a number of other research institutes under NABLA.
Photo: Norwegian industry minister Jan Christian Vestre and SINTEF CEO Alexandra Bech Gjørv open Norway’s national battery laboratory
