Back to search

PETROSENTR-Forskningssentre for petroleum

Research Centre for a Low-Emission Petroleum Industry on the Norwegian Continental Shelf

Alternative title: Forskningssenter for en lavutslipps petroleumindustri på norsk kontinentalsokkel.

Awarded: NOK 120.2 mill.

The LowEmission Research Centre develops new technologies and concepts for offshore energy systems, energy efficiency and integration of the existing infrastructure for power production with renewable power production for application on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). This will help the industry meet 50% reduction in CO2-equivalent emissions by 2030, a emission reduction target set forth by the Norwegian government and moving towards zero-emission petroleum production by 2050. LowEmission gathers leading energy companies, operators and vendors, who have joined forces with globally recognized research groups at SINTEF and NTNU. The consortium is also strengthened by the participation of top-rated universities and institutes from Europe and the US. This year, four of the Centre PhD candidates were on a research visit abroad, two in Europe and two in the US. The Centre has a strong focus on research education and will throughout its lifetime educate 18 PhDs/Postdocs and 30 MSc students. As of 2023, 13 PhD and 1 PostDoc candidates have been affiliated with LowEmission. 6 of 13 the PhD candidates completed their academic tenure in 2023 with date of thesis defence set in late 2023 or early 2024, and 5 of those have started their employment with partners in the Centre. Additionally, 17 MSc students have completed their projects since the Centre was established. The Centre actively stimulates participation of industry partners in shaping the Centre´s research directions such as through active engagement with the Technical Committee of Innovation and Commercialization. The Technical Committee was established in the start of 2020 and consists of technical representatives from around half of the industry partners in the Centre. Another important arena for industry engagement are so-called Sub-Project families, where each of the Centre´s nine sub-projects have established a group of technical experts from the industry partners who directly contribute with their expertise. The Sub-Project families discuss matters such as strategies, operational plans for the coming year, communication and dissemination activities and research results, as well as performing quality assurance of results and publications. The involvement of industry partners in the Technical Committee and Sub-Project families is a major asset for idea generation and subsequent maturation processes. 2023 saw further increased focus on innovation in the Centre activities. Following the last year’s innovation mapping process, where innovations were systematically documented, an innovation sprint in collaboration with the innovation advisory company Entreprenerdy was conducted. This pilot is a program that aims to give selected, motivated innovation teams from the consortium knowledge, tools, and resources to dive into the potential of their innovations. A significant activity this year has also been the development of Sub-Project roadmaps. The roadmaps serve as a guiding framework for continuous improvement and technology development, and aim to spark further innovation, up-scaling and faster implementation of the technologies. During the process researchers and industry partners together have looked at goals toward 2030, visions toward 2050 and the activities required to progress the technologies. A foundation document of the midway objectives for the Centre was developed and further distilled down to a final visual product the LowEmission roadmaps. LowEmission continuous to generate spin-off projects and technology transfer possibilities for the industry. LowEmission aims to generate 26 spin-off research projects during its lifetime, and has since its establishment in 2019 generated spin-off activities that span widely across the research topics of the Centre through new KSP, IPN, EU and Green platform projects. LowEmission shares knowledge with scientists, industry, society, politicians and the public, and thereby aid decision-making and shaping of emission policies for the Norwegian O&G industry. In 2023, researchers and candidates from across the Centre presented their results at multiple international conferences. LowEmission has dialogue with the two other Petroleum research centres, CSSR and NCS2030 on common interests, synergies and forms for collaboration. LowEmission also has a particularly regular dialogue with the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, the Norwegian Environment Agency, the Norwegian Petroleum Directorate and Offshore Norge. LowEmission also has a continuous dialogue with OG21 (Oil and gas for the 21st century), which is mandated by the Norwegian Ministry of Petroleum and Energy to bring together operator companies, universities, research institutes, suppliers, regulators, and public bodies to develop and maintain a national petroleum research and technology development strategy for Norway. Furthermore, LowEmission has been represented at the important political event Arendalsuka in Norway.

LowEmission will develop new technology and concepts for offshore energy systems, energy efficiency and integration with renewable power production technologies for application on the Norwegian Continental Shelf (NCS). This will help the industry to meet their 2030 and 2050 emission reduction goals, as well as paving the way for zero-emission petroleum production by 2050. LowEmission gathers leading energy companies, operators and vendors, who have joined forces with globally recognized research groups at SINTEF and NTNU. The consortium is also strengthened by the participation of top-rated universities and institutes from Europe and the US. The strong interaction within the Centre will accelerate development and implementation of low-emission offshore technologies and make LowEmission a platform for innovation. It will generate spin-off projects and technology transfer possibilities for the industry. The main scientific focus in the Centre will be on power and heat generation with lower emissions, on reduced energy demand, and on energy systems and management. The latter includes the development of digitalized solutions and concepts for integrating renewable power production technologies in the offshore energy system. The topics are chosen based on their potential to reduce emissions on the NCS in a short- and long-term perspective and includes solutions for both brownfield and greenfield cases. LowEmission will strive to reduce the cost of offshore emission reduction technology, and to come up with at least 10-15 new innovative low-emission solutions. The centre will educate 19 PhDs/Postdocs and 30 MSc students, and it aims to generate a total of 26 spin-off research projects and over 70 scientific papers. Through a dedicated communication and outreach strategy, LowEmission will share knowledge with scientists, industry, society, politicians and the public. This will aid decision-making and shaping of emission policies for the O&G industry.

Publications from Cristin

Funding scheme:

PETROSENTR-Forskningssentre for petroleum