Transportation is responsible for 37% of the total emissions of greenhouse gases in Norway. The yearly consumption of 57 TWh in fuel is dominated by fossil fuels used in combustion engines. Electric engines are more efficient and result in large reductions in emissions and a reduction in the general energy consumption. For flexibility, hybrid systems with both electric and combustion engines have been introduced to the market, and are commercially available today.

Purely electric vehicles are also commercially available, and are competitive in price for some applications. By January 2010, 2700 electrical vehicles were registered in Norway. The commercially available electric vehicles are based on battery storage of energy. An alternative to battery storage is hydrogen, which should be able to store large amounts of energy in a confined volume. Hydrogen, produced from renewable energy, represents a zero emission alternative. However, the technology is still immature, and further R&D is a pressing need.

The minister of Petroleum and Energy, Terje Riis-Johansen, tries the Shell-ECO car FuelFighter, a hydrogen vehicle developed at NTNU. Photo: NTNU/SINTEF, Thor Nielsen.

There is a small industry in Norway producing electric cars. ElBil Norge produces the small and cost-effective Kewet Buddy and the Norwegian company Think is producing electric cars for Europe and USA. Hydrogen Technologies has for some time been a key supplier of electrolyte technology to the international market.

More information
Shell Eco-Marathon; FuelFighter from NTNU

Contacts
Researcher Ann Mari Svensson, SINTEF Materials and Chemistery
Researcher Steffen Møller-Holst, SINTEF Materials and Chemistery
Researcher Per Finden, IFE
Reseacher Preben Vie, IFE