NOK 45 million for projects powering the green transition

Over the past year, Norway's energy system, households and businesses have faced a new energy reality. Several challenges are compounding one another, including very high prices, energy shortages and increased demand.

Electrification is one of the factors driving increased demand. At the same time, there are capacity constraints in the transmission system. We need to address some of these challenges by investing in new generation capacity and infrastructure. However, we can also make better use of the infrastructure already in place. That is why the PILOT-E funding scheme has launched a targeted call for projects that will deliver 'Increased flexibility in the power system'.

'These are important projects that build on the expertise of Norwegian companies and research communities in power systems, as well as the trust between them. The digital solutions they will now develop will improve efficiency and increase capacity in power systems, and could have a global impact,' says Håkon Haugli, our CEO.

The three projects receiving funding complement each other well and will deliver solutions that harness flexibility in households, land and maritime transport, businesses and industrial parks.

Together with the three projects awarded funding at the same time last year, PILOT-E has built a strong portfolio of projects that will collectively enable Norway to make better use of its energy system.

'Greater flexibility in the power system enables businesses to accelerate the green transition where electrification is needed. It is therefore encouraging to see that PILOT-E has now built a strong, targeted portfolio in this area,' says Minister of Trade and Industry Jan Christian Vestre (Labour Party).

• PILOT-E is a funding scheme for Norwegian businesses, established by the Research Council of Norway, Innovation Norway and Enova.
• Since its launch in 2016, the scheme has helped projects move quickly and purposefully from research to full-scale implementation.
• PILOT-E aims to develop new, competitive companies in environmentally friendly energy technology.
• PILOT-E aligns the available public funding schemes, providing greater certainty of support, closer follow-up and stronger coordination.
• PILOT-E aims to reduce uncertainty for businesses and give you a stronger basis for planning – helping you bring new solutions all the way to market.
• PILOT-E is supported by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Fisheries, the Ministry of Climate and Environment, the Ministry of Petroleum and Energy, and the Ministry of Transport.
• Including this latest award, 29 projects involving well over 100 project participants have received funding since the first call for proposals in 2016, with grants totalling approximately NOK 550 million. For more information about Pilot E, visit www.pilot-e.no .

Eviny AS and partners: Awarded NOK 20 million. The project will provide a comprehensive view of electricity consumption from land transport, commercial buildings and maritime transport in a given area, making it collectively available as flexible resources in the flexibility market. The solution will enable business customers without prior expertise to participate in the flexibility market by offering their own power consumption through an aggregator. Profitable for each business – good for the power system.

Ringerikskraft AS and partners: Awarded NOK 18.2 million. The project will develop a system called 'Flex Industrial Park Management System', which will use data streams from industrial companies in the business park to model and predict ongoing energy needs. Based on this, the system will define the requirements and parameters for the energy supply needed in this industrial area at any given time. Making better use of the allocated capacity will enable industrial companies waiting for new grid capacity to establish operations in the business park sooner. Good for the green transition and new businesses – good for the energy system.

Agder Energi Fleksibilitet AS: Awarded NOK 6.1 million. Through the Euroflex project, the company will develop a customer-centric ecosystem in which customers help optimise and operate the power system. The project will test new technologies and business models. This will create a new value chain that uses market-based tools to manage bottlenecks and resolve voltage issues in the distribution grid.

PILOT-E: Trond Moengen, Programme Secretary for PILOT-E, 952 73 220, trond.moengen@energidata.no

Innovation Norway: Gry Kolbjørnsen Langbakk, Innovation Adviser, 90 87 92 03, gry.langbakk@innovasjonnorge.no