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The two projects that have been awarded funding are PriTEM, which is led by the Department of Informatics, and EMPOWER, led by the Department of Technology Systems.
– It was a tough job for the evaluation panel, says Vebjørn Bakken, Director of UiO:Energy.
– In the final round, we had five very good proposals presenting their project to an interdisciplinary panel. As verified by the external experts, they were all worthy of funding! UiO:Energy is really looking forward to follow the two funded projects in the years to come. Both are very timely initiatives on important topics. I would also like to stress that these projects were developed bottom-up, by the researchers themselves.
From centralised to decentralised energy operations
The main objective of PriTEM (Privacy-preserving Transactive Energy Management) is to design distributed and trust enhancing mechanisms for realising optimised approaches for transactive energy management – which entails privacy preservation and secure data sharing for decentralised energy trade for the smart and sustainable energy systems of the future.
– The backdrop of this is the paradigm shift from centralised to decentralised renewable energy operations with a foreseen future of network of micro-grids. We will consider technical as well as socio-psychological aspects of all big and small players in the energy ecosystem, including operators and prosumers – meaning households or entities that can be both consumers and producers, explains Sabita Maharjan, project leader and Associate Professor at the Department of Informatics.
The project also involves the Department of Technology Systems (ITS), the Department of Psychology (PSY), the Department of Private Law/Norwegian Research Center for Computers and Law (SERI), and the Department of Energy and Resources Law, as well as other stakeholders including regulatory bodies (NVE), operators (Nord Pool) and other industrial partners.
A closer look at socio-psychological barriers
Cato Bjørkli is an Associate Professor at the Department of Psychology and one of the researchers participating in the PriTEM convergence environment. His field of responsibility will be to examine and characterise the socio-psychological aspects that can act as potential barriers in the transition towards larger networks of prosumers.
– In general, human beings are sceptical about transitions from something known to something unknown. Just as the electric car was faced with issues related to whether it would function as a proper car, new energy systems will meet old notions of what an energy system actually is, Bjørkli explains and elaborates:
– In these psychological mechanisms, there is a distinct element of distrust. Am I to buy electricity from the neighbour? What happens if they do not produce enough? As such, the psychology of consumers can act as a barrier to implementing new technology, therefore we need to learn more about these things, Bjørkli explains.
In addition to understanding aspects related to prosumers, regulatory and policy aspects also play a vital role in this transition towards a more sustainable energy system. Associate Professor Catherine Banet from the Department of Energy and Resources Law will work to address the knowledge gap in this domain.
A long-term strategy for EV batteries in Norway
The project EMPOWER aims at answering the overarching research question: how can batteries used in mobility empower the transition to a net-zero energy system in Norway?
– We are going to develop an encompassing long-term strategy on sustainable EV batteries, allowing Norway to become a frontrunner in the field. Furthermore, we will develop novel interdisciplinary tools, analyses, and networks relevant to both research and teaching, says Marianne Zeyringer, project lead and Associate Professor at the Department of Technology Systems.
– Transport is the highest greenhouse gas-emitting sector in Norway. And batteries and electrification is the most cost-efficient first choice technology to largely decarbonise this sector. In addition, Norway is contributing to developing battery technology, and is looking at massively upscaling its battery production, to replace decreasing oil revenues. So there are many ways in which batteries will become increasingly important – as a means of reaching climate targets and to create new jobs and income, she explains.
The project also involves the Department of Psychology, the Department of Informatics, the Department of Mathematics, the Department of Private Law, and the department of Education, as well as a an advisory board consisting of the most important actors on the national battery scene and leading academics in the field of sustainable batteries.
The bright and dark sides of batteries
Matylda N. Guzik is Senior Lecturer at the Department of Technology Systems and one of the participants in the EMPOWER convergence environment.
– We wanted to bring together people who are interested in the topic and can analyse the battery-related challenges from various scientific perspectives, trying to see both the bright and dark sides of the battery technology, she explains, and elaborates:
– When looking at the battery value chain, the concept is to merge the typical technical and economic analysis with perspectives provided by social scientists. In this way, for example, we will focus not only on how materials for batteries are extracted, processed and utilised, but also on ecological aspects and the costs paid by others in terms of human rights, labour rights and so on.
The EMPOWER convergence environment is also preoccupied with the future main users of batteries – i.e. today´s younger generations (“the Battery Generation”).
– In addition to mapping attitudes to batteries among 12-18 year olds, we would like to contribute to the future education of specialists on every level. That entails establishing a school for young researchers, PhDs and postdocs, bringing the together in order to merge perspectives. It is a very exploratory project, but we are really looking forward to it, Guzik says.
The importance of convergence environments
Both convergence environments have factored in time and resources for researchers from different fields getting to know each other.
– For there to be proper convergence, there needs to be a mutual understanding: that we mean the same thing with the words we use, that the language makes sense across disciplines. It will be important to build trust and to create an environment where there are no “silly questions”, says Bjørkli from the PriTEM-project.
His words resonate with Marianne Zeyringer in the EMPOWER-project:
– In our case, we will need a common understanding of what sustainability means and how it can be applied to different disciplines. We are going to use the principle of academic hospitality in this part of our work, guided by the Department of Education.