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Centre for Climate and Energy Transformation (CET)
FME application

CET has applied for status as a Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME)

Together with 26 key partners, CET has applied for 100 million kroners from the Norwegian Research council to establish a centre for sustainable transport in coastal cities - Centre for Coastal Area Sustainable Transport (COAST).

illustration with ships and cranes and trucks
Photo:
Colourbox

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The main objective of COAST is to contribute to solving challenges and exploit opportunities for sustainable transport in coastal areas.

The transport sector attributes to 23% of energy-related CO2 emissions globally and is also a source of other environmental problems. At the same time it is a sector undergoing massive changes in innovation and policy.

The application explains that the idea behind COAST is that Norway can be a living lab for transition to sustainable transport:

We will identify opportunities for advancing sustainable transport and for scaling solutions beyond Norway’s borders – creating opportunities for industry.

Director for CET, Professor Håvard Haarstad says that it has been an exciting application process:

-This application has been fun to work with as the key partners have been very positive and interested in joining the project. The theme is very relevant for the changes happened around us now.

Closer ties to the business and public sectors.

- FME is a very relevant scheme for how our research centre work with projects, [CET] works closely with key partners and on specific change processes. This gives us the opportunity to contribute with our research, says Haarstad.

There are 19 key partners from the private and public sectors joining the application. National and regional levels are representated.

From the public sector: Norwegian Environmental Agency, ENOVA, Hordaland, Rogaland, Aust – and Vest-Agder county councils, Bergen, Stavanger and Kristiansand Municipalities.

From the private sector: BKK, Nordic Edge, Applied Autonomy, Bergen Chamber of Commerce, Energy Norway, NCE Martime CleanTech, Port of Bergen and Norwegian Climate Foundation.

There are also five leading reachers environments joining the application that will contribute with analysis of important challenges: UiB, IIASA, NORCE, NHH, and TØI.

Exciting times in the transport sector

Just before the New Year some exciting news from one of our key partners broke.

Port of Bergen received 50 million kroners in funding from ENOVA to establish land electricity for cruise ships porting in Bergen. Bergen is Norway’s largest cruise port with 342 cruise ships porting in 2018. Land electricity will contribute to a huge cut in CO2 emissions.

Application process

The application process has had several rounds, and now there are seven proposals left.

- We have received several exciting proposals and all of the central environments in this field are represented. In the call we had emphais on a inter disciplinary focus and we see that the proposals have exactly that, says Tone Ibenholt the coordinator for FME applications on the Research Councils websites.

The final applications closed on October 10. The last stage of this application process is an interview in the end of January.

CET will find out if they are successful in May.