The Technical University of Denmark (DTU), the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU) and the research institute SINTEF have signed an agreement to work together on renewable energy, including a new joint research center on offshore wind.
Anders Overgaard Bjarklev, president of DTU, Rector Gunnar Bovim (NTNU) and CEO Alexandra Bech Gjørv (SINTEF) signed the agreement on 16 January.
The new center is called the Nordic Offshore Wind R&I Center – NOWRIC. Its goal is to work with the industry to develop better, cheaper solutions for offshore wind farms.
DTU, NTNU and SINTEF have some of Europe’s strongest maritime research groups and infrastructure.
“Offshore wind is an important, environmentally friendly energy source. There has been a fantastic development globally in recent years,” says SINTEF’s Bech Gjørv. “At the same time, the technology is constantly evolving and continued research and innovation is crucial for us to succeed with more affordable and better solutions. When we further reinforce the connection between DTU’s significant knowledge of wind energy with our Norwegian top mission systems and support for the marine industry, we will be able to contribute significantly to achieving this in cooperation with the industry.
DTU’s president said the two universities had worked with SINTEF for many years, which helped enable the new agreement.
“We are now establishing a powerful partnership that will be able to deliver research and innovation of the highest quality for the benefit of business and society,” he said.
NTNU’s rector, Gunnar Bovim, echoed this sentiment. “This will be a win-win collaboration for three strong research institutions that know each other well. NTNU has educated more than 50 PhDs in offshore wind over the last 10 years,” Bovim said. “Our collaboration with DTU and SINTEF means that we now get the best from Scandinavia within the subject, and we will be able to speed up the production of knowledge within new energy that the world needs.”