Laboratories for sustainable energy systems

The Faculty of Science and Technology at UiS has several laboratories within the field of sustainable energy systems. Here is an overview of relevant equipment and facilities.

Published 30. Mar. 2022. Updated on 01. Mar. 2024

These study programs use the laboratories in teaching:

Maskiningeniør – bachelor (in Norwegian)
Batteri- og energiteknologi – bachelor (in Norwegian)
Energi- og petroleumsteknologi – bachelor (in Norwegian)
Master of Science in Petroleum Engineering

Get to know our laboratories within sustainable energy systems

NanoCatalysis Lab

The NanoCatalysis lab is well equipped with facilities for catalyst preparation, characterization and activity test. It is aimed for research in technologies for oil and gas conversion, petrochemistry, H2 production, CO2 conversion, as well as other energy and environmental related processes.

På laboratoriet kan man preparere heterogene katalysatorer ved hjelp av ulike metoder for ulike prosesser, og utføre aktivitetstester i ulike skalaer. Fasilitetene benyttes både til forskning og undervisning.

Instruments

N2 physisorption (Micromeritics Tristar II)
Chemisorption (Micromeritics ASAP 2020 Plus)
Temperature programmed reduction/desorption/reaction (Micromeritics Autochem II)
TGA-GC-MS (Netzsch STA449 Jupiter F3)
Metrohm Autolab PGSTAT302N workstation for electrochemistry
Catalysts preparation facilities
4564 Parr Mini bench top autoclave reactor
Three fixed-bed reactor setups with different GCs for dry reforming
CO2 methanation,
CO2 conversion to methanol, which can be modified for other catalytic processes

Analyses og methods

Specific surface area and pore volume
Metal particle size and dispersion
Catalysts reducibility

Contact person: Zhixin Yu

Battery technology

The battery technology laboratory is under construction and will be equipped for battery research. It will be used in teaching contexts, including by students on the Battery and Energy Technology Programme.

Button batteries can be assembled in the glove box with a variety of electrodes, electrolytes, separators and anodes, and the completed battery will be tested for various properties.

Instruments

Planetary mixer (Thinky ARE250)
Glove box (VTI Universal)
Coater (TMAX-TMH300)
Calendar (TMAX-JS100L)
Battery tester (Neware Tech. CT-4008t)
Electrode resistivity (HIOKI RM2610)
Potentiostat (El-cell PAT-tester-x-8)
Electrode adhesion (Zwick Roell ZwickiLine 2.5 kN)

Analyses and methods

Electrode thickness, resistivity and adhesion
Cyclic voltammetry
Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy
Galvanostatic charging and discharging

Contact person: Dagfinn Søndenaa Sleveland

Hydrogen

Hydrogen is an efficient, eco-friendly energy carrier and will be an important contributor to sustainable energy development. The laboratory is used to conduct research into the production of both blue (fossil sources) and green (renewable sources) hydrogen, and with the help of a micro gas turbine users can look at, for example, the use of hydrogen for heat and electricity production.

Illustrasjonsbilde: clean energy. Foto: Shutterstock

The focus areas include refining combustion technology, as well as system modelling and analysing combustion processes. Hydrogen reformer HyGear 50 will be installed at Risavika, and is planned to produce hydrogen for the micro gas turbine test. Also an electrolyser from H2 Core will be operated at Risavika, with green hydrogen capacity of one cubic meter per day, that will be stored in bottles and preliminary be used to fuel PEM fuel cell.The laboratory’s activities include various research projects, in collaboration with external stakeholders such as DLR and Equinor.

Instruments

• CHP micro gas turbine, equipped with LFOX burner enabling full fuel flexibility. The engine is heavily equipped with sensors that provide a good data base for component and system analysis. An exhaust analyzer has been installed and used for emission monitoring, as well as a gas mixing station to enable gas mixtures according to user specifications.

• Steam reformers that produce pure hydrogen (99.99%), CO2 flow and synthesis gas flow. The reformer is being upgraded and will be operational later this year.

• Electrolyzer for green hydrogen production (under purchase)

Analyses and methods

The test rig allows for detailed component and system analysis. One can perform combustion tests for flexible fuel setups. System performance tests and emission tests can also be performed. Data collection provides researchers with a wealth of high-resolution operational data.
Using the operational data from the units, dynamic behaviour and response time of the equipment to changes in load level will be investigated and used for model validation.

Contact person: Mohsen Assadi

Heat pumps

A heat pump can be a good, eco-friendly alternative to heating using electricity and fossil energy sources. Research into heat pumps is, therefore, important for the green transition. Carbon dioxide is an eco-friendly alternative to conventional working media in heat pumps and the laboratory is, therefore, looking at heat pumps that use supercritical carbon dioxide as a medium.

The heat pump is equipped for research and provides detailed operating data that enables system modelling, validation and performance analyses. The unit will be connected to geothermal wells as a heat source and heat sink (passive heat exchanger) in the near future.

Instruments