Battery and battery storage technologies will play an increasingly important role in the energy transition. On August 31, NBCC organized a workshop for Brazilian journalists on this important topic.
The battery industry and value chain are subject to great interest from investors, and sectors such as automotive and shipbuilding industry are accelerating their actions towards a sustainable and emission-free future. A rapid rise in battery innovation is playing a key role in clean energy transitions.
On August 31, a handful of Norwegian experts on the topic were invited to speak to Brazilian journalists in the workshop, which was an initiative by NBCC´s communications committee. NBCC president Fernando de Lapuerta, country manager of Statkraft, opened the event.
The idea was to show how Norway is at the forefront in relation to the automotive, recycling and maritime sectors and how great opportunities for partnership and business with Brazil can arise.
The speakers shared several interesting insights on the topic:
Bruno Leinio and Nora Rosenberg Grobaek, Project manager and Head of Investment of Innovation Norway, presented the latest updates from the Norwegian battery scene, and said that Norway has a near complete ecosystem with several competitive advantages in the battery life cycle. Nora Rosenberg Grobaek describes Norway as nothing less than a battery and EV nation.
Geir Mollestad, CEO of ZEM Energy, is actually one of the EV pioneers in Norway. Today, his company Zero Emission Maritime Solutions offers battery systems to a range of vessels. Mollestad also talked about the potential for electrification of ferries and river transport in Brazil.
Jonas Mattos, Business Development Manager of DNV in South America, stated that Brazil has a huge energy potential and said that increased use of batteries is a part of this. The use of battery propulsion and hybrid solutions in supply vessels offshore is already taking place.
“Batteries and hybrid systems represent a new way of providing power and propulsion”, Mr. Mattos said.
Snorre Laegran, the director of transport planning, presented Ruter´s path to zero emissions by 2028. Ruter, the public transportation company of the Norwegian capital, started this journey in 2017, and is now the company in the world with the biggest EV fleet.
Kari Ertresvag, Head of Communication of Hydro Batteries, talked about the importance of recycling options for batteries. Hydro and Northvolt are now building Europe’s largest electric car battery recycling plant.
“The world needs clean batteries and we need a plan for what to do with them end-of life. We need to recover the materials and use them in new batteries or other products – and not produce waste”, she said.
The workshop resulted in several articles in Brazilian media.
Did you miss this event? You can see the recording from workshop here.
: