Researchers at Chalmers University of Technology in Gothenburg, Sweden have succeeded in getting the MOST-system (Molecular Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems) to produce electricity by connecting it to a thermoelectric generator. The generator is an ultra-thin chip that could be integrated into electronics. Though still in its early stages, the developed concept could potentially pave the way for self-charging electronics that use stored solar energy on demand. So far, the researchers have been able to store solar energy in Sweden and release it in Shanghai, without causing any CO2 emissions.
“This is a radically new way of generating electricity from solar energy. It means that we can use solar energy to produce electricity regardless of weather, time of day, season, or geographical location”, said Kasper Moth-Poulsen, Professor at the Department of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering at Chalmers.
Gary Cass, CEO of RISE Processum has announced his decision to move his entire business from Australia to the High Coast Innovation Park in Örnsköldsvik. The new company will be named Cass Materials AB. “After searching around the world for specialists in the cellulose world, I understood that Sweden, and specifically Örnsköldsvik, had the resources and experts that I knew I wanted to work with to take my innovation to the next level. I believe that Örnsköldsvik will become a global innovation hub in the bio-based area, and I want to be a part of that”, said Gary Cass.
Recently unpublished figures from the SOM Institute at the University of Gothenburg show that for the first time in the 2000s, a majority of Swedes are negative (40%) rather than positive (33%) about having wind turbines within a geographical proximity to one’s housing. Apparently, the attitude towards wind power varies in different parts of the country, as people in rural areas are generally more negative towards wind power than people in bigger cities. “You want it, but not where you live”, said Erik Jönsson, assistant researcher at the Department of Political Science at University of Gothenburg.
The Nordic countries are some of the most dynamic and successful economies in the world. They are also leaders in sustainability, from renewable energy, biofuels, carbon capture and storage and the hydrogen economy, circular economy business models and battery development, the Nordics are pioneers in policy design, technology development and consumer uptake. Mundus Nordic Green News is covering this transition for the international community. Every day we curate the stories of most relevance to international businesspeople and policy experts from the flow of news. Mundus Nordic Green Indices summarise the meta-data from our daily coverage to enable easy tracking of trends. We supplement these with our own opinion pieces and commentary.