Institute for Energy TInstitute for Energy Technologyechnology (IFE) is an independent research foundation located in Norway at Kjeller and in Halden. IFE is in the forefront of several fields within international energy research, safety, environmental-, petroleum- and nuclear technology. IFE develops new technological solutions for the industry and public sector in more than 30 countries. 

Sun, wind and hydrogen will provide the world with renewable energy in the future. The energy is already there, but is not being utilized well enough. IFE is working to change that. These are some of the research areas IFE is focussing on:

Energy Systems Analysis

IFE is modelling energy systems including energy resources and production, conversion and transmission, demand for energy services, stationary sector and transportation, economic development and energy policy in regions of Norway, in Norway and the Nordic region.

Hydrogen systems

IFE’s Department of Energy Systems has since 1995 performed applied research on hydrogen and fuel cell systems. The focus of the research here has always been (and still is) on the development of new environmental friendly solutions based on renewable energy, primarily system based on solar PV and/or wind power.

Solar systems

Although there is a large and rapidly growing solar cell industry, with several Norwegian companies as key contributors, sustained innovation is required in order to make solar electricity more cost-competitive. The solar cell group at IFE works towards this goal, among others by developing new technology and educating skilled candidates with a competence that is relevant for the solar cell industry.

The solar cell group is mainly working with solar cells made from silicon. This is by far the industrially most important type of solar cells, making up 95% of the global solar cell production. Silicon-based solar cells will, in all likeliness, remain very important in the foreseeable future.

Wind Energy

IFE has been doing wind energy research for more than 30 years. In the recent years we have focused on offshore wind turbines and are one of the founders of the large Norwegian offshore wind energy research project NOWITECH. Reducing the costs of energy is vital for offshore wind and lies at the core of IFE’s wind energy research.