Great need for new "environmental" products

Anne Berit Bjørken

There is a significant need for new technology and new products in the areas of waste treatment, water and drainage, operations and environmental monitoring, indoor climate and agricultural technology, according to a survey recently completed by NTH and SINTEF.

The new waste sorting facility at Trondheim Sanitation Department. Stein Erik Sørstrøm(left), Åge Heie and manager Odd Skår.

"We looked in particular at needs and prospects for developing and manufacturing environmental technology products in Mid Norway", says programme manager Stein Erik Sørstrøm.

"The background for this survey is that a great deal of imported waste treatment equipment could just as well be manufactured here in Norway. We have also revealed a need for new products, and we will now start to look at the prospects for further developing and possibly manufacturing some of these", says Adjunct Professor Åge Heie of SINTEF and Det Norske Veritas.

In brief, the results of the survey are as follows:

Waste treatment: there is a need for 14 new products, of which three will have to be developed via collaborative efforts involving researchers, users and industry. National and international markets exist.

Water and drainage: several new products are needed, particularly sensors for automation. Many of these will require an R & D phase. Large international market.

Indoor climate: need for a wide range of new products. Some of these would be handbooks and guidelines, while others would be purely technological products with an international market. Economic analyses suggest the existence of a domestic market worth several billion kroner (NOK) a year.

Operations and environmental monitoring: A new and still immature market which is under development. Neither users nor consultants are fully up to date as regards technological potential. A wide range of products required - particularly in sensor technology.

Agricultural technology: not dominated by advanced technology at present. The potential for improvement is great in a number of fields, particularly waste treatment (manure, plastics, chemicals, insecticides, etc.)

Airport systems: Swedish partners have demonstrated that international R & D efforts in airport technology are poorly coordinated. Great potential.

The OECD estimates that the global market for environmental goods and services was worth around $200 billion in 1990, and will increase by 50% by the end of the century.

"We believe that a continuation of systematic efforts in this area can increase Norway´s share of this market. We also believe that technology can make a positive contribution to sustainable development", says Sørstrøm.