
Nordic Energy Challenge 2021 – How can sustainable transport enable the Nordic region to become carbon neutral?
"It's time to act", as last year's winner of the Nordic Energy Challenge, Simon Vilms Pedersen puts it in the video above. The Nordic countries have a unique and long-standing cooperation…
“It’s time to act”, as last year’s winner of the Nordic Energy Challenge, Simon Vilms Pedersen puts it in the video above.
The Nordic countries have a unique and long-standing cooperation on energy, which has created a solid foundation for the development of a sustainable and secure energy supply in the region. Now, it is time to take the next step in enhancing Nordic cooperation on sustainable transport.
Transport is the sector that requires the largest emissions reductions for the Nordic region to achieve carbon neutrality. It is also considered one of the most difficult sectors to decarbonize, due to, among other things, the need for alternative fuels, efficient integration of energy systems, new infrastructure and modal shifts in transport, as well as coherent policies to combine these elements. Simultaneously, an array of barriers must be overcome regarding legal and regulatory aspects, safety and social acceptance, as well as structural challenges related to finance, procurement and market development that affect large-scale deployment of sustainable solutions.
Nordic Energy Research aims to promote innovative research, new ideas and interesting perspectives on sustainable transport which, in turn, can bring added value to the Nordic region.
Submit your game-changing proposal for the Nordic cooperation needed to decarbonize the transport sector.
Your submission should:
- Describe how different barriers and/or opportunities within sustainable transport can be handled jointly by the Nordic countries.
- Describe the maximization of Nordic added value that the proposal will bring.
We encourage all stakeholders to submit a contribution; companies from the energy sector or other sectors, researchers and academics, non-profit organizations, business and trade associations, think-tanks, students and individuals.
Send your submissions, as well as any questions, to:
tender@nordicenergy.org
Project Timeline
How to participate:
The Nordic Energy Challenge is divided into three stages.
Stage 1. Submit an abstract by the 19th of April, at the latest. The abstract should consist of up to 5,000 characters and include a short description of:
- The barriers and/or opportunities you are addressing
- The assumptions that form the basis of your proposal
- The expected outcome of your analysis
- Your methodology
All submissions will be examined by the project team at Nordic Energy Research, who on the 26th of April will announce the submissions that have qualified to participate in the next stage.
Stage 2. The selected submissions shall be finalized and submitted by the 4th of August, at the latest. The final submission should consist of 8-10 pages text (indicative) or a 5-minute video with a 1-2 page complementary text.
On the 20th of August, a jury will announce the top-three submissions that qualified for the final round.
Stage 3. The top-three submissions will be awarded at Nordic Energy Research Forum 2021 on the 14th of September.
Jury and selection criteria:
- Proposals which have qualified to the second stage will be evaluated by a jury.
- The jury consists of highly qualified representatives from Nordic energy community and from Nordic Energy Research.
- The jury assesses the submitted proposals on their level of comprehensiveness, innovation and promotion of Nordic added value.
What is Nordic added value?
Nordic Energy Research aims to facilitate cooperative energy research and policy development, and funds research of joint Nordic interest that supports the ambition to reduce carbon emissions in the Nordic region. Participants in Nordic Energy Challenge should elaborate on how their submission would contribute to Nordic added value by enhancing Nordic strengths and addressing Nordic challenges, and how the results of their idea would impact the Nordic region.
Means to achieve Nordic added value could for example be by strengthening Nordic competitiveness and integration through building critical mass, cost-efficiency, sharing resources as well as facilitating Nordic mobility and networking, institutional collaboration and competence building in the Nordic region, etc.
What is innovation?
Nordic Energy Research wishes to promote the creation, development and implementation of new ideas aimed at improving the efficiency, effectiveness and/or competitive advantages in the Nordic region. Participants in Nordic Energy Challenge should present a submission that, if implemented, will lead to a positive effective change. The submission could also be resulting in a capturing of value in a new way.
What is comprehensiveness?
Nordic Energy Research is looking for submissions that display a high level of relevance and completeness throughout the proposal. The participant’s submission should be coherent and thoroughly worked through, thus demonstrating an overall comprehensiveness in their work.
Awards:
- The best contributions will be awarded with an honorarium of 60,000 NOK, the second best with 25,000 NOK and the third best with 15,000 NOK for their presentations at Nordic Energy Research Forum 2021.
- Selected authors are encouraged to publish a summary of their proposal on the Nordic Energy Research website,
- Authors will be interviewed on videos to be published on Nordic Energy Research website and social media channels.
The winner of Nordic Energy Challenge 2020:
Simon Vilms Pedersen won the Nordic Energy Challenge 2020 with his proposal On the Road to Nordic Decarbonization 2050.
“My proposal is about using the large amounts of data that the satellites collect daily, in the green transition. Satellites can monitor how weather events, such as precipitation and drought, affect primary energy sources and thus help improve energy forecasts. The data can give us an overview of renewable energy sources, but also function as a decision-making tool for the supply network. Thus, satellites can play an active role not only in the green transition, but also in the green bioeconomy,” explains Simon Vilms Pedersen.
Terms and conditions:
- By participating in the competition Nordic Energy Challenge, the submitter(s) agree to be bound by the stated terms and conditions. The submitter(s) accepts that Nordic Energy Research (NER) uses their name and submission for marketing purposes in connection with the competition. If NER, in its discretion, finds any submission to be unacceptable, then such submission will be deemed disqualified.
- NER also reserves the right to further develop ideas submitted in the competition, regardless of the continued involvement of the submitter(s). This right shall cover all submitted proposals, regardless of further qualification after submission of the first abstract, and also extends to the time after the end of the competition. However, in relation to NER, the submitter(s) retains the copyright to the written work submitted. Nonetheless, NER shall, at its discretion, be granted royalty-free, non-exclusive license and user rights to the top-three winning proposals. However, all members of the selection group at NER and of the jury are obligated to sign a Confidentiality Agreement before receiving any proposals.
- The award cannot be transferred or changed in terms of content or scope. NER will not be held responsible for any extra costs that emanate from the participation in the competition (unless otherwise stated). All tax liabilities (including income tax) arising from this competition will be the sole responsibility of the three award winners.