ETN hosts delegation from Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Malaysia

On January 22nd, Energy Transition Norway (ETN) had the honor of hosting a delegation from Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP), Malaysia’s top-ranked university known for its focus on engineering, technology, and sustainable energy solutions.

The delegation, led by prominent academics and leaders from UTP, visited Norway to study the socio-economic impacts of oil and gas activities and explore opportunities for technology transfer from oil and gas to renewable energy.

The delegation included the director of the Institute of Smart & Sustainable Living at the faculty of Research, Innovation & Commercialisation, Dr. Shahrina Nordin; Senior Lecturer in Structural Engineering and Offshore Structures at the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering; Senior Lecturer in Management & Humanities at the Faculty of Science and Information Technology, Dr. Nasir Jalil; Senior Lecturer at the department of Management & Humanities, Dr. Rohani Salleh. 

The delegates from wanted to connect with organizations driving technology transfer from oil and gas forward in Norway, like NORCE and Energy Transition Norway.

Egil Aanestad, Managing Director of ETN, provided an overview of the cluster’s mission, activities, and innovative projects. The delegation showed particular interest in one of the clusters innovation projects; the Flex2Power project, leading to discussions about conducting a feasibility study in Malaysia, as the project’s potential for electrifying offshore oil and gas platforms resonated with the UTP representatives.

Analysis Engineer Izwan Ahmad from IKM Ocean Design shared insights on IKM’s energy transition efforts in Malaysia. His presentation led to productive conversations on technology co-development, with a specific focus on repurposing and recycling wind turbines to address sustainability challenges.

CTO Terje Hauan from Seid introduced the potential of ColdSpark Technology, a promising innovation that caught the attention of the delegates. The presentation and the technology’s potential impact was so compelling that he received an immediate invitation to present a webinar for UTP.

The meeting was indeed a fruitful one. It concluded with an expressed intention to formalize a partnership between ETN and UTP through a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). This agreement would pave the way for deeper collaboration on sustainable energy solutions, leveraging Norway’s leadership in the energy transition and UTP’s expertise in research and innovation.

Special thanks to Senior Researcher at NORCE, Atle Blomgren, for initiating this collaboration and introducing the UTP delegation to ETN.