Insights

Woikoski is building a hydrogen refueling station in Finland

A critical factor for hydrogen fuel cell vehicles is the existence of a hydrogen distribution infrastructure. The Finnish company Woikoski Oy is building the first hydrogen refueling station in Finland at the Arctic Driving Center in Rovaniemi, Finland. A similar station will be used in the Demo2013 project in Vuosaari Harbour, demonstrating simultaneous operation of different fuel cell applications and long term field tests of noiseless and emission-free energy applications.

Spinverse has been selected by the European Commission to contribute to the REACH study on the development of new technologies

Together with Gaia Consulting and Attorneys at law Borenius, Spinverse in conducting a study on REACH contribution to development of emerging technologies. The project started in June 2011 and final results will be published in February 2012.

The right tools to boost R&D for technology-driven companies

European sources can provide very substantial support for company’s investment in R&D. For example, compared to TEKES, the percentages of allocated funding can be larger: 50% for demonstrations, 75% for research activities and 100% for the coordination of projects. On the other hand, the competition in all EU-funding is tougher, and the amount of bureaucracy higher.

Heat which would otherwise be lost can be saved by converting heat into electricity via Seebeck effect. Thermoelectricity has enjoyed a renewed interest. Novel research includes e.g. new materials and the structuring of matter at nanoscale. The most promising applications of thermoelectricity are found in energy saving and transport applications.

Finnish-Russian Innovation Alliance on Nanotechnology announce new members

Five leading universities and research institutes already have joined Finnish-Russian Innovation Alliance on Nanotechnology, adding cutting edge competence to the Alliance on both sides of the Finnish-Russian border.

1200 members of the nanotechnology community from over 50 countries gathered in Budapest, Hungary, for three days of presentations, networking and inspiration during EuroNanoForum 2011. The event was supported by the European Commission and Hungarian National Innovation Fund, and was organised by the National Innovation Office in partnership with Spinverse under the auspices of the Hungarian Presidency.

Estonian University of Life Sciences is looking for a timber product interface

Beneq has developed an online deposition method for transparent conductive oxide (TCO) coatings on large-area flat glass to achieve a cost-effective coating process for photovoltaics. The high conductivity of the TCO layer is critical for effective current collection and transparency to minimize light losses. Now the developed process based on Beneq’s proprietary nAERO® aerosol technique has been fully integrated with the high-quality heat treatment line for flat glass CHF Pro™ by their strategic partner Glaston. The result TFC2000™ is a novel continuous offline production concept for high-quality TCO coated glass for the solar industry and other potential applications such as low emissivity coatings for energy windows.

Savo-Solar’s SOLARCO development project done within the Tekes Functional Materials Programme has resulted in high-performance and high temperature resistant absorption coatings which are key enablers for novel solar-thermal collectors.