New Lab

 

However, even when the work developed is significant and of high level, the attention that it is attracting does not align with this. After looking at ourselves and at other institutions, we have identified that a big part of the problem that we are facing is a lack of national and international visibility. To achieve this visibility, we believe that as a first step a proper branding of our work will largely benefit the situation.

After some discussions, the idea that seems to be more appropriate for these circumstances is to cluster all the labs that are now working on safety and green energy in campus Haugesund under the same name, and proceed with the marketing of this name. This is how the SPARK lab has come to the table.

As a first step, we would like to have a webpage under the HVL main page were news and advances can be frequently posted. We expect both people that previously know our work and people that do not know us to visit the website and find our work and links with them easily there. We would like to have a dynamic website where we can publish every other

week our novelties so possible collaborators are interested on our work.

Brief on the SPARK (Safety, Protection, Advanced Research and Knowledge) lab

Nowadays, there is an increasing focus on the need of developing and designing new materials, processes and technologies for a cleaner future. Norway has signed and ratified the main international agreements (e.g., Paris agreement 2016, Glasgow Climate Pact 2021) and has committed to the UN Sustainable Development Goals. Terms as zero-emissions, or biofuels have become usual in everyday conversations, showing the social interest on the topic. As Norway advances toward a cleaner future, new materials and technologies are being developed at unprecedented speed. However, the pressure to commercialize innovations quickly can lead to reduced attention to safety. Without thorough testing, new systems may pose risks to people, facilities, and investments, and even undermine public trust in the green transition. A dedicated safety laboratory, the SPARK (Safety, Protection, Advanced Research and Knowledge) lab, is therefore essential to ensure that sustainable technologies are not only effective, but also safe, reliable, and aligned with Norway’s long-term environmental goals.

An example of this situation are lithium-ion batteries. These batteries have a high potential for providing efficient energy storage, making them essential in sustainable solutions. Through large investments, they were implemented worldwide in an enormous number of devices, becoming the leading battery technology. However, when fully implemented to the market, it was observed that even under normal operating conditions, many batteries suffered heating processes causing thermal runaway and fire. These incidents are causing large losses worldwide that could have been avoided by a complete understanding of the involved risks. In the UK, fires linked to lithium-ion batteries rose 93 % between 2022 and 2024.

An aftermath of this issue has been the fires in e-bikes and e-scooters. Reports from the Norwegian Directorate for Civil Protection (DSB, 2022–2024) and the Norwegian Fire and Rescue Services indicate a steady increase in incidents involving e-bikes and e-scooters, particularly during charging or indoor storage. Typical events develop rapidly—within minutes of failure, flames and ejected burning cells can render escape routes unusable, especially in apartment buildings were charging often occurs in shared spaces.

This example shows the fact that, in a broader context, green energy is often viewed as “clean, and safe”, but as any industrial process it may pose a risk to the general population and the environment. Recognising and addressing these risks is crucial. Strong safety standards are essential to build trust, confidence, and investment in green technology. If the energy transition fails to get safety right from the outset, incidents could erode public trust, delay approvals, and deter investors. But when safety is built in from the start, it accelerates progress, builds confidence, and strengthens the foundation for a cleaner, safer energy future.

The importance of this lies in the fact that Norway, as the rest of the European Union, is subjected to comply with the European Green Deal. This Deal, approved in 2020, is a set of policy initiatives by the European commission with the overarching aim of making the EU climate neutral in 2050. Building on the pillars of the European Green Deal, and prioritising to avoid any of the previous unsafe situations from repeating or a worse one from occurring, a thorough understanding of the risks involved in the establishment of the new green technologies, processes, and materials is required.

The SPARK (Safety, Protection, Advanced Research and Knowledge) lab will be an essential tool in this process, developing, helping, and supporting the implementation of these ideas into the real world with a complete assessment and management of potential risks. The SPARK lab will be an intermediate actor which will research and gather the new knowledge and outcomes that come from all these new possibilities and will make it available to encourage and promote a safer green future. This will be beneficial for our own students in engineering. Furthermore, national industry will be able to conduct product development in the SPARK lab– and national and international researchers will be able to carry out experiments that cannot be matched in many other places. This facility will fill the existing gap between research and safe implementation by gathering the essential knowledge on the associated risks of the new technologies.

Our labs have been working on studying the safety of materials and technologies for several years already, and we have demonstrated national and international leadership that have put our lab at the forefront of the knowledge. A formal connection between our work will simplify the work processes and put a common goal for all the involved facilities and researchers.

People involved in the SPARK lab