About the project
TIK is one of several contributors to The Research Centre for Sustainable Solar Cell Technology (SUSOLTECH), which is a Centre for Environment-friendly Energy Research (FME) financed by the Norwegian Research Council.
SUSOLTECH joins the leading Norwegian research groups with a strong cluster of companies from Norway and abroad. The overall goal of the Centre is to contribute to growth and job creation in the domestic solar cell industry. TIK’s main contribution is to analyse innovation, diffusion and use of solar energy. We use these analyses to develop Strategies for strengthening the Norwegian Solar Cell Industry.
The anticipated future growth of the solar industry will lead to huge commercial opportunities. Norwegian companies, many of which specialize in production of Silicon materials for a global industry, are well placed to take place in this growth. A domestic industry for installation and operation of solar power plants is also expected to grow in the coming years because of cost reductions and stricter environmental regulations in particular for buildings. The Centre research targets innovation along the full supply chain.
TIK's contribution
In order to develop Strategies for strengthening the Norwegian Solar Cell Industry we perform a technological innovation systems analysis. This enables the identification of strengths and weaknesses of the solar energy innovation system. The analysis will identify what parts of the environment that can be improved, e.g. which parts can be a target for interventions by individual firms and what changes need collective efforts by multiple organizations.
Our main objectives are:
1. Analysing and developing strategies for how Norway can strengthen its position in the global solar cell industry via innovation and increases in competitiveness.
2. Establishing an in-depth understanding of the innovation system and identify areas for policy support.