Aktivt förarstöd för säker passage vid känslig infrastruktur

Projektrapporten är framtagen med ekonomiskt bidrag från Trafikverkets FoI-portfölj.</p

On the Performance of Damper-Optimised Demand-Controlled Ventilation Systems During a Fire

Modern heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems are complex, interconnected systems optimised to be energy efficient. Damper-optimised demand-controlled ventilation systems (DCV) minimise energy consumption by using a dedicated control unit that calculates the optimal fan speed based on room sensors and the feedback from all DCV dampers, which each measures the airflow rate and adjusts its damper angle accordingly. In buildings that do not use a compartmentation strategy in the event of a fire, it is crucial that the ventilation system is pressurised and provides balanced ventilation in order to prevent smoke from spreading via the ventilation system and to avoid creating pressure imbalances, which may impair evacuation. In the present study, two full-scale fire tests from a series of 14 tests in a mock-up building equipped with a damper-optimised DCV system are presented, and the ventilation system’s performance during the fire is assessed. The tests revealed various failure mechanisms caused by heat exposure, leading to individual damper uncontrolled opening or closing or the building management system losing contact with all dampers. Furthermore, it was shown that the failure of individual dampers and the gradual clogging of the extraction filter can affect the pressure balance in other parts of the building outside the fire room and increase the risk of smoke spreading through the ventilation ducts.This research has been financed by the project "BRAVENT - Efficient smoke ventilation of small fires" funded by the Research Council of Norway, grant no. 321099 and its project partners.</p

Synergies of green hydrogen and biobased value chains deployment : Report WP2: Case studies on hydrogen produced from biomass

Over the duration of the IEA Bioenergy triennium 2022 to 2024, a consortium of IEA Bioenergy Tasks – 32, 33, 34, 36, 37, 39, 40, 42, 44 and 45 – collaborated on an inter-task project called Synergies of green hydrogen and biobased value chains deployment. Hydrogen is a very crosscutting topic and the strategic inter-task project is a collaborative effort of the IEA Bioenergy TCP Tasks and also in collaboration with the Hydrogen TCP. The objective of the project was to identify and assess technologies for producing hydrogen from biomass as well as synergies in the deployment of green hydrogen and biobased value chains that can enhance the use of biobased value chains in the energy system. The descriptions of technologies and concepts - including 1) technology readiness and economic fundamentals and 2) climate effects and role in the energy system - are done through case studies. This serves to increase visibility and share state-of-the-art knowledge of promising applications. The report on hand looks into types of technologies for producing biohydrogen and their respective technology readiness level. It summarizes the findings of the work package 2 “Case studies on hydrogen from biomass” and provides a synthesized view on promising biomass technologies, major drivers and barriers for their deployment, and measures to overcome potential barriers. The considered case studies and their respective findings show that, there are various activities and projects in different parts of the world that look into the production of biomass-based hydrogen. The project developers mainly come from the fuel industry. Early stage concepts and their development is driven by research. All the presented production concepts are still under development and none of them has reached commercialization. The presented concepts are in the TRL level range of 4-7 and many of them show the “weakest link” in complete integrated operation for hydrogen production. For consistently evaluating the status of development a methodological framework has been developed addressing the TRL of key process components: feedstock handling, conversion processes, upgrading, and integrated operation. Each component is given a weight based on its relative importance in the overall technology resulting in an overall weighted average of technology development.  With regards to the techno-economic performance of the different biohydrogen pathways first results show that biohydrogen production prices are competitive with production prices for power-based hydrogen. From a system perspective several of the biomass-based hydrogen production concepts also generate additional value-added commodities such as biochar, biocarbon, biomethane etc. This adds flexibility, resilience and likely also improved economic performance. Many of the concepts also generate a stream of CO2, what opens for opportunities to obtain negative CO2-emissions. Hence, biohydrogen can add to the portfolio of renewable hydrogen provision while at the same time allowing for additional energy and climate system services as carbon capture and storage. This makes it a relevant concept for further consideration within scenarios for reaching climate-neutrality

Regulatorisk försöksverksamhet : Förstudie om regulatoriska sandlådor som verktyg för klimatomställning i Helsingborgs stad

Syftet med förstudien är att skapa ett kunskapsunderlag för hur försöksverksamhet – med särskilt fokus på regulatoriska lösningar – kan användas som verktyg för att främja innovation och klimatomställning i stadsutvecklingen. Genom att kartlägga möjliga former av försöksverksamhet, analysera juridiska och organisatoriska förutsättningar samt identifiera relevanta aktörer och geografiska fokusområden, vill studien stödja Helsingborgs arbete med att utveckla strukturer för test, lärande och samverkan. Målet är att ge rekommendationer för hur Helsingborg kan arbeta strategiskt med försöksverksamhet, inklusive förslag på konkreta testfall och nästa steg i utvecklingen av en modell för regulatorisk sandlåda eller motsvarande samverkansforme

Shared mobility in South Africa: misalignments between research and practical realities

Alongside a growing recognition of sharing as an approach to address the negative externalities of socio-economic systems, shared mobility has emerged as a hot topic in transport research. Scopus identifies 1,599 publications that use the term in the title, abstract, or keywords, all but eight of which were published within the last decade. However, several limitations misalign this scholarly conversation with the practical realities of many transport systems; a misalignment that is especially pronounced in transport systems across the Global South. The geographical focus is imbalanced: based on the affiliations of corresponding authors, 94% of publications originate from Europe, North America, or Asia, while less than 1% are authored by scholars in Africa. Most studies, moreover, adopt a technology-centred conceptualisation of shared mobility, focusing on modes like ride-hailing and app-based car sharing, while overlooking the long history of shared travel, as well as the significant roles of public transport and informal modes, such as paratransit and hitchhiking.Based on data from the 2020 South African Household Travel Survey, this paper highlights the effects of a technology-centred conceptualisation of shared mobility across three types of geographical areas in South Africa. It finds that such a perspective only captures 1.2% of current shared mobility trips in metropolitan areas, 0.04% in other urban areas, and 0.01% in rural areas. The paper ends with a brief discussion on the implications of the technology-centred conceptualisation for planning and visioning, as well as on the research needed to align the scholarly conversation with transport transition agendas in the Global South

Improvements to the Nutri-Score to address challenges identified in a Nordic setting

Background: Front-of-pack nutrition labelling is an important policy tool for public health. The NutriScore classifies foods according to nutritional quality from A (high quality) to E (low quality). We have previously identified inconsistencies between Nutri-Score and the Norwegian food-based dietary guidelines. The objective was to propose revisions to the Nutri-Score 2023 algorithms and determine if the revised algorithms better align with the Nordic Nutrition Recommendations 2023 (NNR2023) and the Keyhole label. Methods: Items in the Norwegian pre-packed foods databases Tradesolution (n = 26,033) and Unil (n = 577) were classified using the Nutri-Score 2023 algorithms. To address carbohydrate quality, a penalty for low-fibre content was introduced, and the sugar scale compressed. The protein cap was removed for fish products to reward their nutritional quality. To improve the scoring of high-fat foods, the scale for saturated fat was extended, fat content determined the inclusion in the algorithm for fats, rather than food categories, and favourable fat quality in oils was rewarded through a fat quality component. Data from the databases guided the identification of specific thresholds. The distribution of Nutri-Score was calculated before and after applying the revisions. Results: In total, 5.5% of all products received a less favourable Nutri-Score with the revised carbohydrate quality components. Most refined pastas and flour shifted shifted from A to B or C, whilst whole grain pasta largely remained A. Sugar-rich breakfast cereals shifted from B to C or D. For fish, 11% (1% of all products) were moved from D or E to C or D. The variation in scores for cheese and creams increased. Around 5% of all products were affected by the revisions related to fat quality. Conclusions: The proposed revisions make the Nutri-Score more coherent with the NNR2023 and the Keyhole label. The proposed revisions also hold relevance for other European countries and should therefore be considered in the next revision of the Nutri-Score. This work is a part of the NewTools project. ‘The NewTools project – Developing tools for food system transformation, including food summary scores for nutrition and sustainability’ is funded by the Research Council of Norway (Project No. 326888)</p

HANDBOK För transporteffektiva stadsdelar i små och medelstora kommuner

Hur områden planeras, utformas och vilka mobilitetslösningar som erbjuds har stor påverkan på behovet av att äga och använda bil, vilket i sin tur påverkar hur stora ytor som går åt till parkering och annan infrastruktur liksom hur mycket fossila bränslen och annan energi som går åt till att flytta människor och varor. Genom sänkta parkeringstal kombinerat med tillgängliggörande av mobilitetsåtgärder kan behovet av resande med privatägd bil minska och på så sätt bidra till ökad transporteffektivitet. För att vara bärkraftiga och få effekt måste lösningarna vara stadsdelsövergripande och samarbetsmodellerna långsiktiga. De behöver också kunna tillämpas i befintliga områden. Baserat på fallstudier i fyra mellanstora svenska kommuner identfieras metoder och processer för hur kommuner tillsammans med fastighetsägare och mobilitetsleverantörer kan skapa transporteffektiva stadsdelar. Handboken baseras på kunskapsutvecklingen som gjorts tillsammans med de medverkande städerna. Genom dialog och workshops har kunskap syntetiserats och konkretiserats i en handbok som kan vara till nytta för andra kommuner som genomgår motsvarande processer. Syftet med handboken är att stötta kommuner och fastighetsutvecklare i deras arbete med att planera transporteffektiva stadsdelar, då detta är ett område som ännu inte har stöd i arbetsprocesser och lagstiftning. Handboken upplägg är samordnat med plan- och bygglagens skeden för att stötta hur etablerade arbetssätt kan utvecklas. Målgruppen är tjänstepersoner och politiker men även fastighetsägare, fastighetsutvecklare och mobilitetstjänsteleverantörer som vill förstå vilka förutsättningar som planeringsprocessen skapar. Projektet har finansierats av Energimyndigheten, det har resulterat i denna handbok samt en huvudrapport som beskriver projektet som helhet inklusive kommunernas respektive delprojekt.Projekttitel: STARK Processer och samarbetsmodeller för transporteffektiva stadsdelar –handledning förankrad i fallstudier i fyra mellanstora kommuner. Utlysning: Energimyndighetens utlysning: Bidra till en snabbare omställning till ett transporteffektivt samhälle. Projektperiod 2022-10-31 - 2024-12-31</p

BETCRETE 3.0 - Betong med certifierad flygaska till dricksvattenanläggningar

BETCRETE 3.0 – Concrete with certified fly ash for drinking water plant construction BETCRETE has been conducted as a national collaborative project addressing the challenges and necessary actions to achieve the goals set out in the roadmaps for the Swedish cement and concrete industries. The project consortium consisted of organizations impacted by and contributing to these roadmaps, representing key actors across the entire value chain. Over time, BETCRETE has established itself as an independent and recognized platform for cross-disciplinary dialogue and for driving both regulatory and technical development of innovative solutions. It serves as a value-creating knowledge and information channel for cement and concrete-related issues. The overall objective has been to reduce CO₂ emissions from concrete by mobilizing the entire value chain around climate efforts. This includes addressing joint collaboration challenges, legislative and financial barriers, and implementing short- and long-term technical solutions using new materials and technologies. A crucial condition has been the coordination of roadmap efforts between the cement and concrete sectors, as well as the removal of obstacles to their implementation. The project also aimed to contribute to the development of cross-industry KPIs and strengthen the sector’s ability to measure, track, and communicate its sustainable transition. As part of the BETCRETE project, the potential use of climate-improved concrete with fly ash was evaluated for drinking water infrastructure. Laboratory and field tests were conducted at two Swedish water treatment facilities to assess whether partial replacement of Portland clinker with CE-marked fly ash affects drinking water quality. Initial measurements showed slightly elevated levels of certain elements, but all remained within regulatory limits. Concentrations decreased over time and with increased water turnover, indicating a self-stabilizing effect. The results support the safe and continued use of fly ash-based concrete in contact with drinking water, enabling more sustainable construction practices.BETCRETE har drivits som ett nationellt samverkansinitiativ för att möta de utmaningar och behov som identifierats i färdplanerna för cement- och betongbranscherna. Projektet, som delvis finansierades av VINNOVA, startade 2019 inom ramen för programmet Utmaningsdriven innovation (UDI) och genomfördes i tre etapper. Den avslutande fasen, BETCRETE 3.0, slutfördes den 31 januari 2025.Projektkonsortiet bestod av över 40 aktörer från hela värdekedjan – från materialleverantörer till beställare och forskningsinstitut – vilket möjliggjorde en bred och tvärdisciplinär ansats. BETCRETE har därmed etablerats som en oberoende plattform för dialog och kunskapsutbyte kring såväl tekniska som regulatoriska frågor relaterade till innovativa cement- och betonglösningar. Plattformen fungerar också som en viktig kanal för spridning av information och erfarenheter inom området.</p