Business opportunities in waste heat utilization in Norway : a new business research for the cloud data center pilot project at the Norwegian center for energy transition studies (NTRANS)

Abstract

This master thesis is a contribution to Statkraft's data center pilot project supported by User Case 2 of the Norwegian Center for Energy Transition Studies (NTRANS). NTRANS is researching the role of the energy system in the transition to a zero-emission society. NTRANS researches the development of environmentally friendly energy from a social science perspective, and in the interaction between technology and society. The research in NTRANS is building a knowledge base for the road to and the consequences of energy and climate change in Norway. NTRANS is working to understand how restructuring can give the business community opportunities for innovation and value creation. NTRANS includes various User Cases to address current issues in close dialogue with user partners (experts and stakeholders). User Case 2 (UC2) is about green power and industry and it is chaired by SINTEF, which is one of Europe’s largest independent research organizations. UC2 deals with the potential of new renewable power production (focus on offshore wind power) and the attraction of new power-intensive industries, and possible interaction between them in Norway. There are two pilot projects in UC2. Statkraft is leading one of them. Statkraft is Europe’s largest producer of renewable energy and is proactive in the electrification of the economy. This master thesis was developed to provide a business model innovation perspective to the pilot data center project by Statkraft. The objective of this research is to feed the funnel of new business opportunities to create more value out of the utilization of waste heat from cloud data centers in Norway.