Circular Energy
Circular Energy for a Sustainable Circular Economy is a thematic research group (2021 - 2023) funded by UiO:Energy. It aims to contribute to new knowledge about social and legal aspects of sustainable energy solutions in relation to the expanding role of digital products and services in our economy. The research group will explore digitalisation in the context of the shift to Circular Economy (CE), with a particular focus on design, maintenance, and repair as energy conservation strategies and the regulation of products for sustainability.
Projects
The study into the maintenance and repair as energy conservation strategies forms the heart of Circular Energy. It consists of a qualitative and quantitative investigation into the design, maintenance, and repair of digital devices and a review of Norwegian and EU regulation on product design, repair, and electronic waste, and review proposals to reform current regulation. Our main study is the lifecycle assessment (LCA) of different products, focusing on greenhouse gas emissions (GHGs).
Visualising energy is a project in which we make energy use visible and tangible. Our case is UiO's new Life Sciences building, a net-zero energy building. Net-zero energy projects may seem to have no impact on people and planet, but may trigger so-called rebound effects. Our team of master students, Aslak, Elise, Frida, and Johannes, are designing and developing an installation which provides sensory feedback about energy use. The description of this master project can be found here.
Repair and Conserve was our 2021 summer project. Funded by UiO:Energy, three UiO master students helped us to investigate the role of independent repair in energy conservation. The students interviewed independent repairers in Oslo and prepared an electronics repair map of Oslo.
RESEARCH TEAM
Dept. of Informatics, UiO
Prof. Maja van der Velden
Project leader
Dr. Tigist Fetene Adane
Postdoctoral candidate
Ines Junge
PhD candidate
Eleanor Johnson
Research support
Dept. of Private Law, UiO
Prof. Beate Sjåfjell
Researcher
Dr. Eléonore Maitre-Ekern
Postdoctoral candidate
MASTER STUDENTS
Dept. of Informatics, UiO
Data Science, UiO
Elise Jonannessen
PROJECT PARTNERS
Live Rasmussen
Science Library, UiO
Dr. Andrea Gasparini
Science Library, UiO
Dr. Carl Dalhammer
IIIEE, University of Lund
Brita Slettemark
Climate House, UiO