The case in summary: – Brothers Andreas and Magnus Fors Haugen have developed a technology that can make power production more efficient in Norway. – The technology, called “The Observer”, can monitor the condition of the power lines and collect data about the line’s capacity. – Enova has given the project 18 million in development support. – The brothers believe that there is a large and unused potential in the power grid, with over 40-50 percent unused capacity. – “The Observer” should be able to be used to find out where the weakest points in the power grid are, which can save the power industry from unnecessary natural interventions. – The company also sees opportunities for international expansion. The summary is made by an AI service from OpenAi. The content is quality assured by news’s journalists before publication. Inside the workshop there are secrets that are forbidden to photograph. The founding brothers will not reveal what they have come up with. Andreas and Magnus Fors Haugen have developed technology that can make power production more efficient in Norway. – We actually came up with the idea in full swing, says director of Avju Solutions, Andreas Fors Haugen. Enova, which works to adopt new energy and climate technology, has now given the project 18 million in development support. The technology, which is protected in a small black box, can monitor the condition of the power lines. Testing: Avju Solutions has already been tested by “The Observer” for two years. Photo: Peter Reppen-Gjelseth / news – The best description is that the box does a health check of the power line, says the director. The robot collects data that tells whether the line has the ability to transport more electricity. “The Observer”, as the box is called, should be very easy to assemble. – It is mounted directly on the power line. It takes two minutes and it’s up, says Fors Haugen. The box is at rest on the power line. There, it collects data from the current passing through the line and analyzes the capacity of the line via a built-in camera. It can be done so easily. Here, “The Observer” is mounted directly on a power line. Avju Solutions’ Enova support The brothers believe that there is a large and unused potential in the power grid today. The company has carried out tests on the power grid in 2023. According to these tests, they believe that there is more than 40-50 per cent unused capacity in the power grid. Unused potential: The Alta brothers hope that their technology can make the best possible use of the existing power grid. Photo: Peter Reppen-Gjelseth / news – With the box, we can see almost everything that takes place on the power line, says brother, Magnus Fors Haugen. “The Observer” should be able to be used to find out where the weakest points in the power grid are. This will give them an overview of where it is critical for the power industry to expand and where it is unnecessary. Enova sees the project as an opportunity to save the power industry from unnecessary natural interventions. – The Avju project will be able to help us make the best possible use of the existing power grid. The technology can make it possible for us to postpone or avoid building out new power grids as much as planned, says marketing manager Ole Even Hollås. Natural damage: The development of new power lines requires major natural interventions. Photo: Rolf Jakobsen / news Hollås believes that the project can have great national significance. – If Norway is to reach the climate targets, we are dependent on a lot of power. This means that we must make the best possible use of the power lines we have. The support is something that pleases the director of Avju Solutions. – It’s really good. This is an expensive project. We have been at it since 2018 and we have spent almost 100 million already. So we need the money, says Fors Haugen. – It is also a mark of quality for us that Enova comes in and supports us. World market One of the investors who has followed the Avju guys for a long time is Alta Kraftlag. Kraftlaget has previously helped with engineering assistance and has recently also invested in the company. Director Per Erik Ramstad believes that it has been a good choice. – We now see that they are in competition with a couple of others in the world. So we have expectations that they will achieve this, says Ramstad. – It would have been nice if the investments paid off. With an aging power grid in Europe and the USA, Avju Solutions also sees its cut to think internationally. – We are looking towards Europe and the USA. We have spoken to many grid and power companies. There is huge interest in what we do, says Andreas Fors Haugen. International: The firm also collaborates with various researchers in Scotland to develop the technology. Photo: Peter Reppen-Gjelseth / news The box is still only a prototype, but if all goes according to plan for the Alta brothers, “The Observer” will be in production already in the autumn.
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Norwegian innovation for the efficiency of power production receives support from Enova – news Troms and Finnmark
