Science Centres: Energy

Short & sharp: energy research projects underway

We got the go-ahead one week, and started work the next.

A partnership of major energy research providers has embarked on one of the widest-ranging energy research endeavours in this country for decades. It’s all aimed at answering some pressing questions:

• What is the true extent of New Zealand’s indigenous energy resources?
• What are the options for meeting the nation’s future energy needs?
• How do we evaluate a complex array of potential energy pathways?
• What future energy research does NZ need?

Scientists and engineers from NIWA, CRL Energy, Scion, GNS Science, and Industrial Research Ltd form the core of research teams on three interlinked projects:

• The New Zealand Energyscape (led by NIWA)
• Bioenergy Options for New Zealand (led by Scion)
• Transitioning to a Hydrogen Economy (led by CRL Energy)

These are short-term focused projects funded by the Foundation for Research, Science & Technology. All three will be completed before the end of the 2007/08 financial year. They will synthesise disparate sources of data, models, and tools to plot New Zealand’s options for meeting its future energy needs. The outputs will provide clear guidance to industry and government for energy planning, research and development.