Technology group Wärtsilä will lead a five-year collaboration of more than 200 Finnish companies, industrial organisations, research institutes, and universities in a ‘Wide & Intelligent Sustainable Energy’ (WISE) project to develop innovative clean energy concepts. The consortium intends to strengthen the Finnish energy sector to become a world-leader in energy innovation by building a scalable ecosystem and by introducing secure and autonomous zero-emission balancing power generation.
The project aims to “make a significant global impact in enabling the energy transition towards a fully decarbonised future”. Wärtsilä’s goal is to offer flexible autonomous power plant concepts with the capability to operate with 100 % e-fuel, such as green hydrogen and its derivatives, by the end of 2028.
“A decarbonised energy sector is inevitable in the future. The only question is when we will get there. The WISE initiative brings together industry expertise plus research and academic know-how to accelerate the trend. It gives us a unique opportunity to become the leading powerhouse for the energy transition,” commented Anders Lindberg, president of Wärtsilä Energy.
An autonomously operated balancing power generation system will be developed as part of the overall renewable-based system. New service models for the revised operating environment will also be developed. The key enabler for this development will be to have the digital infrastructure, edge computing, energy management, and system optimisation working in seamless harmony. The ecosystem will evaluate commercial and delivery considerations, along with further technology options, to create viable business models.
The project has been initiated by Business Finland, a public organisation under the ministry of Economic Affairs and Employment. The partners are together investing €200 million in the research by 2028, of which Wärtsilä’s share is €100 million. It is expected that this investment will enable an R&D increase of some €350 million in long-term support for Wärtsilä’s vision of a 100 % renewable energy future.
Image courtesy of Wärtsilä Corporation
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