Statkraft, together with Bellona and the European Ocean Energy Association, hosted the seminar at Copenhagen’s Bella Center, where Bellona, as the only NGO, has secured a meeting room right next to where the delegates are negotiating a new, global climate treaty.

“There is no silver bullet – there are no quick fixes to the climate issues. We need a wide range of measures, where new technology will also play an important part,” Bellona leader Frederic Hauge said as he opened the seminar.
Hauge praised Statkraft for its courage to invest in a technology which has not yet been fully developed, but which has a huge potential for eco-friendly energy generation should it succeed.
“It was very inspiring to be present during the opening of the osmotic power plant at Tofte two weeks ago and to see that the technology actually works,” Hauge said.

Statkraft is not alone in its osmotic power endeavours. Both in the Netherlands and Japan there are similar projects under way. The Japanese have elected to work with the same technology as us and reports suggest that a prototype will be ready in February 2010, while the Dutch have opted for a different kind of osmotic power - reversed electrodialysis (RED). In principle, this works just as a car battery, with the chambers being divided by membranes.

“The marine energy efforts in Europe are presently characterised by many small players with diverse concepts and limited financial ability. Statkraft represents an important exception,” Karl Christian Strømsem of the European Ocean Energy Association said.
 
Osmotic power is already recognised as a technology in the EU renewable energy directive. Statkraft is now working for member countries with osmotic power potential to facilitate the development of the technology though long-term framework conditions.