Ennox Oil Solutions is a good example of a new business opportunity resulting from the intersection of two very different sectors of the economy. In this case, some innovators offering industrial waste treatment solutions encountered some fellow innovators offering solutions for oil well stimulation. They realized that their solutions could be combined to create all-new technologies and products. That was the starting point for developing the patented EGX (Ennox Green Extraction) process, a solution for extracting oil from solid materials such as soil, sand, and mud.

Having made steady progress and with its original ambition well established, Norner – the privately owned research institute – is set to continue its exciting course. Some of the development initiatives being taken now are among the most exciting and pioneering since the company was spun off from Borealis four years ago.

Miljøbil Grenland made no secret of its change of direction during the first quarter of 2011. Bernt Ausland, the company’s CEO, clasps his hands and pretends he is shaking dice: “New deal.”

At last week’s waste management conference in Lillehammer, Norsk Biogass AS was presented with Avfall Norge’s inaugural innovation award for 2010. Inventor and partner Bjørn Bu accepted the award on behalf of the company before an audience of over 700 delegates from Norway and abroad.

Cambi has been awarded a contract for the largest Cambi Thermal Hydolysis plant ever built, as part of a £75 million project to enhance sludge treatment at Davyhulme, Manchester.

Development and innovation pay off. Miljø-Teknologi, a company specializing in air and gas purification, is to provide odour extraction equipment for Stockholm’s largest sewage treatment plant and one of the world’s biggest fish feed factories. The value of orders received in the first three weeks of 2010 was NOK 10.5 million, equal to last year’s total sales revenue.

Clean Bio-Processes for a Sustainable Future Every year, failure in environmental protection costs the industry and local authorities huge amounts of money. Protéus develops environmental bio-based protection measures that reduce costs and increase the industry competitiveness.

By using a geothermal system to harness natural heat from deep below ground and pump it indoors, businesses and individuals can cut their electricity consumption by more than half. But despite several successes for the technology in Norway, it has attracted little attention from politicians, the business community and consumers. Green Business Norway’s business of the month for October is Geoenergi AS, which supplies complete turnkey geothermal systems. Established in 1999 by Rune Helgesen, the company is now one of the leading players in the Norwegian market.

Norsk Biogass was founded on 1 June 2006. The company has built its business around a technology invented by Tønsberg-based Norsk Biogassubstrat AS.

On 1 March 2009, Aquateam AS marked the 25th anniversary of its foundation as an offshoot of the Norwegian Institute for Water Research. Green Business Norway invited Bjarne Paulsrud, Aquateam’s managing director, to talk about his company and, in particular, the key trends and developments in sludge treatment.