Energy-Smart Nidaros Cathedral

Bringing smart and climate-friendly energy solutions to a historic and cultural landmark.

The City of Trondheim is known as the technological capital of Norway. More than a thousand years old, it is home to a large number of cultural monuments and protected buildings. Together these factors make for a unique playground for innovation. Can historic landmarks be transformed into smart and climate friendly powerhouses?

Buildings are responsible for 40 per cent of energy consumption and 36 per cent of CO2 emissions in the EU. The EU has therefore set the target for all new buildings to be nearly zero-energy buildings within 2020. How do we apply the necessary knowledge and innovation to existing building stock? Old buildings and new technologies should have room for each other.

The site: Nidaros Cathedral

The Nidaros Cathedral is the world’s northernmost medieval cathedral and Norway’s national sanctuary. Because of its immense size and construction, the building consumes a lot of energy. In 2017, the Nidaros Cathedral consumed 1.5 GWh of energy, 21 per cent of which was electricity and 79 per cent from district heating. The Cathedral is now about to change its entire lighting system. This provides a good opportunity to examine its total energy performance and make plans for green solutions.

Norway’s first new-built Powerhouse will soon be realised at Brattørkaia by the Trondheim Fjord. It produces more clean and environmentally-friendly energy than it consumes. Is it possible to turn Nidaros Cathedral into a renewable energy producing “Powerhouse” in the same way? There is potential to make the historic and religious monument power-generating in more ways than one.

Open Innovation Competition

The Municipality of Trondheim, the Nidaros Cathedral Restoration Workshop and EIT Climate-KIC now invite innovators to take part in an Open Innovation competition of which aim is to combine multiple concrete solutions for the following purposes:

• Deep energy retrofit and smart energy management of large historic monument, taking into account cultural conservation and user experience.
• Transforming a historic urban district into a smart energy system with decentralized production of renewable energy.

Proposals accepted until 31 May 7 June 2018

Submit your proposal