On Thursday 15. October 2020, the Innovation Cluster NOSCA Clean Oceans opened its new test center at Store Lungegårdsvann in Bergen. Going forward, the “Store Lungen” will function as a fantastic test pool for the development of groundbreaking technology for collecting marine polution. During the opening event, completely new solutions were presented, such as self-propelled autonomous vessels and other technology that collects plastic in the oceans.

In Store Lungegårdsvann in Bergen alone, 400 kilos of plastic fuses have been collected in three and a half months. They have followed explosives that are dumped in Store Lungegårdsvann in connection with the development of Bybanen development.

Worldwide, 15 tonnes of plastic end up in the sea every minute around the world. There is thus a great need for the solutions that NOSCA Clean Oceans now will test in their new test center. Now both a simple trawl and various robot vessels are being tested to solve the problems.

– Unfortunately, there is enough plastic for everyone. Our members use expertise from over 40 years of oil spill response technology to attack marine pollution and create new solutions that address the problem, says cluster leader Eirik Langeland in NOSCA Clean Oceans.

NOSCA Clean Oceans received cluster status from Innovation Norway at the end of last year. Based on 40 years of experience in oil spill response, the members of the cluster use the unique expertise from cleaning up oil spills, to now fighting plastic in the sea.

In the NOSCA cluster, members from all over the country develop groundbreaking technology, services and value chains for the detection, classification and collection / handling of marine oil spills, plastic waste and undesirable effects of algae.

Store Lungegårdsvann will be a test arena for new technology in connection with the collection of the plastic that ends up in the sea from the urban railway development. In this way, new solutions can be tested, and the site exported to areas where marine litter and plastic in the sea constitute an even bigger problem.

During the opening of the new test center, information was provided about the work that has been done so far and not least the exciting plans for the center in the future – and how Norwegian technology can contribute to the global fight against marine litter.

The center was opened by Vestland County Mayor Jon Askeland, head of Handelens Miljøfond, Rasmus Hansson, head of Agenda Vestlandet (Sparebanken Vest) Frode Nergaard, and City Councilor for Climate, Environment and Urban Development Eline Aresdatter Haakestad in Bergen Municipality.