Turning sawdust into batteries for industry and heavy transport

Beyonder at Forus invests heavily in solving international climate issues using Norwegian sawdust.

(By Tonette N. Haaland. Translated from Rogalands Avis)

- I have worked in the oil industry for several years, and wanted to transfer into a green and sustainable industry, says Svein Kvernstuen to RA.

He is the founder and general manager of Beyonder. 

For four years, the company has been engaged in research and development of technology to make batteries from sawdust. As early as next year, they will be commercially available. 

- It sounds fascinating, being able to make batteries from sawdust, but for those who are familiar with the technology, it may not be quite as shocking, says Kvernstuen. 

He explains that they use biomass, which is a raw material, to make biochar. 

- We refine this further to make what we call "activated coal" or "activated carbon." We manage to refine it to be of very high quality, so that we can tailor the properties, and use it for energy storage. We also need a few other ingredients to make it a full-fledged battery, he explains. 

Crucial
Kvernstuen believes that batteries are crucial for electrifying the industry. 

- We have become good at electrifying mobility, on a personal level, but to electrify the next phases of industry and heavy transport, we need different types of batteries. 

The Beyonder batteries provide fast charging with high power. This means that one can supply high power for large machines. 

- In addition, little energy is lost in charging and discharging, and they are safer. The solution is simpler, smaller and fits the needs of heavy transport and industry, Kvernstuen explains. 

The main challenge of these batteries is a lower range compared to other battery solutions.
- But we can fully charge the battery in a few minutes, which in many cases compensates for the lower range, Kvernstuen points out. 

Big bets
The Beyonder founder believes that Norway has several exciting advantages in terms of producing batteries.
- We are good at automation, we have reasonable and clean power, and we are competitive on specialist operator salaries, he points out. 

Kvernstuen emphasises that they are part of an industry that is growing extremely fast, therefore they must have great ambitions and invest heavily to keep up with the competition. He points out that they are gradually scaling up and are investing heavily to become large enough to be competitive for the international market.