Every year, DNV brings a wealth of technology and innovation to our customers worldwide through our global organisation. DNV Research and Innovation is the unit within DNV that ensures the development of knowledge, technology and prototypes of future tools and services for the benefit of DNV customers and society at large.
International business is undergoing dramatic changes due to the powerful mix of globalisation and advances in information and communication technology. Companies must manage their product and service lines under conditions that increasingly often disrupt ‘business as usual’. Understanding the accelerating pace of technology development and leveraging the right technology at the right time are becoming crucial for commercial success. Current examples of important research topics in DNV are:
Maritime transport – where environmental concerns are balanced against cost benefit considerations.
Energy – with attention focused on security of energy supply, sustainability and risk management.
Materials and surfaces – targeting corrosion protection, risks posed by nanotechnology, and water quality issues.
Information processes and technology – at the interface between technology and organisations.
Biorisk management – with the focus on developing methodologies to effectively manage the hazards posed by biological agents.
Cooperating agreements
Building a strong network and cooperation with selected research clusters around the world is becoming increasingly important as extensive harvesting from universities and institutes and cooperation on joint industry projects in key markets contribute to the faster development of high-quality knowledge and services.
During 2007, DNV’s cooperation with NTNU (the Norwegian University of Science and Technology) was considerably extended, a cooperation agreement was signed with Ohio State University in the USA, and DNV established its own research unit in Ohio. A cooperation agreement was also signed with NTUA, the Technical University of Athens, in Greece. DNV plans to establish its own research unit in Athens in 2008.
Science to service
In order to smooth the difficult transition phase from a research result into a successful service in the market, we have designed a piloting process in which the researchers work closely with a DNV business area to test out the service in the market, further improve it and develop the right expertise and delivery processes before moving to global delivery.
As an example, in the biorisk (biosafety and biosecurity) area, DNV has developed a comprehensive set of assessment methods, tools and training materials to help laboratories around the world responsibly handle and store pathogens that could represent a considerable risk to society. These services underwent a piloting stage in 2007 and will be further complemented in 2008. Two other major initiatives under way are the Arctic programme, which focuses on knowledge and techniques relevant for industrial activities in the Arctic, and a project related to next generation computational tools.
Technology Outlook
Looking further ahead, which global trends will be most important for the industry sectors served by DNV? And how will these trends relate to technology adaptation and development in these sectors? Our publication ‘Technology Outlook 2015 – DNV Research and Innovation’s assessment of developing trends’ describes and analyses important social and technological trends.
Much of the technology that will have been adopted in 2015 is already being developed, but we believe that the strength of the trends mentioned in Technology Outlook will spur the development of many new and disruptive technologies.
For more information: www.dnv.com/research