LiU Sustainable

Domestic production is the key to reduced vulnerability in crisis

Following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, fears of skyrocketing electricity and fuel prices is threatening Swedens capacity for food production. Investments in the country's own production systems could provide protection.

European lessons can generate value through the entire biogas chain

Researchers at LiU have studied how biogas development has been affected by political decisions. The results can provide helpful insights into how decision-makers can maximise value creation in the Swedish biogas chain.

Shift to circular economy is slowed by traditional thinking

By communicating and collaborating, businesses can join forces to create greater social, economic and environmental value for society than what they do today, researchers at Linköping University have found.

Competence center for biogas receives grants in tough competition

The Swedish Energy Agency has approved the application for a new five-year period for the Biogas Research Center. Linköping University hosts the competence center.

The surprising breadth of biogas

A new dissertation from LiU tries to explain the advantages and disadvantages of biogas use and how decision supportcan be used to give decision-makers a more complete picture of the biogas' versatility.

Circular economy in practice at Händelö

LiU is working to develop a biobased and circular economy in practice, in a symbiosis between Händelö Eco-Industrial Park and Norrköping municipality. The project is an example of how industry and the city can use their resources and waste.

Biogas from excrement to reduce environmental impact

Researchers at LiU have shown that coordinated management of excrement from animals and humans could save nearly EUR 100 million each year. The key is to produce the biogas from the excrement before it is used as fertiliser.

Clean fuels not always so green

A vehicle with zero emissions can have a large impact on the environment when the complete life cycle is considered. A study shows the significance of electricity production for the emission of greenhouse gases from fuels.

Biogas solves several environmental challenges

Biogas doesn’t solve just one or two of the world’s huge environmental challenges: it solves three! Or it would, if countries used the Nordic model. In fact, biogas can play a part in achieving all 17 sustainable development goals.

Biogas is always good – but not always best

Biogas has many positive sides – but it’s not best at everything. A source of energy should be analysed from several perspectives and compared with the alternatives. It is also important to determine which factors are most important.

Sustainable markets must be created and defended

Creating sustainable markets poses particular obstacles: a sustainable market must be continuously shaped and reshaped. This is the conclusion of three LiU researchers in business administration, who have used the Swedish biogas market as a case.

Biogas can increase the capacity of pulp and paper mills

The wastewater streams from kraft mills have been considered to be too difficult to digest for biogas production, despite containing large quantities of organic substances. Eva-Maria Ekstrand reveals a solution in her doctoral thesis.

Biogas production can be more efficient, with the right choice of organic material

Luka Šafarič doctoral thesis shows that the organic material that is fed into the reactor affects the thickness of the sludge, and ultimately, the reactor’s efficiency.

Food industry waste becomes profitable biogas

Huge gains can be made by using waste from the food industry for biogas production, no matter whether the biogas is used in vehicles or to produce electricity and heat. This is the conclusion of researchers from the Biogas Research Center.

Three cities, three ways to handle biogas

Linköping, Uppsala and Västerås are three cities and regions around the same size, all of which have made long-term investments in biogas. But their reasons and the practical solutions they have chosen are completely different.

Talk is not enough for fossil-free

“We could be using fossil-free cars, freight and air travel, but so far there’s been a lot of talk and very little action. And most people have completely unrealistic expectations for how rapidly we can achieve a transition”, Mats Eklund says.

Farmers unite to make biogas profitable

Eleven farmers around the town of Alvesta in Småland agreed in 2014 to build a joint biogas facility. The result is a profitable facility, 4,500 kg of biogas every day, and fertiliser with a nutrient content that is 10% higher for the fields.

Export of Swedish biogas technology

In premises that used to be home to historic Kalmar verkstad upgrade facilities for biogas are now being constructed. They are built in modules designed to fit into shipping containers, which can be rapidly deployed in Sweden and throughout Europe.

Profitable collaboration - for farmers and the environment

More Biogas started as a simple study group, and has become a profitable biogas facility that supplies vehicle fuel throughout the Kalmar region, and KRAV-labelled fertiliser to farmers. The latter are also joint-owners in the company.

Many advantages of dry digestion

Sweden’s first dry digestion plant is located at Mörrum, where food waste in brown bags is converted to useful biogas. The waste is digested at the consistency as it has when it arrives. One bag is sufficient for 2.5 km of fossil-free transport.

They found the bacteria that like fat

Fat in a biogas reactor behaves as it does at home in the kitchen: it’s sticky and clogs things up. The researchers at the Biogas Research Center, however, have discovered a helping hand, a bacterium that can break down the troublesome fat molecules.

Digital threads built on AI in a new research project

Linköping University, Volvo Construction Equipment, Bosch Thermoteknik, Mälardalen University, and Addiva are joining forces to advance resource efficiency and promote a circular economy in the Swedish manufacturing industry.

Using cost analysis to bring circularity

Life-cycle cost analysis is a powerful tool to make companies more resource-efficient and enable them to adopt new business models. There are, however, several factors that hinder its use. “Money talks”, says the researcher.

Mistra to continue funding research into circular economy transition

The Swedish Foundation for Strategic Environmental Research has granted SEK 47 million for four years to Mistra REES. The aim of the programme is to facilitate the transition by Swedish manufacturing industry to a circular economy.

Circular economy brings hope for the future

The circular economy can’t solve all the world’s problems, but it can solve several. And, to be honest, what’s the alternative? If we continue to consume the Earth’s resources at a rapid pace, we will bring the human race to catastrophe.

Legal aspects of functional sales under scrutiny

A research group led by Jan Kellgren of the Division for Commercial and Business Law is to examine the legal aspects of functional sales in the field of illumination.

SEK 10 million to research in the circular economy

LiU researchers have won two major research projects within the field of design and construction for a world in which we husband, recycle and reuse natural resources. Both will be carried out in close collaboration with industrial partners.

Hallbara affarer

Three proposals from researchers to meet EU climate goals

The ability to meet EU climate goals is enhanced by investing in new technologies that remove CO₂ from the atmosphere. Although it is currently unprofitable, there are ways to change that. This is concluded in an article by researchers from LiU.

Björn-Ola Linnér: I am a frustrated optimist

Climate researcher Björn-Ola Linnér never imagined an academic career. Here you can hear him talk about the road to  becoming a professor and, as a researcher, active in the environmental debate.

Climate change affects greenhouse gas emissions from stream networks

Natural greenhouse gas emissions from streams and lakes are strongly linked to water discharge and temperature. This knowledge is necessary to assess how man-made climate change is altering greenhouse emissions from natural landscapes.

Risky climate measures studied in new research project

The climate crisis has led some experts to argue that more risky measures now have to be investigated. But how do the scientists involved reason when it comes to uncertainty? This is the subject of a new research project at Linköping University.

Climate change and the rise and fall of civilisations

Pronounced climate fluctuations and changed conditions for agriculture coincided with the rise and fall of the Persian Empires, according to an international study. The study highlights the vulnerability of human societies to fluctuating climate.

The Paris Agreement – better measurement methods needed

The Paris Agreement says that we should reduce the emission of greenhouse gases to limit the rise in global temperature to 2 degrees Celsius. But do we have the measurement methods needed? LiU-researchers have the disheartening answer.

Trump and Thunberg – different, yet similar

Despite their contradictory messages, there are great similarities between Donald Trump and Greta Thunberg. A research article shows how both use populist rhetoric that draws black-and-white contrasts and offers simple solutions.

Agriculture – a climate villain? Maybe not!

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claims that agriculture is one of the main sources of greenhouse gases, and is considered as a climate villain. This conclusion is based on a paradigm that can be questioned, writes Per Frankelius.

NSC and SMHI contribute to global climate research

Starting in the autumn of 2019, climate data has been delivered to the global climate research programme CMIP6 from the NSC at Linköping University. This is the result of a long-standing collaboration between SMHI and the NSC.

“A lot of good is done for the environment in many parts of the world”

Researchers have studied how ordinary people around the world view environmental problems, and whether they face any in their day-to-day lives. The interviews gave the researchers hope – and some clever solutions.

Countries see opportunities in climate measures

Researchers at LiU have investigated the ways in which countries describe climate change and the measures for addressing it: Is it a threat or an opportunity?

Progress in hunt for unknown compounds in drinking water

When we drink a glass of water, we ingest an unknown amount of by-products that are formed in the treatment process. Researchers have been able to detect new compounds – where every water treatment plant has a unique combination.

Reactions to 21st-century mining policy

Sweden is once again a leading mining nation – but at what cost? Researchers have analysed the transformation of Swedish mining policy, and the many conflicts the policy has caused.

Top marks for COP24 negotiators

Climate researcher Mathias Fridahl from the Department of Thematic Studies – Environmental Change awards top marks to the negotiators at COP24. At the last minute, a rulebook was adopted for the global work towards achieving the climate objectives set in the Paris Agreement, 2015.

Baltic Sea Region researchers give the sea a chance

The nutrient load on the Baltic Sea has dropped, but is expected to increase again as a result of global warming. Four EU research projects gathered for a final conference to present and discuss their results on what more we can do.

A tricky job assessing the vulnerability of agriculture

There’s still a lot we don’t know about the vulnerability of our agriculture to climate change. Current methods for assessing climate change vulnerability also have problems and require improvement. This is according to a doctoral thesis.

Knowledge – a distant beacon or the motor that drives the climate transition?

When discussing the transition to a more climate-friendly society, different groups attach different meanings to the concept of knowledge, this has been shown by researchers at Linköping University.

Research in the Amazon basin reveals large methane emissions through trees

Methane emissions via trees growing in the Amazon basin equal the emissions from all of the world’s oceans or the Arctic tundra wetlands, according to a new study by scientists from, among others, Linköping University in Sweden.

Public – and researchers – sceptical to climate engineering

What does the general public know about climate engineering, and what do they think about what they know? These were questions asked by researchers from Linköping University, together with researchers from Japan, the US and New Zealand.

UN climate change efforts are helping

There has been much criticism of international climate change collaboration. However climate change researchers paint a more positive picture. The UN’s climate change conferences are forums that make a difference.

National coordination for successful climate change action

Prabhat Upadhyaya has investigated how international climate policy frameworks have been implemented in India, Brazil and South Africa.

Habitat loss is bad news for species – especially for top predators

What happens in ecosystems when the habitats of different species disappear? When plants and animals lose their habitats, predator species at the top of the food chain die out first, according to a new study by scientists at Linköping University.

Wetlands to purify water in South African informal townships

Karin Tonderski of the Division of Biology has been awarded SEK three million over three years from Formas to contribute to installation of wetlands in South African informal townships.

Cause and effect in the transformation of ecosystems

How can we distinguish between cause and effect when changes take place in a ecosystem? Can new methods give a more accurate picture of the interaction between society and the natural world? These are important questions for a new research programme.

Butterflies thrive in grasslands surrounded by forest

For pollinating butterflies, it is more important to be close to forests than to agricultural fields. Results from a new study of 32,000 butterflies provide important knowledge about how to form the landscape to ensure the survival of butterflies.

Vinnova to support agricultural technology

The objective of Agtech 2030 is to make eastern Götaland a world-leader in agricultural technology. The programme is selected by Vinnova as a Vinnväxt programme. It has a total budget of nearly SEK 200 million, of which SEK 70 million from Vinnova.

Baltic Sea Region researchers give the sea a chance

The nutrient load on the Baltic Sea has dropped, but is expected to increase again as a result of global warming. Four EU research projects gathered for a final conference to present and discuss their results on what more we can do.

Deeper understanding of species roles in ecosystems

New methods can make it easier to predict the ecological role that a species will play when it is introduced into a new habitat. In a new study, researchers at Linköping University predict ecological roles based on easily-collected species traits.

Predicting damage in disturbed ecosystems

What happens when the balance in an ecological network is disturbed? Anna Eklöf combines mathematics and ecology to predict the consequences for the complete ecosystem when one species becomes extinct in the ecosystem or when the climate changes.

Four countries gather to discuss the health of the Baltic

The Baltic Sea is one of the world’s most polluted.  A research project led by LiU brought together representatives from different countries to discuss possible solutions to some of the environmental problems.

The predator survives - but the ecosystem crashes

What do killer whales, polar bears and humans have in common? They are adaptable predators with the ability to select new prey when their favourite food is in low supply. But this change can disrupt entire ecosystems.

Requirements specification and sustainability

Is it possible to develop a method to help companies to design, engineer and manufacture products in a more sustainable and resource-efficient manner? Sara Nilsson discusses the first part of this process – requirements development – in her thesis.

Export of environmental technology requires collaboration

Action that truly promotes collaboration and networking, both within Sweden and in the export markets, is required if the export of environmental technology is to take off. This is the conclusion of Wisdom Kanda’s doctoral thesis.

Political obstacles to mineral recycling

We are keen to discuss how to bring about a sustainable society, but we seldom discuss how we manage resources. Nils Johansson shows in his doctoral thesis that current policies lead to an increased waste of mineral resources, not the reverse.

SEK 10 million to research in the circular economy

LiU researchers have won two major research projects within the field of design and construction for a world in which we husband, recycle and reuse natural resources. Both will be carried out in close collaboration with industrial partners.

Sustainability requires interdisciplinary science

Linköping University continues to work across boundaries. Six new professorships that drive world-leading sustainability research are the target for the research network “LiU Sustainable”.

The Norrköping Iron and Copper Mine

At the same time as protests against both the current mining policy and mineral legislation are getting louder, Björn Wallsten is prospecting a totally different type of mine in his licentiate – the one underneath central Norrköping.

Welcome to the World of the Urks

We continue to extract metals from the earth’s crust, with the associated risks to the environment, although only half of some of the metals we have already extracted are used. Björn Wallsten found the unused metals in the world of the Urks.

Hallbara affarer

Dig where you stand

There are many good reasons for excavating Sweden’s landfills in search of valuable metals. But it is not happening. In his licentiate degree thesis, Nils Johansson sought an explanation as to why we prefer searching in space to mining our own rubbish tips.

Metals worth billions at local tip

The mines of the future may be closer than we think. A degree project from Linköping University demonstrates that landfill at the Gärstad waste facility in Linköping contains metals worth SEK 3 billion.

Agriculture – a climate villain? Maybe not!

The UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change claims that agriculture is one of the main sources of greenhouse gases, and is considered as a climate villain. This conclusion is based on a paradigm that can be questioned, writes Per Frankelius.

A tireless voice

LiU researcher Per Frankelius doesn’t hold back from participating in debates. With his broad expertise in business administration and innovation, he is active in several important societal issues, not least within healthcare and agriculture.

Sustainable food production and the art of expanding the ecosystem

Global food needs are increasing. In the short term, agriculture requires better conditions. In the long term, we must transform how business is done for a sustainable society – with green services, according to LiU researchers in business marketing.

Improving chickens’ living conditions

Methods used to calculate airflow in the aeronautical and motor industries have been tested for calculating the airflow in animal houses, in this case poultry houses with tens of thousands of chickens. With excellent results.

New cellulose-based material gives three sensors in one

Cellulose soaked in a carefully designed polymer mixture acts as a sensor to measure pressure, temperature and humidity – at the same time! The sensor may be highly significant in fields such as robotics, healthcare and security.

Agriculture: a guarantor for peace and freedom

Society must reconsider the role of agriculture. Major investment is required in innovation, not only to feed the world’s increasing population, but also to avoid more wars and crises, claims LiU researcher Per Frankelius in The Lancet.

Award to Eleni Stavrinidou for work with electronic plants

Eleni Stavrinidou, Laboratory of Organic Electronics, is to receive the 2019 L’Oréal-UNESCO For Women in Science Prize for her research into electronic plants. It will be presented by the Swedish minister for higher education and research.

Vinnova to support agricultural technology

The objective of Agtech 2030 is to make eastern Götaland a world-leader in agricultural technology. The programme is selected by Vinnova as a Vinnväxt programme. It has a total budget of nearly SEK 200 million, of which SEK 70 million from Vinnova.

Lignin – a supergreen fuel for fuel cells

Researchers from the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at LiU have developed a fuel cell that uses lignin, a cheap by-product from paper manufacture and one of the most common biopolymers.

Blowin’ in the wind – a source of energy?

It may in the future be possible to harvest energy with leaves fluttering in the wind. Researchers at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics have developed a material that generate an electrical impulse when light fluctuates from sunshine to shade.

Huge research investment into new forestry materials

The Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation has decided to provide up to SEK 400 million for WWSC 2.0, the Wallenberg Wood Science Center, between now and 2028. KTH, Chalmers, Linköping University and the forestry industry are participating.

Wood is good for you

What many within the building industry already knew has now been scientifically proven: wood used in buildings, furniture and walls promotes health and well-being. The three-year research project Wood2New has just ended.

Storing electricity in paper

Researchers at LiU’s Laboratory of Organic Electronics have developed power paper – a new material with an outstanding ability to store energy. The material consists of nanocellulose and a conductive polymer.

Industrial symbiosis may be the solution

Michael Martin shows in his PhD thesis that industrial symbiosis may be one way to reach EU targets for biofuels. He also introduces a method for calculating the contribution from individual companies.

A career in the company of organics and perovskites

Feng Gao, appointed professor at LiU 2020, has climbed rapidly up the research career ladder, from China, via the UK to Linköping. Driven by curiosity, a desire to work in a field that is of real benefit, and a wish to support young researchers.

Using tiny electrodes to measure electrical activity in bacteria

Scientists at LiU’s Laboratory of Organic Electronics have developed an organic transistor that they can use to measure and study in fine detail a phenomenon known as extracellular electron transfer in which bacteria release electrons.

A cheap organic steam generator to purify water

A high-efficiency steam generator for the purification and desalination of water can be built using cheap and natural materials such as cellulose. The steam generator has been developed at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, LiU.

Stable perovskite LEDs one step closer

Researchers at Linköping University, working with colleagues in Great Britain, China and the Czech Republic, have developed a perovskite light-emitting diode (LED) with both high efficiency and long operational stability.

Creating stretchable thermoelectric generators

For the first time, a soft and stretchable organic thermoelectric module has been created that can harvest energy from body heat. The breakthrough was enabled by a new composite material that may have widespread use.

Helping tobacco plants save water

Eleni Stavrinidou and her research group at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Linköping University, have used bioelectronics to influence transpiration in a tobacco plant, without harming the plant in any way.

Welcome indoors, solar cells

Swedish and Chinese scientists have developed organic solar cells optimised to convert ambient indoor light to electricity. The power they produce is low, but enough to feed the millions of products that the internet of things will bring online.

The interlayers help perovskite crystallisation for light-emitting diodes

Scientists at LiU working with colleagues from China have shown how to achieve efficient perovskite light-emitting diodes (LEDs). In an article in Nature Communications, they provide guidelines on fabricating high-quality perovskite light emitters.

New cellulose-based material gives three sensors in one

Cellulose soaked in a carefully designed polymer mixture acts as a sensor to measure pressure, temperature and humidity – at the same time! The sensor may be highly significant in fields such as robotics, healthcare and security.

SEK 27 million for liquid fuels of the future

Professor of organic electronics Magnus Berggren have been awarded SEK 27 million for the coming five years from the Knut and Alice Wallenberg Foundation to work on future technology for liquid fuels that are based on water and oxygen.

Hydrogen from water in iron nanotruss structures

Swedish researchers have discovered a new and efficient way to use electrocatalysis to produce hydrogen gas from water. Instead of using expensive platinum electrodes, the new method uses electrodes with nanotruss structures of iron oxide.

How to build efficient organic solar cells

Twenty-five researchers from seven research institutes have put their heads together to draw up rules for designing high-efficiency organic solar cells. The research, led by associate professor Feng Gao, have been published in Nature Materials.

Lignin – a supergreen fuel for fuel cells

Researchers from the Laboratory of Organic Electronics at LiU have developed a fuel cell that uses lignin, a cheap by-product from paper manufacture and one of the most common biopolymers.

Double perovskites in environmentally friendly solar cells

A further step has been taken along the road to manufacturing solar cells from lead-free perovskites. High quality films based on double perovskites have been developed in collaboration between LiU and NTU in Singapore.

Blowin’ in the wind – a source of energy?

It may in the future be possible to harvest energy with leaves fluttering in the wind. Researchers at the Laboratory of Organic Electronics have developed a material that generate an electrical impulse when light fluctuates from sunshine to shade.

Knowledge – a distant beacon or the motor that drives the climate transition?

When discussing the transition to a more climate-friendly society, different groups attach different meanings to the concept of knowledge, this has been shown by researchers at Linköping University.

Vallastaden - potential for a smart city

Aspects such as efficient use of resources and social interaction have been included in the planning of Vallastaden. Malin Granath, researcher in information systems, believes that it may eventually be possible to achieve economic sustainability.

Celebrating LiU’s collaboration with China

A sign celebrating the joint research centre in urban sustainable development between LiU and Guangzhou University has been unveiled.  The university managements and mayors from Linköping and Guangzhou attended the ceremony.

Political obstacles to mineral recycling

We are keen to discuss how to bring about a sustainable society, but we seldom discuss how we manage resources. Nils Johansson shows in his doctoral thesis that current policies lead to an increased waste of mineral resources, not the reverse.

Biogas – worth fighting for

“We must tell the world that we could achieve 50% of the EU’s environmental objective for the transport sector using biofuel”. Prof Willy Verstraete issued a call to arms to the participants of the ATBEST biogas conference in Linköping.

Johannesburg looks to biogas

South Africa’s largest city, Johannesburg, wants to reduce its impact on the climate, solve its problems with waste and become an environmentally sensitive city.

Your grocery bag reveals how you drive

If you shop for ecological food, you’re also better prepared to drive an electric hybrid car in the best possible way. But being trained in ecodriving could almost be a disadvantage, as researchers from LiU and VTI show in a study.

The Norrköping Iron and Copper Mine

At the same time as protests against both the current mining policy and mineral legislation are getting louder, Björn Wallsten is prospecting a totally different type of mine in his licentiate – the one underneath central Norrköping.

Welcome to the World of the Urks

We continue to extract metals from the earth’s crust, with the associated risks to the environment, although only half of some of the metals we have already extracted are used. Björn Wallsten found the unused metals in the world of the Urks.

Norrkoping tar tag i transporterna

Fem faktorer for hallbara stader

Dig where you stand

There are many good reasons for excavating Sweden’s landfills in search of valuable metals. But it is not happening. In his licentiate degree thesis, Nils Johansson sought an explanation as to why we prefer searching in space to mining our own rubbish tips.

Metals worth billions at local tip

The mines of the future may be closer than we think. A degree project from Linköping University demonstrates that landfill at the Gärstad waste facility in Linköping contains metals worth SEK 3 billion.