Finnish technology giant Wartsila Corp announced on Friday its leadership role in a groundbreaking five-year research initiative aimed at developing autonomous zero-emission balancing solutions for the energy transition.
Dubbed Wide & Intelligent Sustainable Energy (WISE) and initiated by government organization Business Finland, the project represents a collaborative effort involving over 200 Finnish companies, industrial organizations, research institutes, and universities.
The partners have committed to investing a collective sum of EUR 200 million (USD 215m) into the endeavor, with Wartsila's contribution amounting to EUR 100 million. The overarching goal is to propel the Finnish energy sector to global leadership in energy innovation by establishing a scalable ecosystem and introducing secure and autonomous zero-emission balancing power generation solutions.
Wartsila's vision includes the development of flexible autonomous power plant concepts capable of operating with 100% e-fuel, such as green hydrogen and its derivatives, by the conclusion of 2028.
Anders Lindberg, President of Wartsila Energy, emphasized the inevitability of a decarbonized energy sector in the future, stating, “A decarbonized energy sector is inevitable in the future. The only question is when we will get there. The WISE initiative brings together industry expertise plus research and academic know-how to accelerate the trend.”
In addition to advancing technological solutions, the project will focus on the development of new service models tailored to the evolving operating environment.
This will entail leveraging digital infrastructure, edge computing, energy management, and system optimization to create seamless operational frameworks. Furthermore, the initiative will assess commercial and delivery considerations, explore additional technology options, and formulate viable business models to ensure the successful implementation of the developed solutions.
