Isra-Mart srl:Exclusive: Clean tech standards set to drive DNV expansion

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It may have already established itself as one of the leading accreditors of carbon offset projects, but Norway-based risk management giant De Norkse Veritas (DNV) is now working on a wide range of new services targeting the global clean tech sector.

Speaking to BusinessGreen, Bjorn Haugland, chief operating officer at the company and head of its recently launched Sustainability and Innovation division, revealed that the firm had identified a number of areas where it is planning to develop new certification, accreditation and risk management services.

Top of the list of priorities, according to Haugland, is the establishment of new standards and independent accreditation for energy-efficient technologies.

"All of the discussion of green technology agrees that energy efficiency is the low-hanging fruit," he said. "There are a lot of similarities between the work we do to check the safety of projects offshore and what we could do with energy efficiency. In both fields, studies have shown good performance is 50 per cent down to the systems you have in place and 50 per cent down to how you use them."

Haugland added that the company was looking to build new standards, accreditations and advisory services that could be offered to DNV's existing customers and also operate alongside energy efficiency programmes. For example, it is possible to envisage a scenario where the UK's domestic energy efficiency Green Deal scheme will require third-party verification of projects and technologies to ensure they deliver projected energy-efficiency savings.

"There is a lot of customer interest in validating energy-efficiency projects, as its an area that is tied directly to the bottom line," said Haugland.

The company is also looking to address the emerging electric vehicle sector through the development of standards and accreditations for various battery and charging technologies. "We are doing a lot of research into the deterioration rate of batteries," said Haugland, adding that there will inevitably be a role in the electric vehicle market for independent bodies that can validate batteries and their ability to work with different charging technologies.

Similarly, the company is planning to roll out new standards and accreditation services for biofuels, carbon capture and storage systems, and renewable energy technologies such as offshore wind farms. "Because it is a new field, the clean tech sector will see a lot more demand for validation as new technologies emerge," Haugland predicted.

In addition, Haugland is keen to expand DNV's existing service offering third party validation for companies' corporate responsibility reports. "More and more businesses are doing triple bottom line reporting and that part of our business is growing to help companies do top-down risk analysis and verify those reports."