Greater Trondheim is an incubator for good ideas

There are 37,000 students, 5,000 researchers/academics and a Nobel Prize for medicine in Greater Trondheim. Nowhere else in Norway does society invest more per capita in research and new knowledge.

The brain power concentrated at NTNU and Sintef creates growth, prosperity and exciting job opportunities. We are at the forefront in areas such as brain research, ultrasound technology and renewable energy.

Trondheim is like a Silicon Valley in miniature. Companies like Microchips (formerly Atmel), ARM, Nordic Semiconductor, Q-Free and Zedge supply high-tech solutions to customers worldwide.

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Trondheim | Big things are happening in this small city

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Wind that can save the world

There is more than enough wind out at sea to save the world from catastrophic climate change. Trondheim is a pioneer city in the hunt for floating offshore wind. All eyes are on us. Wind is stronger across deeper water. Eighty per cent of all wind sweeps across water that is too deep for wind turbines on the sea floor. These turbines must float in the sea. The task of head researcher John Olav G. Tande and his colleagues at Sintef Energy is to find technological solutions that make it profitable to build floating wind farms at sea. Expertise at Sintef and NTNU are working to capture wind that can replace coal, oil and gas. The possibilities are nearly endless, but Tande and his colleagues are in a race against time and rising temperatures.

Q-Free | Mobility technology from Trondheim

Fewer fatalities, thanks to Q-Free. Q-Free provides better traffic flow, cleaner air and safer traffic, with fewer fatalities and accidents. You can find transponders from Trøndelag in cars all over the world. Our transponders eliminate traffic congestion, improve city air and save lives. Fewer people die in traffic, thanks to technology from Trondheim. Our adventure started on the brand new E6 motorway in 1988. The Norwegian Public Roads Administration dreamed of automatic toll stations where traffic could pass without slowing down or stopping. The sharp minds at ‘little’ Q-Free –originally called Micro Design – solved the task without the Norwegian Public Roads Administration having to look for suppliers abroad. At the Ranheim toll station, just outside of Trondheim, we made the leap from manual toll booths and coin-operated machines to lightning-fast radio signals. We had our international breakthrough in Portugal in 1991, and today, Q-free is a listed technology company headquartered in Trondheim, with 400 employees at branch offices in 16 countries. We have offices in the USA, Australia, Canada, Chile, Russia, Slovenia, the United Kingdom and a number of other countries. Our technology is used for much more than collecting road tolls from cars travelling at high speeds. Today, our focus can be summed up with the keywords Flow, Clean, Safe – in other words, better traffic flow, cleaner air and safer traffic, with fewer fatalities and accidents. Q-Free is a world-leader in mobility technology.

Trondheim – The city of geniuses

Borgar Ljosland and his fellow students from NTNU were sitting in a bar when they hit on a great idea, and the conversation went something like this: “Should we do it this way or that way? Which is best? This way? Yes! Write it down on the napkin, quick!” The friends had discovered that it was possible to significantly improve mobile phones. A formula on a piece of paper produces perfect display graphics with minimal use of power. Their recipe for a new processor was to be the best in the world. Shockingly ambitious, but it worked. Borgar conquered the world. Did you know that over 13,000 people in Trondheim work in the technology sector? The city is home to 750 technology companies and offers unprecedented opportunities for people who are looking for an exciting job or have their own ideas for a smart start-up.