NILU’s observations conducted on Zeppelin, Svalbard. © NILU

NILU – The Norwegian Institute for Air Research – is an independent, non-profit research institution established in 1969. Through its research, the institute increases the understanding of climate change and the composition of the atmosphere, of global and local air quality and of the impacts of hazardous substances. NILU markets integrated services and products within analyzing, monitoring, and consulting. The institute is concerned with increasing public awareness about climate change and environmental pollution.

The institute holds a strong position both at the national and international level within its core research areas. NILU is composed of 192 researchers, technicians, and other experts. Research is funded by the Norwegian Research Council, industry in Norway and the offshore sector, and by governmental institutions in Norway and abroad. Approximately 40 % of the institute’s research activities come from international projects.

NILUs main office is located at Kjeller outside Oslo. The institute also has a branch office at the Fram Research Centre in Tromsø and in Abu Dhabi in The United Arab Emirates. Furthermore, the institute owns a subsidiary in Poland and holds shares in a company in South Africa.

NILU Research Areas
• Composition of the atmosphere
• GHG and climate change
• Ozone layer depletion and UV radiation
• Long range transport of air pollution
• Urban and industrial air pollution
• Hazardous substances and their effects on health and the environment
• Ecology and economics

NILU in Tromsø
NILU’s office in Tromsø focuses its research on contaminants and climate change – and their effects on human health and ecosystems in Arctic areas. The office also heads Environmental Contaminants – one of the five core areas for the new Fram High North Research Centre.

From Pole to Pole
NILU monitors climate change, global air quality and air pollution transport pathways through observatories in Norway (Birkenes and ALOMAR – Andøya), in the Arctic (Svalbard, Zeppelin) and in Antarctica (Troll). NILU’s observatories supply researchers all over the world with vital data on a wide spectrum of pollutants, climate gasses, and climate forcing agents.

Laboratories
According to the Evaluation Committee, Basic Chemistry Research Norway, “…the standard of the analysis of trace levels of a wide range of analyses at NILU is excellent and the high standards of the environmental chemistry have become widely recognized.”

NILU’s chemical laboratories are among the most advanced in Europe. The laboratories have state-of-the-art analytical equipment, including a series of high-resolution mass spectrometers to determine a broad range of organic and inorganic pollutants. With the new health effects laboratory, established in 2009, NILU will also investigate human toxicological aspects of pollution, climate changes and new materials.

Accreditation
NILU is certified according to NS-EN ISO 9001:2000 and accredited according to EN-ISO/IEC 17025. NILU also holds Norway’s national reference laboratory for air pollution and ozone.

A hole in a frying pan is part of the research at the advanced laboratory at NILU’s Tromsø office. Senior scientist Dorte Herzke measures possible toxins in the Teflon coating. © Helge Markusson, Fram High North Research Centre.