The main objective of this project entails building human capability and creating suitable infrastructure for standard research, education and technical training to university students, staffs, and relevant stakeholders in Ethiopia. This project is aimed to build human capacity and improve research facilities at Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources (WGCFNR)  Hawassa University Ethiopia and Dilla University in Ethiopia in Ethiopia. The project activities includes:

• Provide scholarship support for 6 PhD students to study at the NMBU Norway 
• Provide scholarship for 25 MSc students to study at Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources (WGCFNR) 
• Provide support for 2 Postdoc reserach fellows 
• Establish Master degree programme in Sustainable energy technologies at Dilla University
• Establish online teaching facilities at Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources (WGCFNR) 
• Establish site for renewable energy technologies demonstration site at Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources (WGCFNR) 

Dr. Kidist F. Wolde (Post-Doctoral Fellow) - Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Ethiopia

Mr. Gezahegn Kebede (Visiting researcher at NMBU) - Dilla University, Dilla, Ethiopia

Getachew Birhanu Abera - Biological conversion of CO₂ to CH₄: impact of process inhibitors and biofilm-based mitigations approaches (Supervisors: Dr. Lu Feng (NIBIO); Dr. Linn Solli (NIBIO) and Professor Erik Trømborg (MINA, NMBU))

Blen Weldegebreal Gebreegziabher - Potential Biomass Resource Assessment and Valorization for the Production of Biofuel (Supervisor: Professor Muyiwa S Adaramola (MINA, NMBU); Professor John Morken (RealTek, NMBU) and Amare Aregahegn Dubale (Addis Ababa University, Ethiopia))

Ararsa Derese Seboka - Biogas and Bio-briquette Production from Biowaste Resources and their Environmental Impacts in Selected Sectors of Southern Ethiopia (Supervisors: Professor Muyiwa S Adaramola (MINA, NMBU); Professor John Morken (RealTek, NMBU), Dr. Lu Feng (NIBIO) and Dr. Gebreselassie Asnake ( Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Ethiopia ))

Ephrem Milikias Meja - Exploring the viability and operational efficiency of solar coffee drying technology: A comprehensive analysis in Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia (Supervisors: Professor Muyiwa S Adaramola (MINA, NMBU); Dr. Sileshi Kore Dubbe Wolaita Sodo University, Ethiopia); Dr. Addisu Bekele Alemayehu (Adama Science and Technology University, Ethiopia))

Meselu Tegenie Mellaku - Long-Term Alternative Energy Supply Scenario Analysis for the Ethiopian Large-Scale Manufacturing Industry Sector (Supervisors: Professor Muyiwa S Adaramola (MINA, NMBU); Dr. Yibeltal Tebikew Wassie (Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Ethiopia); Dr. Pernille Seljom (University of Oslo (UiO), Norway))

Getachew Demie Gebre - Supervisors: Jorge M Marchetti (RealTek, NMBU); Dr. Yadessa G. Keneni (Hawassa University, Ethiopia); and Dr.  Shemelis N. Gebremariam (Wondo Genet College of Forestry and Natural Resources, Hawassa University, Ethiopia))

Meja, E.M., Dubbe, S.K., Bekele, A. et al. Techno-economic assessment of a greenhouse solar coffee dryer: a case of Coffee arabica L. in Ethiopia. Clean Techn Environ Policy 28, 133 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10098-026-03484-x

Workineh Mengesha Fereja, Gezahegn Kebede Beyene, Habtamu Temesgen. Investigating the status of biogas systems, digestate utilization practices, and key technological challenges among rural households in the Gedeo Zone, Ethiopia. Case Studies in Chemical and Environmental Engineering (13), 2026, 101359; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cscee.2026.101359

Blen W. Gebreegziabher, John Morken, Amare A. Dubale, Muyiwa S. Adaramola. Characterization of cold-pressed Argemone mexicana seed oil, seed residue briquetting, and free fatty acid reduction through glycerolysis. Bioresource Technology Reports (34), 2026, 102710; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2026.102710

Blen Weldegebreal Gebreegziabher, Muyiwa Samuel Adaramola, John Morken, Amare Aregahegn Dubale. Optimization of solid-liquid extraction: Solvent effects on the fatty acid composition and physicochemical properties of Argemone mexicana seed oil and valorization of seed residue. Industrial Crops and Products (233), 2025, 121468; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.indcrop.2025.121468

Gebreegziabher, B.W., Dubale, A.A., Adaramola, M.S. et al. Advancing Anaerobic Digestion of Biodiesel Byproducts: A Comprehensive Review. Bioenergy Res. 18, 15 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12155-025-10820-4

Seboka, A.D., Ewunie, G.A., Morken, J. et al. Potentials and prospects of solid biowaste resources for biofuel production in Ethiopia: a systematic review of the evidence. Biomass Conv. Bioref. 14, 30929–30960 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13399-023-04994-0

Ararsa D. Seboka, John Morken, Muyiwa S. Adaramola, Gebresilassie A. Ewunie, Lu Feng. Optimization of briquetting parameters and their effects on thermochemical fuel properties of biowaste briquettes. Bioresource Technology, Volume 439, 2026, 133277; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biortech.2025.133277

Seboka, A.D., Feng, L., Morken, J. et al. Assessing energy consumption patterns and biowaste generation in southern Ethiopian hotels and universities: towards sustainable energy solutions. Discov. Sustain 6, 262 (2025). https://doi.org/10.1007/s43621-025-01099-8

Getachew Birhanu Abera, Aryan Bhusal, Thea Os Andersen, Shuai Wang, Nabin Aryal, Svein Jarle Horn, Lu Feng. Mitigating ammonia inhibition in in-situ biomethanation using anaerobic moving bed biofilm reactor. Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering (13), Issue 5,2025, 118355; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jece.2025.118355

Getachew Birhanu Abera, Thea Os Andersen, Linn Solli, Svein Jarle Horn, Lu Feng. Impact of hydrogen sulphide on biomethanation and the potential mechanisms of mitigation, Biomass and Bioenergy (201), 2025, 108051; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biombioe.2025.108051

Begüm Bilgiç, Thea Os Andersen, Getachew Birhanu Abera, Michal Sposób, Lu Feng, Svein Jarle Horn. Syngas biomethanation using trickle bed reactor, impact of external hydrogen addition at high loading rate. Bioresource Technology Reports (31), 2025,102197; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biteb.2025.102197 

Abera, G.B., Trømborg, E., Solli, L. et al. Biofilm application for anaerobic digestion: a systematic review and an industrial scale case. Biotechnol Biofuels 17, 145 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13068-024-02592-4

Meja, Ephrem M., Dubbe, Sileshi K., Bekele, Addisu, Wolde, Kidist F., Adaramola, Muyiwa S., Investigating the Performance and Optimization of Solar Coffee Drying Technologies—A Systematic Review, Journal of Food Processing and Preservation, 2025, 7907660, 16 pages, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1155/jfpp/7907660

Meselu Tegenie Mellaku, Yibeltal Tebikew Wassie, Pernille Seljom, Muyiwa S. Adaramola. Decentralized renewable energy technology alternatives to bridge manufacturing sector energy supply-demand gap in East Africa: A systematic review of potentials, challenges, and opportunities. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Volume 216,2025, 115708, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2025.115708

Gebre, G.D., Keneni, Y.G., Gebremariam, S.N. et al. Drying Kinetics of Papaya (Carica papaya) Seed Waste at Different Temperatures and Pretreatment Conditions for Use in Biofuel Production. Waste and Biomass Valorization (17) 349–369 (2026). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12649-025-03098-2

Gebre, Getachew Demie; Keneni, Yadessa Gonfa; Gebremariam, Shemelis Nigatu; Marchetti, Jorge Mario. Drying kinetics and mathematical modeling of seeds of two mango varieties at different temperatures and with different pretreatments. Biofuels, Bioproducts and Biorefining 2024; 18(4) p. 899-926. https://scijournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/bbb.2611

Annual meeting 2022