Latest VTT Technical Research Centre Stories

A study carried out by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland indicates that extreme weather conditions cost EU transport system at least €15 billion a year. Currently, the greatest costs incurred are from road accidents, with the associated material damage and psychological suffering. However, costs arising from accidents are expected to decrease in volume, though time-related costs attributable to delays are projected to increase. In part, this is due to climate change, whose impact on...

A pocket-size microscope accessory developed by Finnish scientists will be accurate to one hundredth of a millimeter VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the leading multi-technological applied research organisation in Northern Europe, has developed an optical accessory that turns an ordinary camera phone into a high-resolution microscope. The device is accurate to one hundredth of a millimetre. Among those who will benefit from the device are the printing industry, consumers, the...

VTT invests to new sustainable and added value fiber-based products for the forest sector Foam forming technology gives exciting opportunities to develop new recyclable and light weight wood fiber products. It also gives a possibility to decrease raw material and production costs remarkably compared to recent technology. VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, together with industry has started setting up a new pilot scale technology platform for foam forming applications. With foam...

Fuel consumption and emissions can be reduced with new technology No less than one third of a car's fuel consumption is spent in overcoming friction, and this friction loss has a direct impact on both fuel consumption and emissions. However, new technology can reduce friction by anything from 10% to 80% in various components of a car, according to a joint study by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland and Argonne National Laboratory (ANL) in USA. It should thus be possible to reduce...

The study carried out by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, Aalto University and University of Oulu investigated the ownership and governance structure of Finnish infrastructure networks and utilities. A part of the research focused on investors' and owners' returns. 29 municipal and state owned units, limited companies and some private entities were analysed using the financial statement data for 2002-2009. The study covered water supply, roads, streets, ports, airports, railways...

A study conducted by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland indicates that there is practically no difference between commercial petrol grades 95E10 and 98E5 sold in Finland as regards fuel consumption in normal driving. The finding is based on driving tests conducted by VTT using six used cars of different make under laboratory conditions.It has been frequently claimed in public that fuel consumption is significantly higher with 95E10 petrol than with its predecessor 95E or the 98E5 petrol...

Trailer-mounted equipment detects seatbelt compliance and measures vehicle speedPolice surveillance of seatbelt compliance and speeding receives a boost with the new test equipment. Developed by VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland, the equipment also measures distance between vehicles, road surface condition and calculates traffic emissions. The test equipment is part of an EU project aimed at improving traffic safety and reducing accidents caused by traffic rule violations. The...