Norway built a thunder generator to catch lightning in a supercapacitor

On a mountain plateau in western Norway, researchers set up a system to do something that sounds like science fiction: deliberately attract a lightning strike and capture part of its energy in a supercapacitor. The experiment took place at Ørskogfjellet, a site known for frequent thunderstorms, and was carried out by scientists from the University of Bergen and other partners as part of a project to study lightning energy harvesting. ^[1][2]

How the thunder generator worked

The setup used a small rocket trailing a thin copper wire to trigger a lightning strike at a predictable time and place. When the lightning hit, a coil (inductor) converted the enormous current — often tens of thousands of amperes — into a lower, safer voltage. That reduced voltage then charged a supercapacitor, a device that can store and release energy very quickly. ^[1][3]

The amount of energy actually stored was tiny — enough to light a small LED briefly or prove the concept, but nowhere near the energy needed to power a home. A single lightning bolt carries hundreds of megajoules, but capturing even a fraction of that in a compact storage device is extremely difficult because the discharge is so fast and destructive. ^[1][2]

Why it matters

• It demonstrates that lightning energy can be safely diverted and stored, even if only in tiny amounts. ^[1]
• The technology could help protect power grids and electronics by redirecting strikes away from sensitive equipment. ^[2]
• It provides a testbed for studying lightning physics and improving lightning protection systems. ^[3]

The experiment was not designed to produce usable electricity on a large scale. Instead, it was a proof of principle: a way to measure how much energy can be extracted and to test the limits of supercapacitors under extreme conditions. The researchers emphasized that the energy captured was minuscule compared to the strike itself, but the data could inform future lightning-harvesting or protection technologies. ^[1][2]

The bigger picture

Lightning is a natural phenomenon that releases enormous energy in microseconds. While it is tempting to imagine harvesting it for power, the intermittent and unpredictable nature of strikes, plus the engineering challenges of handling such high currents, make it impractical for grid-scale energy. The Norwegian project is part of a broader effort to understand and mitigate lightning damage rather than to replace power plants. ^[2][3]