Innovative energy technologies

Transitioning to low-carbon energy

If we are to achieve carbon neutrality, we will have to develop and deploy decarbonisation strategies. Meeting the zero-carbon objective requires technological transformations within the energy sector.

Successful transition to low-carbon energy will depend on the interaction between four drivers:

  • integration of digital innovation in the energy system
  • development of prosumer business models
  • regulatory frameworks that incentivise companies to change and evolve into the zero-carbon era
  • changes in human behaviour in favour of renewables.

The Energy sessions will focus on carbon neutrality, discussing methodologies for making a carbon neutrality roadmap, new technologies for meeting the neutrality target within transport sectors, hydrogen’s global value chain, innovative digital technologies for boosting low-carbon development and climate financing.

Conference programme

Energy

17 January 2022

14:30
Global value chains for decarbonisation of the energy system

Energy

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Energy

Global value chains for decarbonisation of the energy system

17/01/2022, 14:30 - 16:00 GST (Dubai)

11:30 - 13:00 CET/WAT (Brussels, Nigeria)

12:30 - 14:00 SAST (Cape Town)

05:30 - 07:00 EST (New York)

19:30 - 21:00 KST (Seoul)

18:30 - 20:00 CST (Beijing)

16:00 - 17:30 IST (New Delhi)

07:30 - 09:00 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

According to the European Environment Agency (EEA), energy generation is by far the world’s largest source of GHG emissions from human activities. About two thirds of global GHG emissions are linked to burning fossil fuels to generate energy for heating, electricity, transport and industry. Decarbonising the energy system means replacing fossil fuel sources (such as coal, oil/petroleum, and natural gas) with those that emit far less carbon dioxide (such as wind, geothermal, solar and hydro).

Industries and the transport sector are playing a major role in the energy transition by adopting new technologies, developing new value chains and replacing fossil fuel-based approaches with renewable and sustainable ones.

One such approach is power-to-X, in which various conversion, storage and reconversion pathways make use of surplus electric power from renewable sources. Power-to-X thereby offers a multitude of economic, environmental and societal benefits including reduced CO2 emissions and increased energy independence. Enabling energy storage through power-to-X approaches is crucial for achieving the objectives of energy system decarbonisation.

This session will bring together experts and practitioners from different fields, including industry stakeholders who are adopting these new technologies, building pilot demonstrations and setting up new value chains, along with policy makers responsible for determining regulations and R&D people who are at the forefront of making the relevant technologies available, at scale. In particular, these speakers will include leading players from Europe, which is at the forefront of these changes, and from the Middle East region, which is rich with solar energy and opportunities for implementing decarbonisation.

Facilitated by

Jan  Vaes

Jan Vaes

VITO

Program Manager Sustainable Chemistry

Presentation

Elvira  Lutter

Elvira Lutter

Austrian Federal Government

Program and Research Manager, Climate and Energy Fund

Presentation

Kjell  Wouters

Kjell Wouters

EXMAR

Project Development Manager

Presentation

Grant Strem

Grant Strem

Proton Technologies Canada

Chairman

Presentation

Tor Martin  Anfinnsen

Tor Martin Anfinnsen

Equinor

SVP New Value Chains

Presentation

Ludo Diels

Ludo Diels

Emeritus at Antwerp University, Chair of the Advisory and Programming Group of Processes4Planet

Panel discussion

25 October 2021

11:15
Role of NDCs in concerted efforts to achieve climate goals

Climate Energy

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Climate Energy

Role of NDCs in concerted efforts to achieve climate goals

25/10/2021, 11:15 - 12:45 GST (Dubai)

09:15 - 10:45 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

08:15 - 09:45 WAT (Nigeria)

03:15 - 04:45 EDT (New York)

16:15 - 17:45 KST (Seoul)

15:15 - 16:45 CST (Beijing)

12:45 - 14:15 IST (New Delhi)

04:15 - 05:45 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the achievement of long-term climate goals. They embody each country’s efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change. The Agreement states that every country is to prepare, communicate and maintain its intended successive NDCs.

Together, these actions will determine whether the world achieves the Agreement’s aims, including reversing the rise of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible and following through with rapid reduction. Goals which can be met by utilising the best-available science to achieve a balance between human-caused emissions and their removal in the second half of this century. It is understood that developing countries will take longer to peak their emissions and that reductions will be undertaken on an equitable basis. All must be done in the context of sustainable development and efforts to eradicate poverty, which are critical priorities for many developing countries.

This session will explore the challenges related with using NDCs as a mechanism for achieving climate goals and associated SDGs. How can we create and establish innovative financial mechanisms for implementing them, together with building national and regional capacity? And how can we accelerate this? High-level keynote speakers will share latest insights, examples and best practices.

Chaired by

Francesca  Vanthielen

Francesca Vanthielen

Moderator

Keynote speech

Lazarus Chakwera

H.E. Lazarus Chakwera

Republic of Malawi

President

Lazarus Chakwera is a Malawian theologian and politician who has been President of Malawi since June 2020. In addition to the Presidency, he is also self-appointed to the cabinet as Minister of Defence. Mr Chakwera has been leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013, and was previously Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly following highly controversial elections held on 21 May 2019, which were overturned by the Constitutional Court. He was appointed chairman of SADC on 17 August at the SADC 41st Annual Summit held on 9 August to 19 august in Lilongwe, Malawi. He was President of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 to 14 May 2013.

Presentation

Amani Abou-Zeid

H.E. Amani Abou-Zeid

African Union Commission

Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy

Amani Abou-Zeid is the newly elected Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy at the African Union Commission (AUC). She is in charge of sectors covering Energy, Transport, Tourism and ICT. Prior to joining the AUC, Abou-Zeid has served for more than 30 years in leadership roles at top-tier international organisations, such as the African Development Bank (AfDB), UNDP and USAID, with a focus on infrastructure and energy programmes.

Over her career, Abou-Zeid has amassed a rare mix of experience from across Africa, France, UK and Canada. She has managed large and complex development programmes, including the largest operations portfolio of the African Development Bank (AfDB). An Egyptian national, Abou-Zeid speaks French, English, Arabic and Spanish. She is a trained telecommunications engineer with an MBA in project management from the French University for African Development (Université Senghor), a Masters of Public Administration from Harvard University and a Ph.D. in Social and Economic Development from University of Manchester, UK. She also has a degree in Arts from Université Sorbonne-Paris IV.

Abou-Zeid has received numerous international awards and recognition for her leadership and excellence, including the honour of “Officier de l’Ordre de Wissam Alaouite” from His Majesty King Mohamed VI of Morocco and being recognised as a World Young Leader by the European Union.

Presentation

Rashid Ali Abdallah

Rashid Ali Abdallah

Africa Energy Commission

Executive Director

Rashid Ali Abdallah has been executive director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC) since November 2018. He has more than 20 years of experience in energy, sustainable development and environmental policy at national, regional and continental level. Prior to joining AFREC, Abdallah served as the Head of the Energy Division within the African Union Commission’s Department of Infrastructure and Energy.

In his current role, Abdallah spearheads and leads the delivery of AFREC’s work programmes and strategy, in cooperation with the African Union Commission and African member states, based on continental, regional and national priorities.

A Sudanese national, Abdallah has bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering (from the University of Khartoum) and project management (from the University of Birmingham, UK) and a Post Graduate Diploma in energy engineering from Khartoum University.

Presentation

Youssef  Nassef

Youssef Nassef

UNFCCC

Director Adaptation

Presentation

Rose  Mwebaza

Rose Mwebaza

Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN)

Director

Rose Mwebaza is the Director of the CTCN and brings 20 years’ experience providing policy advice on a wide range of climate change, environment and sustainable development issues. She has previously served as Chief Natural Resources Officer at the African Development Bank and held leadership positions within the UN Development Programme. Mwebaza was a Lecturer at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, for 10 years, serving as the Head of Department for Commercial Law and Deputy Dean of the Law School.

Mwebaza holds a PhD in environment and natural resource governance from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, a master’s degree in international comparative law (with a Certificate of Academic Excellence) from the University of Florida, U.S.A and a bachelor’s degree in law (LL.B, Hons.) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Presentation

Leen Govaerts

Leen Govaerts

VITO

Unit Manager Smart Energy & Built Environment

Presentation

Eirik Wærness

Eirik Wærness

Equinor

Senior Vice President and Chief Economist

Senior Vice President and Chief Economist in Equinor, group responsible for macroeconomics and energy and commodity market analyses, and head of strategy in mid- and downstream.

Broad experience from government, academics and private sector companies, as advisor and in different leadership positions. In Equinor, leader of Corporate Strategy, Corporate Planning and Analysis, Economic Analysis in Upstream Norway, Energy Market Analysis in addition to current role.

Currently non-executive member of the Board of Innovation Norway, and member of the Global Commission to examine Geopolitics of Energy Transformation, set up by IRENA, the International Renewable Energy Agency, as well as non-executive member of the Board of Centre for applied research at the Norwegian School of Economics.

July 2016 – February 2018 non-executive member of the Board of the Norwegian Financial Supervisory Authority (Finanstilsynet).

From 2014 in different energy initiatives under World Economic Forum, including special advisor for their work on energy architecture and member of the global council on the future of energy.
In the period 2010-2013 member of the Executive Board of the Central Bank of Norway.

Previous work experience from the Centre for applied research at the Norwegian School of Economics, Norwegian Ministry of Finance, Total E&P Norway, and Pöyry Management Consulting/Econ Centre for economic analysis.

Presentation

Hicham Bouzekri

Hicham Bouzekri

Development and Industry Integration, MASEN

Director of Research

Hisham Bouzekri obtained his engineer diploma in electronics and communications from L’École Mohammadia d’Ingénieurs in 1995. After two years working as a microelectronics industrial process engineer for SGS-Thomson in Casablanca, he was awarded a Fulbright scholarship in 1997 to join the Master of Science program at the University of Florida, from which he graduated in 1998. He went on to get a PhD in electrical engineering from Texas A&M University in 2002. After graduating, Bouzekri was among the pioneers who established STMicroelectronics’ Rabat Integrated Circuit Design Center, a first in Africa.

Hisham Bouzekri held several management positions within STMicroelectronics and ST-Ericsson while concurrently holding an adjunct faculty position at Al Akhawayn University. Over the span of his 24 years of experience, he has co-authored a number of scientific publications and industry standards in wireless communications, and was elected an IEEE senior member.

In 2013, Bouzekri joined Mascir management team, a Moroccan not-for-profit foundation conducting market-oriented R&D in microelectronics, biotechnology & nano-materials. He served as its Chief Executive Officer until 2016.

Between 2017 and 2019, Bouzekri consulted with multiple national and international organisations, including the Moroccan Agency for Sustainable Energy (MASEN) and the United Nations – ESCWA, on establishing innovation and knowledge economy ecosystems. He currently serves as MASEN’s Director of R&D and Industrial Integration.

Closing remarks

11:15
International transfer: global accessibility of low-carbon technologies

Energy

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Energy

International transfer: global accessibility of low-carbon technologies

25/10/2021, 11:15 - 12:45 GST (Dubai)

09:15 - 10:45 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

08:15 - 09:45 WAT (Nigeria)

03:15 - 04:45 EDT (New York)

16:15 - 17:45 KST (Seoul)

15:15 - 16:45 CST (Beijing)

12:45 - 14:15 IST (New Delhi)

04:15 - 05:45 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

If the global goal of carbon neutrality is to be achieved, we need to strengthen research, development and international application of low-carbon technology. While developed countries have sufficient resources to create advanced low-carbon technologies, many others do not. Worldwide adoption of low-carbon technology will only become possible if the relevant innovations are transferred to and disseminated among different countries, industries and companies.

Chaired by

Yu Bai

Yu Bai

Guangzhou Institution of Energy Conversion

Deputy Director Division of Science and Technology

Yu Bai has a bachelor’s degree in environmental engineering from South China University of Technology (Guangzhou, China), together with a master’s in environmental engineering and sustainable architecture and a PhD in civil engineering & habitat science from the University of Savoie Mont-Blanc (France) and France National Institute for Solar Energy. She has worked in the fields of hybrid solar thermal and photovoltaic systems, low-carbon building-related technologies and optimisation, energy strategy, and low carbon development. She is certified as a “BEAM (Building Environment Assessment Method) Professional” by Hong Kong Green Building Council.

Yu is currently Deputy Director of the Science and Technology Division at GIEC, and is experienced in promoting international cooperation. She is one of the representatives of Mission Innovation from China, and also participates deeply in activities under the APEC PPSTI and Energy working group. In 2020, she was selected as a member of the C3E International Ambassador Slate under CEM for advancing the transition to a low-carbon economy, through advancing women’s participation and leadership in the clean energy sector.

Keynote speech

Promotion of Climate Technology Transfer and Investment — ADB Practice and Experience

Lu Xuedu

Lu Xuedu

Asian Development Bank (ADB)

Lead Climate Change Specialist

Xuedu Lu PhD is Lead Climate Change Specialist in the East Asia Department of the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Having joined ADB in 2010, he works on low carbon development, carbon market, climate finance and low carbon technology. Prior to joining ADB, Dr. Lv held various different positions including Deputy Director General of National Climate Center, Member of the Executive Board of Clean Development Mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol to UNFCCC, and Deputy Head of the Global Environment Office within the Ministry of Science and Technology. He has also previously been Adjunct Professor of Tianjin University and Tongji University and was engaged in the UNFCCC negotiations from 1996 to 2010 as a member of Chinese delegation.

Keynote speech

Opportunities for international technology transfer cooperation and practice sharing in the field of sustainable development

John Zhang

John Zhang

International Technology Transfer Network (ITTN)

Secretary General

John Zhang has been General Secretary of International Technology Transfer Network (ITTN) since 2013, a role in which he is committed to international technology transfer cooperation, science and technology commercialisation, training of technology transfer professionals and construction of related knowledge systems. He has established 610 ITTN institutions in 35 countries and carried out more than 26 special projects commissioned by institutions such as the Ministry of Science and Technology, the BRICS Technology Transfer Centre, China-Italy Technology Transfer Centre and other inter-governmental platforms.

In 2016, John Zhang was responsible for establishing the International Technology Transfer Committee of China Association for International Science and Technology Cooperation (CAISTC), along with the national “China International Technology Transfer Manager” training and certification system. To date, more than 1,800 Chinese and foreign students have been trained via 47 sessions.

In 2019, he was appointed executive director of China International Talent Exchange and Development, member of the Academic Committee, Standardization Committee of Chinese Management and Research Institute on Science & Technology Evaluation and Achievements, and National Technical Committee for Science and Technology Assessment Standards (SAC/TC580).

During 2017-2019, John Zhang made two applications to the APEC official fund project which resulted in the “Handbook on Technology Commercialisation Practices in APEC Economies” and “Regional Integration 4.0 and Sustainable Development”, a project promoting innovative city construction and open cooperation in the APEC region, which is currently being implemented.

In 2020, Zhang was commissioned by the China Centre for International Science and Technology Exchange (CISTE) to compile the “International Technology Trade Promotion Q&A”, which will serve as a guide for promoting international technology trade. He led ITTN’s launch of the “100 Global Best Practices for Technology Transfer 2020”, a selection made jointly with CISTE and the Institution of Management and Research on Science and Technological Achievements. He also led a project team researching medium and long-term expansion of international multiple technology supply channels and methods.

In 2021, John Zhang was formally hired as an external tutor by the School of Trade Negotiations, Shanghai University of International Business and Economics. Here, he teaches and provides
guidance to students in law, foreign-related rule of law and international organisation. He is committed to promoting the training of international technology transfer talents and the construction of related knowledge systems. With this, he has led the ITTN team in organising more than 50 international technology transfer manager training sessions in nearly 30 cities in China, and trained more than 2,000 people.

Presentation

Industrial sensors for process measurements – the importance of innovation quality

Rolf-Jürgen Ahlers

Rolf-Jürgen Ahlers

ProxiVision GmbH

Managing Director

Rolf-Jürgen Ahlers has a Dipl.-Ing. electrical engineering degree and attained his PhD at Stuttgart University. Since 2011, he has been Honorary Professor at PTW, TU Darmstadt. Alongside this, he is managing director (CEO) of ProxiVision GmbH, chair of the Aerospace Forum Baden Württemberg (Forum LR BW e.V.), vice president of Steinbeis Research and Technology Organization, Stuttgart (Germany), member of the board of LVI (Industry Association of Baden-Württemberg) and chair of its Research, Technology and Innovation working group, and member of the Supply Chain Commission at ASD, Brussels.

Presentation

Optoelectronics-based monitoring for environmental situation awareness: perspectives and practices in COET/SIAT

Li Qiran

Li Qiran

Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology Chinese Academy of Sciences

Principal Investigator

Li Qiran joined COET/SIAT in November 2019 as a senior research engineer. He has a B. Eng degree in optoelectronics from Huazhong University of Science and Technology (Wuhan), a Dipl. Ing in micro-nanotechnology from Polytech Paris-Saclay (Orsay) and a PhD in microelectronic materials in the framework of Erasmus-Mundus (IDS Funmat, Caen and Darmstadt). He is currently the SIAT coordinator for the European Commission Erasmus+ Higher Education Capability Building project “Climate change adapted water management” (2021-2024).

Presentation

VPP integrated networks for energy storage and distribution, by FESCOM

Viacheslav Dementev

Viacheslav Dementev

Fescom Technologies LTD

Co-Founder and President

Viacheslav Dementev has a PhD in chemistry of materials from the USSR Academy of Sciences and a master’s in chemical engineering from the Mendeleev Institute of Chemical Technology. He has been deeply involved in energy materials chemistry research in top research institutions in both Russia and the United States. This has led to successful implementation, production and commercialisation of new advanced energy storage devices and systems, which have been brought to market in various industries such as power, telecoms, aerospace and electric transport.

Alongside his research and materials inventions activities, Viacheslav has been responsible for management and administrative leadership of technology transfer and industrial commercialisation projects in the United States, which have resulted in several successful innovative start-up companies.

Dementev is currently fully occupied with building new business within the FESCOM Group of companies, promoting technology transfer and commercial implementation of the FESCOM Virtual Power Plant’s new, advanced technology. The FESCOM Virtual Power Plant is an integrated network of distributed energy storage battery systems, based on FESCOM’s software platform for Battery Energy Storage Virtual Power Plant modules and its Data Acquisition and Power Management electronic system. The advanced FESCOM energy storage battery modules can be built into both existing and newly created electrical infrastructure networks at different levels, from small villages to cities and entire regions, and for different customers such as telecoms, electric transport charging and renewable energy resources, such as rooftop or ground-mounted solar and wind generators.

14:00
Solutions to overcome data scarcity for NDC’s

Climate Energy

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Climate Energy

Solutions to overcome data scarcity for NDC’s

25/10/2021, 14:00 - 15:30 GST (Dubai)

12:00 - 13:30 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

11:00 - 12:30 WAT (Nigeria)

06:00 - 07:30 EDT (New York)

19:00 - 20:30 KST (Seoul)

18:00 - 19:30 CST (Beijing)

15:30 - 17:00 IST (New Delhi)

07:00 - 08:30 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

While NDCs embody countries’ efforts to adapt to the impacts of climate change, mitigating it by reducing GHG emissions remains a critical part of many policies (and SDG13). Verifiable data is crucial for determining efficient strategies and is pivotal for updating NDCs, as well as monitoring and reporting on implementation and progress. However, it is not available in many areas. This session will zoom in on solutions for overcoming data scarcity and focus on capacity building needs.

Presentation

Youssef  Nassef

Youssef Nassef

UNFCCC

Director Adaptation

Presentation

Rashid Ali Abdallah

Rashid Ali Abdallah

Africa Energy Commission

Executive Director

Rashid Ali Abdallah has been executive director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC) since November 2018. He has more than 20 years of experience in energy, sustainable development and environmental policy at national, regional and continental level. Prior to joining AFREC, Abdallah served as the Head of the Energy Division within the African Union Commission’s Department of Infrastructure and Energy.

In his current role, Abdallah spearheads and leads the delivery of AFREC’s work programmes and strategy, in cooperation with the African Union Commission and African member states, based on continental, regional and national priorities.

A Sudanese national, Abdallah has bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering (from the University of Khartoum) and project management (from the University of Birmingham, UK) and a Post Graduate Diploma in energy engineering from Khartoum University.

Presentation

Filip Lefebre

Filip Lefebre

VITO

Urban Climate Service Manager

Filip Lefebre is a business developer and project manager in VITO’s Environmental Modelling business unit’s Climate Service team. This team delivers innovative, sustainable and scientifically sound products and services to better manage, predict and control our shared natural resources (air, water, land, soil, eco-systems), based on computer modelling and information technology. It specialises in the processing of past, present and future climate data into information and services suitable for use by customer-oriented organisations. The Climate Service Team’s expertise covers urban climate services as well as climate health, biodiversity and agriculture services.

Filip has a PhD in physics of regional climate modelling of the Greenland ice sheet (2001) from the Catholic University of Louvain.

Presentation

Cassius Chiwambo

Cassius Chiwambo

Government of Malawi

Director Ministry of Energy

Cassius Chiwambo is a Director at Ministry of Energy in Malawi. He has vast experience in Petroleum and Minerals. Cassius has both Technical as well as Legal skills having done Masters of Mining at Curtin University in Western Australia, Energy and Mineral Law and Policy at Dundee University in Scotland. He is a final year PhD Student pursuing Energy and Petroleum Law at the same institution.

He worked as an Acting Commissioner of Petroleum in Malawi from 2016 to June, 2020 before before appointed as a Director of Energy in July, 2020.

Cassius Chiwambo is the brain behind Malawi’s Upstream Petroleum Sector, having promoted the exploration of actual fuels and also Renewable Sources of Energy from Geothermal and others.

He is currently championing the realization of 1000 MW to the National Grid in 4 years (From 2021 to 2024), which is an Industrial-Economical vision made by His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Mac Cathy Chakwera, the State President of Malawi and supported by Malawi’s National Planing Commission (NPC) and the Agenda 2063 on Universal Access to Electricity.

Panel discussion

Debate

Youssef  Nassef

Youssef Nassef

UNFCCC

Director Adaptation

Rashid Ali Abdallah

Rashid Ali Abdallah

Africa Energy Commission

Executive Director

Rashid Ali Abdallah has been executive director of the African Energy Commission (AFREC) since November 2018. He has more than 20 years of experience in energy, sustainable development and environmental policy at national, regional and continental level. Prior to joining AFREC, Abdallah served as the Head of the Energy Division within the African Union Commission’s Department of Infrastructure and Energy.

In his current role, Abdallah spearheads and leads the delivery of AFREC’s work programmes and strategy, in cooperation with the African Union Commission and African member states, based on continental, regional and national priorities.

A Sudanese national, Abdallah has bachelor’s degrees in mechanical engineering (from the University of Khartoum) and project management (from the University of Birmingham, UK) and a Post Graduate Diploma in energy engineering from Khartoum University.

Filip Lefebre

Filip Lefebre

VITO

Urban Climate Service Manager

Filip Lefebre is a business developer and project manager in VITO’s Environmental Modelling business unit’s Climate Service team. This team delivers innovative, sustainable and scientifically sound products and services to better manage, predict and control our shared natural resources (air, water, land, soil, eco-systems), based on computer modelling and information technology. It specialises in the processing of past, present and future climate data into information and services suitable for use by customer-oriented organisations. The Climate Service Team’s expertise covers urban climate services as well as climate health, biodiversity and agriculture services.

Filip has a PhD in physics of regional climate modelling of the Greenland ice sheet (2001) from the Catholic University of Louvain.

Cassius Chiwambo

Cassius Chiwambo

Government of Malawi

Director Ministry of Energy

Cassius Chiwambo is a Director at Ministry of Energy in Malawi. He has vast experience in Petroleum and Minerals. Cassius has both Technical as well as Legal skills having done Masters of Mining at Curtin University in Western Australia, Energy and Mineral Law and Policy at Dundee University in Scotland. He is a final year PhD Student pursuing Energy and Petroleum Law at the same institution.

He worked as an Acting Commissioner of Petroleum in Malawi from 2016 to June, 2020 before before appointed as a Director of Energy in July, 2020.

Cassius Chiwambo is the brain behind Malawi’s Upstream Petroleum Sector, having promoted the exploration of actual fuels and also Renewable Sources of Energy from Geothermal and others.

He is currently championing the realization of 1000 MW to the National Grid in 4 years (From 2021 to 2024), which is an Industrial-Economical vision made by His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Mac Cathy Chakwera, the State President of Malawi and supported by Malawi’s National Planing Commission (NPC) and the Agenda 2063 on Universal Access to Electricity.

15:45
Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation

Climate Energy

×

Climate Energy

Enablers and hurdles for accelerating NDC implementation

25/10/2021, 15:45 - 17:15 GST (Dubai)

13:45 - 15:15 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

12:45 - 14:15 WAT (Nigeria)

07:45 - 09:15 EDT (New York)

20:45 - 22:15 KST (Seoul)

19:45 - 21:15 CST (Beijing)

17:15 - 18:45 IST (New Delhi)

08:45 - 10:15 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are at the heart of the Paris Agreement and the attainment of long-term climate goals. They embody each country’s efforts to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.

Together, these actions will determine whether the world achieves the Agreement’s aims, including reversing the rise of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions as soon as possible and following through with rapid reduction.

This session will explore the challenges related to using NDCs as a mechanism for achieving climate goals and associated SDGs. As a starting point, we need to identify the hurdles and enablers for implementing them, while building national and regional capacity. The UNFCC Technical Committee’s background paper on Mapping Barriers and Enabling Environments in Technology Needs Assessments, Nationally Determined Contributions, and Technical Assistance of the Climate Technology Centre and Network (published September 2018) summarises a detailed analysis which will form this session’s basis for discussion.

Chaired by

Rose  Mwebaza

Rose Mwebaza

Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN)

Director

Rose Mwebaza is the Director of the CTCN and brings 20 years’ experience providing policy advice on a wide range of climate change, environment and sustainable development issues. She has previously served as Chief Natural Resources Officer at the African Development Bank and held leadership positions within the UN Development Programme. Mwebaza was a Lecturer at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, for 10 years, serving as the Head of Department for Commercial Law and Deputy Dean of the Law School.

Mwebaza holds a PhD in environment and natural resource governance from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, a master’s degree in international comparative law (with a Certificate of Academic Excellence) from the University of Florida, U.S.A and a bachelor’s degree in law (LL.B, Hons.) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Introductory video: the vision of G-STIC

Opening remarks

Rose  Mwebaza

Rose Mwebaza

Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN)

Director

Rose Mwebaza is the Director of the CTCN and brings 20 years’ experience providing policy advice on a wide range of climate change, environment and sustainable development issues. She has previously served as Chief Natural Resources Officer at the African Development Bank and held leadership positions within the UN Development Programme. Mwebaza was a Lecturer at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, for 10 years, serving as the Head of Department for Commercial Law and Deputy Dean of the Law School.

Mwebaza holds a PhD in environment and natural resource governance from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, a master’s degree in international comparative law (with a Certificate of Academic Excellence) from the University of Florida, U.S.A and a bachelor’s degree in law (LL.B, Hons.) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

Keynote speech

Jairam  Ramesh

H.E. Jairam Ramesh

Former India Minister of Environment

Member of Parliament (Rajya Sabha)

Jairam Ramesh is a well-known economist, government official and senior pioneer of the Indian National Congress. He is a member of parliament representing Andhra Pradesh state, a position he has held since June 2004.

In 2011, Jairam Ramesh was elevated to the Union Council of Ministers of India and appointed Minister of Rural Development and Minister of the new Ministry of Drinking Water and Sanitation. Between May 2009 and July 2011, he was Minister of State at the Ministry of Environment and Forests.

Ramesh has been a columnist for The Business Standard, Business Today, The Telegraph, The Times and India Today, and has also anchored a number of popular television programmes on business and the economy. In addition, Jairam Ramesh is the author of the books: “Making Sense of Chindia: Reflections on China and India” (2005), “Mobilising Technology for World Development” (Co-editor, 1979), “To the Brink and Back: India’s 1991 Story” (2015) and “Old History, New Geography” (2016).

Presentation

Insights on the implementation of NDCs in Malawi

Cassius Chiwambo

Cassius Chiwambo

Government of Malawi

Director Department of Energy

Cassius Chiwambo is a Director at Ministry of Energy in Malawi. He has vast experience in Petroleum and Minerals. Cassius has both Technical as well as Legal skills having done Masters of Mining at Curtin University in Western Australia, Energy and Mineral Law and Policy at Dundee University in Scotland. He a final year PhD Student pursuing Energy and Petroleum Law at the same institution. He worked as an Acting Commissioner of Petroleum in Malawi from 2016 to June, 2020 before before appointed as a Director of Energy in July, 2020.

Cassius Chiwambo is the brain behind Malawi’s Upstream Petroleum Sector, having promoted the exploration of actual fuels and also Renewable Sources of Energy from Geothermal and others. He is currently championing the realization of 1000 MW to the National Grid in 4 years (From 2021 to 2024), which is an Industrial-Economical vision made by His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Mac Cathy Chakwera, the State President of Malawi and supported by Malawi’s National Planing Commission (NPC) and the Agenda 2063 on Universal Access to Electricity.

Presentation

Designing a funding framework for the impacts of slow-onset climate change – Insights from recent coastal retreat experiences

Swenja Surminski

Swenja Surminski

Climate Change & the Environment

Deputy Director

Swenja Surminski is Deputy Director and Head of Adaptation Research at the Grantham Research Institute on Climate Change and the Environment, which is part of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). Here, she oversees social science research projects on climate adaptation, climate change Loss and Damage and disaster risk finance, with a geographic scope ranging from the UK to developing countries.

Swenja’s research investigates climate risk management and resilience strategies. It focusses on public policies, financial instruments and individual behaviour through a mix of inter-disciplinary approaches, integrating concepts from geography, climate science, economics and governance studies.

Prior to joining LSE in 2010, Swenja spent more than ten years in the insurance industry working on climate and risks management, holding roles at companies such as Munich Re, Marsh Mc Lennon and the Association of British Insurers. Swenja was a Fulbright Scholar in the US, studying Ecological Economics and International Relations at the University of New Hampshire. She received a PhD in political science from Hamburg University for her work on ‘Climate Change and the Insurance Industry’ in 2002.

Presentation

Blue-green measures for climate adaptation

Griet  Verstraeten

Griet Verstraeten

Department of Environment

Policy Officer Climate Adaptation

Griet Verstraeten works as a policy advisor on climate change adaptation in the Flemish Government Department of Environment and Spatial Development. She is also the lead expert for Belgium on the European Adaptation Strategy.

In her role as policy advisor, Griet coordinates the work on local policy for Flanders carried out by the Flemish Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation and representatives from other Flemish Government departments (including agriculture and fisheries, mobility and infrastructure, economy and innovation, health, nature and forestry, environment, water, spatial planning). She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Flemish Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and for the communication, knowledge exchange and awareness-raising associated with it.

Griet has a master’s degree in bioscience engineering (land and forest management) from KU Leuven, a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Antwerp and over 20 years’ experience in spatial planning, environmental policy, sustainable development and international cooperation. Verstraeten is an expert in international and European policies on climate change adaptation, with specific expertise on the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Griet Verstraeten represents the Flemish Government in the Belgian national working group on climate change adaptation (under the national climate commission) and is an active member of Working Group VI, the network on climate change adaptation under DG Climate.

Presentation

Innovative financing as a catalyst for climate technology transfer

Rywon Yang

Rywon Yang

Green Technology Center

Senior Researcher

Rywon Yang is a senior researcher in the Climate Technology Cooperation Division of the Green Technology Center—Korea. She has two main areas of research. One is linkages between technology and finance in climate change. The other is legal and regulatory aspects of climate technology transfer in developing countries.

Rywon Yang has developed GCF projects (concept notes, readiness proposals) and implemented CTCN technical assistance projects on both adaptation and mitigation technologies for countries such as Bangladesh, Cambodia and Kenya. Previous to this, she worked for the Republic of Korea’s Ministry of Justice as a legal specialist. She participated in UNFCCC negotiations as a member of the Korean delegation, and examined the legal implications of negotiation texts for documents such as the Paris Agreement.

Rywon has also led several legal technical assistance projects for revising legal and institutional frameworks, as well as organised capacity building trainings for legal professionals from developing countries, namely Laos, Paraguay and Papua New Guinea. She earned her master’s in law from University Pantheon-Sorbonne Paris I in France.

Presentation

Key findings of the deep dive session on data scarcity

Leen Govaerts

Leen Govaerts

VITO

Unit Manager Smart Energy & Built Environment

Q&A and panel discussion

Cassius Chiwambo

Cassius Chiwambo

Government of Malawi

Director Department of Energy

Cassius Chiwambo is a Director at Ministry of Energy in Malawi. He has vast experience in Petroleum and Minerals. Cassius has both Technical as well as Legal skills having done Masters of Mining at Curtin University in Western Australia, Energy and Mineral Law and Policy at Dundee University in Scotland. He a final year PhD Student pursuing Energy and Petroleum Law at the same institution. He worked as an Acting Commissioner of Petroleum in Malawi from 2016 to June, 2020 before before appointed as a Director of Energy in July, 2020.

Cassius Chiwambo is the brain behind Malawi’s Upstream Petroleum Sector, having promoted the exploration of actual fuels and also Renewable Sources of Energy from Geothermal and others. He is currently championing the realization of 1000 MW to the National Grid in 4 years (From 2021 to 2024), which is an Industrial-Economical vision made by His Excellency Dr. Lazarus Mac Cathy Chakwera, the State President of Malawi and supported by Malawi’s National Planing Commission (NPC) and the Agenda 2063 on Universal Access to Electricity.

Griet  Verstraeten

Griet Verstraeten

Department of Environment

Policy Officer Climate Adaptation

Griet Verstraeten works as a policy advisor on climate change adaptation in the Flemish Government Department of Environment and Spatial Development. She is also the lead expert for Belgium on the European Adaptation Strategy.

In her role as policy advisor, Griet coordinates the work on local policy for Flanders carried out by the Flemish Task Force on Climate Change Adaptation and representatives from other Flemish Government departments (including agriculture and fisheries, mobility and infrastructure, economy and innovation, health, nature and forestry, environment, water, spatial planning). She is responsible for the development and implementation of the Flemish Plan on Climate Change Adaptation and for the communication, knowledge exchange and awareness-raising associated with it.

Griet has a master’s degree in bioscience engineering (land and forest management) from KU Leuven, a master’s degree in urban planning from the University of Antwerp and over 20 years’ experience in spatial planning, environmental policy, sustainable development and international cooperation. Verstraeten is an expert in international and European policies on climate change adaptation, with specific expertise on the implementation of nature-based solutions.

Griet Verstraeten represents the Flemish Government in the Belgian national working group on climate change adaptation (under the national climate commission) and is an active member of Working Group VI, the network on climate change adaptation under DG Climate.

Leen Govaerts

Leen Govaerts

VITO

Unit Manager Smart Energy & Built Environment

Closing remarks

Rose  Mwebaza

Rose Mwebaza

Climate Technology Centre and Network (CTCN)

Director

Rose Mwebaza is the Director of the CTCN and brings 20 years’ experience providing policy advice on a wide range of climate change, environment and sustainable development issues. She has previously served as Chief Natural Resources Officer at the African Development Bank and held leadership positions within the UN Development Programme. Mwebaza was a Lecturer at Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda, for 10 years, serving as the Head of Department for Commercial Law and Deputy Dean of the Law School.

Mwebaza holds a PhD in environment and natural resource governance from Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, a master’s degree in international comparative law (with a Certificate of Academic Excellence) from the University of Florida, U.S.A and a bachelor’s degree in law (LL.B, Hons.) from Makerere University, Kampala, Uganda.

26 October 2021

09:30
Energy technologies to achieve carbon neutrality in the transport sector

Energy

×

Energy

Energy technologies to achieve carbon neutrality in the transport sector

26/10/2021, 09:30 - 11:00 GST (Dubai)

07:30 - 09:00 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

06:30 - 08:00 WAT (Nigeria)

01:30 - 03:00 EDT (New York)

14:30 - 16:00 KST (Seoul)

13:30 - 15:00 CST (Beijing)

11:00 - 12:30 IST (New Delhi)

02:30 - 04:00 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

Transport is responsible for a large proportion of greenhouse gas emissions and is one of the causes of climate change. There are already a lot of energy-saving and emission-reducing technologies, such as battery technologies and transport hubs, in existence. But to realise genuine zero-emission travel, we still need to develop intelligent transportation systems with energy management strategies for various vehicles with different energy sources, such as fuel cell vehicles, electrical vehicles and hybrid vehicles.

Chaired by

Li Huiyun

Li Huiyun

Automotive Electronics Research Center

Director

Huiyun Li obtained her PhD from Cambridge University, UK, in 2006. She is now the director of the Automotive Electronics Research Center, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technologies, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT-CAS).

Li’s research interests include intelligent vehicles and transportation, V2V security and application. She has had 2 books published, along with over 100 papers in international journals and conferences, is the Principal Investigator (PI) of multiple projects and is the peer reviewer of multiple international academic journals and conference proceedings. Professor Li has been awarded several Prizes of Science and Technology Progress Awards ̶ Provincial and ministerial level (2020, 2019, 2016, 2013).

Keynote speech

Optimization of Biodiesel Ratio for Automotive Engines using Kernel-based Extreme Learning Machine and Cuckoo Search

Pak Kin Wong

Pak Kin Wong

Faculty of Science and Technology (University of Macau)

Professor, Department of Electromechanical Engineering and Associate Dean (Academic Affairs)

Pak Kin Wong received the Ph.D. degree in Mechanical Engineering from The Hong Kong Polytechnic University, Hong Kong, in 1997. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Electromechanical Engineering and Associate Dean (Academic Affairs), Faculty of Science and Technology, University of Macau. He is also the Fellow of the Hong Kong Institution of Engineers and Chartered Fellow of Chartered Association of Building Engineers, U.K. His research interests include automotive engineering, artificial intelligence for medical diagnosis, fluid transmission and control and mechanical vibration. He has published over 266 scientific papers. 170 out of 266 are refereed journal papers.

Keynote speech

UK policy framework and implementation pathway on Net Zero Transport

Emma Smith

Emma Smith

British Embassy Beijing

Deputy Head of the Energy Policy Team

Emma is the Deputy Head of the Energy Policy Team at the British Embassy in Beijing, where she supports engagement and dialogue with China to increase UK-China clean energy cooperation. She works closely with a network of contacts within government, academic institutions, business and other Embassies to support China’s clean energy transition.

Before joining the British Embassy, Emma worked in the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO) in London as the Policy Officer for Ireland, Romania and Bulgaria. Prior to the FCDO, Emma worked at the British Chamber of Commerce in Chengdu and for the Asia Business Centre at the University of Nottingham.

Keynote speech

Combining algorithms and data to optimise vehicle traffic routing and reduce fuel consumption

Cha Suk Won

Cha Suk Won

Seoul National University

Professor Department of Mechanical Engineering

Since 2005, Suk Won Cha has been an assistant, associate and full professor in the Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering at Seoul National University. He served as the Associate Dean at the College of Engineering from 2013 to 2015 and the Associate Dean of Office of International Affairs at Seoul National University from 2019 to 2021.

Cha obtained his bachelor’s degree in engineering at Seoul National University, before going on to get his master’s and PhD at Stanford University. For the past decade, Professor Cha has been investigating electric/hybrid/fuel cell automotive and advanced fuel cells from materials to system level. He has pioneered optimal energy management strategy for such systems and an innovative vacuum fabrication process for electrolyte/electrode materials, publishing more than a hundred papers – including covers and frontispiece – in renowned journals such as Advanced Energy Materials, Journal of Materials Chemistry, NGP Asia Materials, CIRP Annals-Manufacturing Technology, IEEE Transactions on Control Systems Technology and so on. Cha is also well-recognised as a co-author of “Fuel Cell Fundamentals (Wiley and Sons)” – the world-wide bestseller in fuel cells research, cited more than 3,500 times.

Professor Cha has served as an organiser and committee member for numerous conferences, such Asian Solid Oxide Fuel Cells, American Chemical Society Meetings, World Chemistry Congress (IUPAC), International Electric Vehicle Symposium and Exhibition. In addition, he is the long-time organising chair and committee member of the International Conference on Precision Engineering and Sustainable Manufacturing.

Cha is the recipient of several achievement awards, including the Academic Excellence Award from the Korean Society of Automotive Engineers and the Springer Award from International Journal of Automotive Technology, as its most cited author. Professor Cha serves as an editor of International Journal of Automotive Technology (listed in SCIE) and is also a founding editor and senior editor of International Journal of Precision Engineering and Manufacturing – Green Technology – top 6% journal in mechanical engineering.

Presentation

Evolving optimal driving strategies for large-scale use of autonomous vehicles

Li Huiyun

Li Huiyun

Automotive Electronics Research Center

Director

Huiyun Li obtained her PhD from Cambridge University, UK, in 2006. She is now the director of the Automotive Electronics Research Center, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technologies, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT-CAS).

Li’s research interests include intelligent vehicles and transportation, V2V security and application. She has had 2 books published, along with over 100 papers in international journals and conferences, is the Principal Investigator (PI) of multiple projects and is the peer reviewer of multiple international academic journals and conference proceedings. Professor Li has been awarded several Prizes of Science and Technology Progress Awards ̶ Provincial and ministerial level (2020, 2019, 2016, 2013).

Presentation

Developing a national framework for deploying and scaling up e-mobility in Zimbabwe

Jyoti Prasad Painuly

Jyoti Prasad Painuly

UNEP Denmark Technical University Partnership

Senior Researcher

Jyoti has been working with UNEP DTU Partnership (UDP) since 1997 on a variety of issues on energy and environment. This includes energy economics and energy policy, energy efficiency, renewables, technology assessment, environmental economics and policy, and climate change issues. He has worked with several developing countries in Asia and Africa on these issues. Jyoti was Head of the Copenhagen Centre on Energy Efficiency at UNEP DTU from its inception in September 2013 till September 2016. Between 2011 and 2013, on leave from UNEP DTU, he was Chief Economic Advisor at Central Electricity Regulatory Commission, New Delhi, where he was responsible for providing inputs and advice to the Commission on various issues from an economic perspective. Prior to joining UNEP DTU, Jyoti was a faculty member at Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research (IGIDR) at Mumbai. He also has a rich industry experience; he has worked with power plant equipment suppliers during the initial years of his career. One of Jyoti’s renewable energy financing projects in India won the Energy Globe Award in 2007 and the UN-21 Award for efficiency and effectiveness in 2008.

Jyoti has a Bachelor’s degree in Mechanical Engineering from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Roorkee, and a Doctorate in Management with specialization in the Energy Sector from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Bangalore.

11:30
Energy generation: transitioning from carbon-based to metal-based materials

Energy

×

Energy

Energy generation: transitioning from carbon-based to metal-based materials

26/10/2021, 11:30 - 13:00 GST (Dubai)

09:30 - 11:00 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

08:30 - 10:00 WAT (Nigeria)

03:30 - 05:00 EDT (New York)

16:30 - 18:00 KST (Seoul)

15:30 - 17:00 CST (Beijing)

13:00 - 14:30 IST (New Delhi)

04:30 - 06:00 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

The transformation to low-carbon energy requires us to switch from using carbon-based materials to metal-based materials for generating power. However, supply of the key mineral resources for this, such as indium, tellurium, germanium and rare earth elements, is limited. We therefore have to minimise the amounts we need, by exploring new methods for making energy transformation within our current energy storage systems more efficient.

Chaired by

Shanqing Zhang

Shanqing Zhang

Griffith University Australia

Professor School of Environment and Science

Shanqing Zhang has a bachelor’s degree from Sun Yat-sen University, China, and a PhD from Griffith University, Australia. He is also a Future Fellow of the Australian Research Council, Fellow of the Royal Society of Chemistry (FRSC) and Fellow of Royal Australia Chemical Institute (FRACI).

Professor Zhang currently leads Sustainable Energy Research in the Centre for Catalysis and Clean Energy, Griffith University, and is a full professor in the School of Environment and Science of Griffith University. Zhang has developed a series of patented technologies for energy and environmental applications based on functional materials. He focuses on research and development of functional polymeric materials for energy storage devices such as metal ion batteries and supercapacitors.

In recent years, Zhang has had more than 280 high quality papers published, including Chem. Rev., JACS, Angew Chem Int. Ed., Nat. Commun., Adv. Mater., Adv. Energy Mater., Adv. Funct. Mater., Nano Energy, and ACS Nano, with more than 12,000 citations and an H-index of 64. He has presided over a number of major Australian national energy and environmental research and industrial projects.

Keynote speech

Sustainability in modern batteries

Robert Armstrong

Robert Armstrong

University of St. Andrews

Fellow in Energy Materials

Robert Armstrong is EaStChem Fellow in Energy Materials at the University of St. Andrews, UK, and has been involved in battery research since 1994. He has published several landmark papers in Li-ion and Na-ion battery research, including the first report of layered LiMnO2 and several papers on layered sodium manganese oxides.

His research is concerned with the synthesis and characterisation of novel electrode materials for Li-ion and Na-ion batteries, with emphasis in correlating structure and properties using powder diffraction combined with electrochemical studies.

Robert Armstrong is a member of the Alistore European Research Institute on advanced batteries, where he is the St Andrews representative on the scientific council. He is project leader for the Faraday Institution project, NEXGENNA, to develop the next generation of sodium-ion batteries.

Keynote speech

Perovskite solar cells and green hydrogen

Yi-Bing  Cheng

Yi-Bing Cheng

Wuhan University of Technology

Professor

Yi-Bing Cheng is a Professor at Wuhan University of Technology and Director of Photovoltaic Hydrogen Production Laboratory, Guangdong Foshan Xianhu Lab, China, as well as Emeritus Professor of the Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Monash University, Australia.

Yi-Bing Cheng is an elected Fellow of the Australian Academy of Technology and Engineering. He specialises in inorganic materials and processing and characterisation of thin film solar cells. His current research is on perovskite solar cells and green hydrogen production. He has research publications in Science, Nature, Nature Materials, Nature Energy, Nature Photonics, Advanced Materials and more.

Yi-Bing Cheng was named a Highly Cited Researcher by Clarivate Analytics in 2018, 2019 and 2020.

Keynote speech

Fibre-based wearable energy storage devices

Zijian  Zheng

Zijian Zheng

Research Institute of Intelligent Wearable Systems

Associate Director

Zijian Zheng is currently full professor at the Institute of Textile and Clothing (ITC) and Research Institute for Smart Energy (RISE) at The Hong Kong Polytechnic University. His research interests are surface and polymer science, nanofabrication, flexible and wearable electronics, energy conversion and storage.

Zheng obtained a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Tsinghua University in 2003 and a PhD in chemistry from Cambridge University in 2007 (supervisor: Prof. Wilhelm T. S. Huck). In 2008, he worked as postdoctoral researcher with Prof. Chad A. Mirkin at Northwestern University in the USA. He joined ITC as Assistant Professor in 2009, and was promoted to tenured Associate Professor in 2013 and Professor in 2017.

Zijian Zheng has had approximately 120 papers published in high-impact international scientific journals, including Science, Nat. Mater., Nat. Comm., Adv. Mate., JACS, Angew. Chem., and has filed more than 25 patents. He serves as Guest Editor of Advanced Materials and Small, and Editor-in-Chief of EcoMat, a flagship open-access journal about green energy and environment, published by Wiley. Dr. Zheng is the recipient of more than 15 academic awards, such as Founding Member of The Young Academy of Sciences of Hong Kong (2019), Chang Jiang Scholar (2020) and RGC Senior Research Fellow (2021).

Presentation

Synchrotron-based XAS for energy materials: successful collaboration between SIAT and Thai Synchrotron

Pinit Kidkhunthod

Pinit Kidkhunthod

SUT-NANOTEC-SLRI XAS beamline (BL5.2)

Beamline Manager

Pinit Kidkhunthod is currently Beamline Manager at SUT-NANOTEC-SLRI XAS beamline (BL5.2), Synchrotron Light Research Institute (Public Organisation), Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand. His research interest is in the fields of structural studies of advanced functional materials such as catalysts, carbon-based metal composite materials and novel amorphous materials for energy storage applications using an X-ray absorption spectroscopy (XAS) technique. Dr Kidkhunthod has a bachelor’s degree with first class honours 3.99 in physics from KhonKaen University, Thailand (2008) and a PhD in physics from Bristol University, U.K. (2012).

Kidkhunthod was selected as the Thai students’ representative for the DESY summer programme, Germany, in 2007. He has received research grants for young scientists from the Thailand Research Fund (TRF2013), Ministry of Science and Technology (2014) and CoE-Suranaree University of Technology on AFM (2014-present). He has also been appointed Adjunct Professor at the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Science (SIAT-CASduring 2018-present) and Visiting Scientist at CAS (PIFI programme) in 2021. He is the author and co-author of over 180 papers in ISI and scopus-based journals for structural studies of advanced functional materials using XAS technique.

Presentation

Materials critical to decarbonisation strategies

Dalong Zhong

Dalong Zhong

National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy

Chief Scientist

Dalong Zhong is a Chief Scientist at the National Institute of Clean-and-Low-Carbon Energy (NICE) in Beijing, China. His main research activity over the last two years has been leading a national key R&D project “Renewable Energy and Hydrogen Energy Technology”. He has over 20 years of working experience in the area of advanced manufacturing and materials technologies. Before joining NICE in January 2018, he was as a senior scientist, lab manager and then principal engineer at the GE Global Research Center.

Dalong Zhong has 47 filed patents and published 33 peer-reviewed papers. He has been invited to many international conferences and forums, such as the Energy Sub-Forum of the Euro-Asia Economic Forum and the International Forum of Sustainable Urban Development.

14:00
Flemish ports as a breeding ground for low CO2 emission technologies

Climate Energy

×

Climate Energy

Flemish ports as a breeding ground for low CO2 emission technologies

26/10/2021, 14:00 - 15:30 GST (Dubai)

12:00 - 13:30 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

11:00 - 12:30 WAT (Nigeria)

06:00 - 07:30 EDT (New York)

19:00 - 20:30 KST (Seoul)

18:00 - 19:30 CST (Beijing)

15:30 - 17:00 IST (New Delhi)

07:00 - 08:30 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

Seaports are not only transhipment hubs for goods. They are also energy hubs which play both a direct role in reducing CO2 emissions and an indirect one by capturing CO2 from the industrial players based in them and using it as raw material for other industries. Alongside this, the vehicles and vessels which operate in ports are becoming greener, which is significantly contributing to CO2 emission reduction. Ports thereby play a pioneering role in acting as a catalyst for stimulating the companies that use them to make their own ecosystems greener.

Chaired by

Walter Eevers

Walter Eevers

VITO

Director of Research & Development

Walter Eevers is Director of Research & Development at VITO, Belgium. After obtaining his PhD in electrically conductive polymers from Antwerp University, he joined Nitto Europe where he was responsible for R&D and business development until becoming General Manager of Techno-Marketing. Walter became involved in global technology sourcing and marketing by setting up multiple collaborations with universities and research institutes.

In 2012, Eevers helped found Nitto Denko Europe Technical Centre in Lausanne as a company dedicated to research activities for medical devices. Eevers is also an external Expert and Vice Chair for the EU Commission, Conacyt (Mexico) and the Qatar Foundation for innovation programmes and projects. He is Vice-President of CO2 Value Europe, an industry association promoting and stimulating CCU.

Eevers is also Chairman of the Board of EnergyVille, the collaboration between KU Leuven, University of Hasselt, IMEC and VITO for sustainable energy research. In his current position, he has stimulated several spinoffs from VITO and held board positions in them. As a visiting professor at University of Antwerp for polymer chemistry, he is guiding research activities in the field of biobased polymer developments.

 

Introduction

Annick  De Ridder

Annick De Ridder

Port of Antwerp

Chairman of the board of directors

Presentation

Luc  Arnouts

Luc Arnouts

Port of Antwerp

Director International Relations & Networks

Since obtaining his master’s degrees in law from the University of Antwerp and in general management from the University of Ghent, Luc Arnouts has continually been active in the port and logistics sector. His career and gaining of operational experience in stevedoring, warehousing and ocean freight forwarding began at the logistics company Group Katoennatie. From there, he moved to SGS-Group Belgium, where he was General Manager of SGS-Van Bree, a member of the Central Management Committee and the Strategic Committee, and in charge of SGS’s logistics and port handling business in Belgium. In 2000, Arnouts joined the leading European airport handling company Aviapartner as VP of Cargo Handling Europe and a member of its Central Board.

In 2007, Luc Arnouts moved to the Antwerp Port Authority as its Chief Commercial Officer. Since 2017, he has been its Director of International Relations and Networks. And as Vice President, he is a member of the Management Board. Alongside these roles, Arnouts is also a member of the board of directors of Port of Antwerp International (a subsidiary of Port of Antwerp focussed on international consultancy, port management and participations in overseas port projects), a member of the board of directors of APEC (the Port of Antwerp’s training subsidiary), and president of the board of directors of RTC, an inland rail terminal.

Presentation

North-CCU-Hub: carbon capture and utilisation as part of the strategy for achieving climate neutrality in the North Sea Port

Simon De Corte

Simon De Corte

Ghent University

Kickstart manager for materials valorisation

Simon De Corte has a PhD in environmental engineering from Ghent University, where he is currently its technology transfer advisor. He has been involved in the organisation of several regional, national and European innovation initiatives and communities related to circular economy. Bringing together research, industry and policy has always been at the core of his activities.

Alongside his job at Ghent University, Simon is currently a programme manager at North-CCU-Hub, a joint initiative of industry, governmental actors and knowledge institutes in the North Sea Port area (ranging from Ghent in Belgium to Terneuzen and Vlissingen in The Netherlands) that’s developing a roadmap for carbon capture & utilisation (CCU) in the region. Both commercial and innovative technologies are being deployed in project initiatives.

North-C-Methanol is a first demonstration project that aims to produce 45,000 tonnes of green methanol per year, based on green hydrogen. Production of fuels, proteins and construction materials based on CCU are also currently being investigated. Simon is involved at both strategic and operational level.

Presentation

Carbon capture and storage: the role of the port in development of a CO2 storage hub

Mark Tandy

Mark Tandy

TOTALEnergies

Senior Business Developer

Mark Tandy is a business development manager in the Carbon Capture and Storage team at TotalEnergies. Having worked in the energy sector since obtaining his MBA from the Saïd Business School at Oxford University, he has held a number of senior commercial management and director level positions, and worked on projects all over the world. This experience has given him a deep understanding of the practical application of business models and joint venture management.

In addition to applying his transactional expertise, Mark has worked closely with regulators, policy makers and government, most recently as an active participant in the UK government’s consultation on CCS and low-carbon hydrogen business models. In his current role at TotalEnergies, to which he applies over 15 years of experience in CCS, Mark is responsible for new business and partnerships in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

TotalEnergies itself has been active since the late 1990s in the development of carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS) to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, 10% of the company’s R&D budget is allocated to relevant technologies. It also supports the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), which manages an investment fund of over $1 billion for clean technologies, including CCUS. Alongside its flagship project in Norway, Northern Lights, the company is maturing a number of other CCS projects in Europe and other parts of the world.

Presentation

Hydrogen in the power sector and its role in climate neutrality

Jan  Mertens

Jan Mertens

ENGIE

Chief Science Officer

Jan Mertens is ENGIE’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), responsible for co-building ENGIE’s long-term vision on technologies, identifying key international research players in selected emerging technologies and initiating partnerships.

His research activities cover topics related to life cycle assessment, emissions monitoring, carbon capture, carbon use and water footprinting, and he is the author of over 50 international peer-reviewed publications.

Since 2019, Jan has also been Visiting Professor at the University of Ghent, working in the domain of sustainable electricity generation.

Presentation

Kathy Van Damme

Kathy Van Damme

Port of Ostend

Board member

Kathy Van Damme is a board member of the Port of Ostend. With a strong background in the energy sector’s environmental and regulatory aspects, she has worked in this field for more than 15 years. Her broad scope of experience, all focused on ports and industry, includes technological developments for energy storage, energy transition, macro-economic consequences of climate change and investments in energy. Kathy Van Damme has also been a policy advisor on energy and environment at Fedustria and the European Panel Federation, and a manager at several energy companies in Flanders.

Panel discussion

Debate

Luc  Arnouts

Luc Arnouts

Port of Antwerp

Director International Relations & Networks

Since obtaining his master’s degrees in law from the University of Antwerp and in general management from the University of Ghent, Luc Arnouts has continually been active in the port and logistics sector. His career and gaining of operational experience in stevedoring, warehousing and ocean freight forwarding began at the logistics company Group Katoennatie. From there, he moved to SGS-Group Belgium, where he was General Manager of SGS-Van Bree, a member of the Central Management Committee and the Strategic Committee, and in charge of SGS’s logistics and port handling business in Belgium. In 2000, Arnouts joined the leading European airport handling company Aviapartner as VP of Cargo Handling Europe and a member of its Central Board.

In 2007, Luc Arnouts moved to the Antwerp Port Authority as its Chief Commercial Officer. Since 2017, he has been its Director of International Relations and Networks. And as Vice President, he is a member of the Management Board. Alongside these roles, Arnouts is also a member of the board of directors of Port of Antwerp International (a subsidiary of Port of Antwerp focussed on international consultancy, port management and participations in overseas port projects), a member of the board of directors of APEC (the Port of Antwerp’s training subsidiary), and president of the board of directors of RTC, an inland rail terminal.

Simon De Corte

Simon De Corte

Ghent University

Kickstart manager for materials valorisation

Simon De Corte has a PhD in environmental engineering from Ghent University, where he is currently its technology transfer advisor. He has been involved in the organisation of several regional, national and European innovation initiatives and communities related to circular economy. Bringing together research, industry and policy has always been at the core of his activities.

Alongside his job at Ghent University, Simon is currently a programme manager at North-CCU-Hub, a joint initiative of industry, governmental actors and knowledge institutes in the North Sea Port area (ranging from Ghent in Belgium to Terneuzen and Vlissingen in The Netherlands) that’s developing a roadmap for carbon capture & utilisation (CCU) in the region. Both commercial and innovative technologies are being deployed in project initiatives.

North-C-Methanol is a first demonstration project that aims to produce 45,000 tonnes of green methanol per year, based on green hydrogen. Production of fuels, proteins and construction materials based on CCU are also currently being investigated. Simon is involved at both strategic and operational level.

Mark Tandy

Mark Tandy

TOTALEnergies

Senior Business Developer

Mark Tandy is a business development manager in the Carbon Capture and Storage team at TotalEnergies. Having worked in the energy sector since obtaining his MBA from the Saïd Business School at Oxford University, he has held a number of senior commercial management and director level positions, and worked on projects all over the world. This experience has given him a deep understanding of the practical application of business models and joint venture management.

In addition to applying his transactional expertise, Mark has worked closely with regulators, policy makers and government, most recently as an active participant in the UK government’s consultation on CCS and low-carbon hydrogen business models. In his current role at TotalEnergies, to which he applies over 15 years of experience in CCS, Mark is responsible for new business and partnerships in the Middle East and Asia Pacific regions.

TotalEnergies itself has been active since the late 1990s in the development of carbon capture, storage and utilisation (CCUS) to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Today, 10% of the company’s R&D budget is allocated to relevant technologies. It also supports the Oil & Gas Climate Initiative (OGCI), which manages an investment fund of over $1 billion for clean technologies, including CCUS. Alongside its flagship project in Norway, Northern Lights, the company is maturing a number of other CCS projects in Europe and other parts of the world.

Jan  Mertens

Jan Mertens

ENGIE

Chief Science Officer

Jan Mertens is ENGIE’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), responsible for co-building ENGIE’s long-term vision on technologies, identifying key international research players in selected emerging technologies and initiating partnerships.

His research activities cover topics related to life cycle assessment, emissions monitoring, carbon capture, carbon use and water footprinting, and he is the author of over 50 international peer-reviewed publications.

Since 2019, Jan has also been Visiting Professor at the University of Ghent, working in the domain of sustainable electricity generation.

Kathy Van Damme

Kathy Van Damme

Port of Ostend

Board member

Kathy Van Damme is a board member of the Port of Ostend. With a strong background in the energy sector’s environmental and regulatory aspects, she has worked in this field for more than 15 years. Her broad scope of experience, all focused on ports and industry, includes technological developments for energy storage, energy transition, macro-economic consequences of climate change and investments in energy. Kathy Van Damme has also been a policy advisor on energy and environment at Fedustria and the European Panel Federation, and a manager at several energy companies in Flanders.

Walter Eevers

Walter Eevers

VITO

Director of Research & Development

Walter Eevers is Director of Research & Development at VITO, Belgium. After obtaining his PhD in electrically conductive polymers from Antwerp University, he joined Nitto Europe where he was responsible for R&D and business development until becoming General Manager of Techno-Marketing. Walter became involved in global technology sourcing and marketing by setting up multiple collaborations with universities and research institutes.

In 2012, Eevers helped found Nitto Denko Europe Technical Centre in Lausanne as a company dedicated to research activities for medical devices. Eevers is also an external Expert and Vice Chair for the EU Commission, Conacyt (Mexico) and the Qatar Foundation for innovation programmes and projects. He is Vice-President of CO2 Value Europe, an industry association promoting and stimulating CCU.

Eevers is also Chairman of the Board of EnergyVille, the collaboration between KU Leuven, University of Hasselt, IMEC and VITO for sustainable energy research. In his current position, he has stimulated several spinoffs from VITO and held board positions in them. As a visiting professor at University of Antwerp for polymer chemistry, he is guiding research activities in the field of biobased polymer developments.

 

16:00
Research and policy perspectives on CO2 as a resource

Climate Energy

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Climate Energy

Research and policy perspectives on CO2 as a resource

26/10/2021, 16:00 - 17:30 GST (Dubai)

14:00 - 15:30 CEST/SAST (Brussels, Cape Town)

13:00 - 14:30 WAT (Nigeria)

08:00 - 09:30 EDT (New York)

21:00 - 22:30 KST (Seoul)

20:00 - 21:30 CST (Beijing)

17:30 - 19:00 IST (New Delhi)

09:00 - 10:30 BRT (Rio de Janeiro)

Stabilising the climate will require strong, rapid and sustained reductions in greenhouse gasses and achieving net zero CO2 emissions. CCU needs to be a key pillar in the transition. This session examines what it will take to create an action plan for developing CCU into a new industrial sector, including the enablers and hurdles to accelerating CCU adoption, and what policy, institutional and regulatory changes are required.

Chaired by

Deepak Pant

Deepak Pant

VITO

Senior Scientist

Presentation

Getting to carbon-neutral: electrifying nature’s carbon cycle

Jan  Vaes

Jan Vaes

VITO

Program Manager Sustainable Chemistry

Presentation

The new role of CO2: from harmful fossil emissions to raw material for sustainable products

Christian  Breyer

Christian Breyer

Lappeenranta University of Technology

Professor

Christian Breyer is Professor for Solar Economy at LUT University, Finland. His main expertise is the integrated research of technological and economic characteristics of renewable energy systems, specialising in energy system modelling for 100% renewable energy on both local and global scale. Breyer’s team has published more studies on 100% renewable energy systems for countries or major regions than any other in the world. These cover integrated sector analyses with power, heat, transport, desalination, industry and negative CO2 emission options. Power-to-X investigations is one of his team’s core research fields. Christian has had more than 300 scientific papers published, of which more than 100 have been in scientific journals.

Loving the Alien: CO2 deserves our affection but save a seat for some other surprising climate change allies

Jan  Mertens

Jan Mertens

ENGIE

Chief Science Officer

Jan Mertens is ENGIE’s Chief Scientific Officer (CSO), responsible for co-building ENGIE’s long-term vision on technologies, identifying key international research players in selected emerging technologies and initiating partnerships.

His research activities cover topics related to life cycle assessment, emissions monitoring, carbon capture, carbon use and water footprinting, and he is the author of over 50 international peer-reviewed publications.

Since 2019, Jan has also been Visiting Professor at the University of Ghent, working in the domain of sustainable electricity generation.

Using CO2 as a resource: barriers and accelerators

Volker  Sick

Volker Sick

University of Michigan

Professor Mechanical Engineering

Volker Sick is the DTE Energy Professor of Advanced Energy Research and an Arthur F. Thurnau Professor at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. He leads the Global CO2 Initiative at the University of Michigan that seeks to get CO2 capture and use recognised and implemented as a mainstream climate solution.

Cold plasma technology for CO2 conversion: a hot topic!

Annemie  Bogaerts

Annemie Bogaerts

University of Anwerp

Professor Chemistry

Annemie Bogaerts is a full professor in the Department of Chemistry at the University of Antwerp and head of the research group PLASMANT (Plasma Lab for Applications in Sustainability and Medicine – ANTwerp).

Having obtained her master’s degree and PhD in chemistry from the University of Antwerp, in 1993 and 1996 respectively, her research focusses on the study of non-equilibrium plasmas by modelling and experimenting with plasma chemistry, plasma reactor design and plasma-surface interactions. Their eventual use is intended for sustainable chemistry and energy/environmental applications, such as CO2 conversion into value-added chemicals, N2 fixation and CH4 conversion, as well as plasma medicine (cancer treatment). Annemie Bogaerts has an ERC Synergy Grant for plasma catalysis for small molecule conversion (electrification of chemical reactions).

 

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