X Conference Barcelona Global Energy Challenges

Thursday, 18th June 2015

08:30 – 09:00	Registration and Coffee
09:00 – 09:30	Welcome Antoni Castellà, Secretary of Universities and Research at the Generalitat de Catalunya Enric Fossas, Rector of the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya
09:30 – 10:00	Presentation: Evolution of Energy Challenges: 10th edition of the Conference Grisha Domakowski, Fundació bTEC. Download the entire presentation here.
10:00 – 10:45	Plenary Session I: Accelerate the discovery and scaling of new energy Jessika Trancik, Professor at MIT – USA.
10:45 – 11:30	Plenary Session II: SCALENANO: Towards a competitive full solution & high efficiency photovoltaics industrial technology Prof. Dr. Alejandro Pérez-Rodríguez. Head of Solar Energy Materials and Systems, IREC.
11:30 – 11:45	BREAK
11:45-12:30	Plenary Session III: Pathways to Low Cost Energy Storage through Electrochemical Technology Fikile R. Brushett, Professor at MIT, Department of Chemical Engineering – USA. Download the entire presentation here.
12:30-13:15	Plenary Session IV: Power to Gas in France – From perspectives to a demonstration project Laurent Bedel. Project manager, French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA). Download the entire presentation here.
13:15-14:00	Plenary Session V:Are we moving as quickly as we should? The Building sector and climate change Prof. Dr. Albert Cuchí. Professor, Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya & GBCe. Download the entire presentation here.
14:15 – 15:00	Lunch at the Gardens of Hotel Diagonal Zero
15:00-18:00	Workshops at Hotel Diagonal Zero Workshop I – Digital lighting and human health Lighting conditions affect cognitive abilities and behaviors. Full control of spectral features of lighting enables the possibility of discriminating and individually exploiting such effects. SSL light-engines with added intelligence offer the possibility of tailoring spectral distributions respectful with our circadian rhythms or capable of inducing desired effects on behavior, mood and / or physiology. The objective of the HI-LED workshop is attracts the participation from senior representatives of leading public, industrial companies, education and research organizations around the world interested in human-centric lighting to discuss about advances in the field, foster LED based technology and identify opportunities for research and collaboration under Horizon 2020 framework. Workshop II – Recovery of CO2 and synthetic fuels Catalytic hydrogenation of CO2 to obtain methane or other products such as methanol is an important way of obtaining synthetic fuels today, while at the same time helping to reduce the carbon footprint. There are various technologies available depending on the source and process of capturing the CO2 as well as the means of obtaining hydrogen. During the working session, discussions will include the different options and technological means of capturing and processing CO2, with a particular emphasis on sources of biogenic origin (biomass, treatment plant sludge, purines, etc.), as well as reviewing the state of the art for obtaining hydrogen by electrolysis or solar means. Finally, we will discuss and evaluate the current state of methanation reactor technology and current and future implications on costs and potential uses (SNG, biomethane, methanol, etc.) in the new energy models based on a circular economy. Workshop III - Global opportunities for SMEs in Electro Mobility Given the new supply chains for electric mobility being established worldwide, many potential target markets are located outside Europe, e.g. in highly innovative regions such as United States, Japan, and South Korea, and China or in the emerging countries like India. While major European vehicle manufacturers and Tier-1 suppliers have quickly adopted this trend by establishing global alliances, most small and medium size companies have remained hesitant to reach out for global opportunities so far. The workshop will aim to provide your company with insight and knowledge on the global market trends in electric mobility, mechanism and business opportunities. Workshop IV - Energy efficiency in building Following current tendencies, by 2050 the building sector alone will be responsible for all the global emissions that the 2ºC increase scenario allows. It is impossible to reach desirable climate change scenarios with the current building sector. Solving the habitability necessities that the population growth until 2050 will demand requires a deep transformation of the building sector, accompanied by a global change in our whole productive system. This workshop discusses the adaptation of European Directive in energy efficiency and how different technologies and applications can help to reduce the energy impact in the building sector.