Day 1 :
Keynote Forum
Koji Hashimoto
Tohoku Institute of Technology, Japan
Keynote: For sustainable development of the whole world by renewable energy
Biography:
Koji Hashimoto is a Professor Emeritus of Tohoku University (Institute for Materials Research) and Professor Emeritus of Tohoku Institute of Technology, Japan. He has been working for 30 years for the supply of renewable energy in the form of methane to the world by electrolytic hydrogen production and subsequent methane formation by the reaction of carbon dioxide with hydrogen. He has published more than 560 papers and received various international awards mostly from Electrochemical Society and NACE International.
Abstract:
The atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration has been increasing at the rate of about 1.85 ppm/year since 1970, and exceeded 400 ppm corresponding to the level in 3.5 million years ago. No current all living things have the experience to live in such climate. Extrapolation of recent increase in the world primary energy consumption indicates that all reserves of fossil fuels and uranium will be completely exhausted until the middle of this century. In order to avoid the crisis of intolerable global warming and no fuels for combustion we have to establish and spread the technologies to use only renewable energy by which the whole world can keep sustainable development. There are superabundant renewable energy resources on our planet. We have been performing research and development for about 30 years to supply renewable energy to the world in the form of methane by electrolytic hydrogen generation and subsequent formation of methane from carbon dioxide and hydrogen. We created anodes and cathodes for water electrolysis and catalysts for carbon dioxide methanation. We constructed a prototype plant consisting of solar cell, water electrolyzer, carbon dioxide methanation unit, methane combustor with oxygen and piping connecting methane production and combustion units in 1995. We are recommending the construction of local energy supply system. The power generated from renewable energy will be used directly. The surplus electricity must be used for water electrolysis to form hydrogen and oxygen. Hydrogen will be used to form methane by the reaction with carbon dioxide. Methane will be used for regeneration of steady electricity at a natural gas power plant for covering shortage and leveling of intermittent and fluctuating power generated from renewable energy. For combustion of methane at the power plant oxygen formed by the water electrolysis will be used after dilution with carbon dioxide of exhaust gas, so that the it will be composed of only carbon dioxide after removal of water. Thus, carbon dioxide of the exhaust gas will be recycled for methane formation and oxygen dilution. Hot waste water of the power plant will be used in the local area for heating, farming and industries.
Keynote Forum
Per Ribbing
Uppsala University, Sweden
Keynote: Currents of electrons do not develop energy systems, currents of money do: facilitating ‘Consumer Power’ in deregulated power markets
Biography:
Per Ribbing completed his Master’s Degree in Engineering Physics at Linköping University, Sweden in 1989. He later entered into the area of Sustainable Development after a close encounter with oil wars. He was the Energy Advisor for the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation 1997-98 and worked with energy matters at the Nordic Eclolabel 2004-2010. He also runs his owned company; Perpetuum Energy & Environment where he is a
Public Speaker, Consultant and Educator. At present he is a PhD student at Uppsala university writing his thesis on Climate Change Leadership: the case for electrification. He has arranged monthly speaker pubs (ENVIRONMENTALE) for the NGO Swedish Engineers for Sustainable Development since 1996.
Abstract:
This article introduces a new paradigm for electric power, a new perspective on the product electricity. It aims to enhance the understanding of a possible sustainable development of power systems in deregulated power markets. The traditional perspective of the product electricity actually became out-of-date already in the early 1900’s. This new paradigm offers a possibility that could spur investments in energy efficiency and renewable energy and thus be disadvantageous for producers of non-renewable power, e.g. coal power. A deregulated power market is ruled by the laws of the free-market, i.e. Supply and Demand. It is not ruled by the laws of Ohm and Kirchhoff. To purchase the product electricity is to place an order of consumption beforehand, not specified in volume, space or time. The new understanding challenges the traditional paradigm of electric power. It is vital to note that the economical transaction; purchasing power, is strictly non-physical. The new perspective of the product electricity facilitates 'Consumer Power'. The driving force for this paradigm shift is identified as the increased awareness of the dangers of climate change. Very few people want to buy power generated from fossil fuels but because of the common confusion concerning the product electricity, people still buy it. A reduced demand for fossil power would impair the economy of fossil power plants and possibly halt investments in fossil energy.
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Picture text (e.g.):
Just as banknotes are anonymous agents for what money we have on our bank accounts, kWh are anonymous agents of what electricity we have chosen to buy.