Global Change & Challenges:The Transformation of the Energy System and the Key Role of Plastics

Description

To identify some of the key technological challenges from a global perspective, reference is made to the Sustainable Development Goals 2030 (SDGs), adopted by the UN General Assembly in September 2015. As addressed explicitly in SDG 7, but also pervading numerous other SDGs, a key aim is meeting the needs of the growing global population for affordable, clean energy. In this context it is now increasingly acknowledged that the transformation of the current fossil fuel and nuclear based energy system to an energy system substantially-to-fully based on renewable resources within the next decades is at the core of any future Sustainable Development path. While numerous questions remain regarding the required future energy technology mix along with the underlying material technologies driving needed innovations, it is quite obvious that the selection of adequate materials is of prime importance for the entire energy transformation chain in general, and for the primary conversion of solar energy into electricity or heat in particular. In his lecture, Professor Lang will argue that any advanced or accelerated deployment of renewable energy technologies will depend on (1) a new perspective on the energy system according to the methodological principles of “Inversion – Integration – Innovation”, and (2) substantial contributions from materials science and in particular from polymer science and the polymer industry. To accelerate the penetration of polymers in such technologies, at least four innovation goals must be met: improved functionality and performance, enhanced cost effectiveness, guaranteed quality and durability, and robust/multifunctional and attractive design. By exemplifying these innovation goals with case studies, the presentation will explore the current status and the prospects of such technologies based on plastics.

Period	02 Aug 2017
Event title	Summer School 2, Sustainable Energetics for Africa (SE4A)
Event type	Conference
Location	CameroonShow on map