G-STIC 2021 Energy Cluster Successfully Held
2021-11-01
G-STIC 2021 Energy Cluster was successfully held during October 25-26, 2021. G-STIC (the Global Sustainable Technological and Innovation Conferences) was initiated and hosted by VITO (Vlaamse Instelling vorr Technologisch Onderzoek, Belgium). It was the third time that Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion, Chinese Academy of Sciences (GIEC) participated the conference as co-sponsor. This year, GIEC joined hands with the Shenzhen Institute of Advanced Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences (SIAT) and VITO to co-organize the Energy Cluster.
The opening ceremony was held on-site at the Dubai World Expo and was broadcast live online to the world. Government officials from various countries and international organizations such as the African Energy Commission (AFREC), the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Climate Technology Center and Network (CTCN) officers were invited to explore the challenges related with using NDCs as a mechanism for achieving climate goals and associated SDGs.
There were three deep dive sessions online, focusing on carbon neutral development, discussing methods for formulating a carbon neutral roadmap, innovative energy technologies to achieve carbon neutrality in the transport sector, and material matters for the energy transition, and global value chains for decarbonizing the energy system. Scientific researchers, business representatives, and also financial institution executives were invited to deliver sixteen speeches. Participants are from China, Macau of China, Hong Kong of China, Germany, Britain, Russia, Denmark, Belgium, Australia, South Korea, and Thailand, etc.
Deep dive 1 was about International technology diffusion and technology transfer to ensure low carbon, affordable and accessible technologies. Mr. Lu Xuedu, the Lead Climate Change Specialist from Asian Development Bank (ADB), reveals the importance of climate technology R&D and technology transfer for pushing developing countries to participate in the global climate change. Mr. John Zhang, Secretary General of International Technology Transfer Network (ITTN), interpret the current situation of scientific and technological innovation development in various countries, comb through the five stages of China’s technology transfer development, and share the latest policy framework and put forward the suggestion and direction for the next step to promote international technology transfer cooperation and sustainable development around the international technology transfer with the focus on the mode and key issues of international technology transfer cooperation.
Deep dive 2 was about innovative energy technologies to achieve carbon neutrality in the transport sector. Prof. Pak Kin Wong from University of Macau discussed the proportion of biodiesel used in automobile engines. Ms. Emma Smith, Deputy Head of the Energy Policy Team from British Embassy Beijing, introduced UK’s policy framework and the implementation pathway for Net Zero Transport, and also shared experiences of international cooperation between UK and China.
Deep dive 3 was about Material matters for the energy transition- from carbon base to metal base. Prof. Robert Armstrong from University of St. Andrews introduced the constituents of modern rechargeable batteries, their sustainability and how this may be enhanced as well as current materials used in lithium-ion batteries. Prof. Yibing Cheng focused on perovskite solar cells and green hydrogen, pointing out that Water electrolysis using renewable electricity, such as solar or wind, is a most promising technique to produce green hydrogen for commercial applications.
The following consensus were reached. If the global goal of carbon neutrality is to be achieved, we need to strengthen research, development and international application of low-carbon technology, 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; to realize 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; the transformation to low-carbon energy requires us to switch from using carbon-based materials to metal-based materials for generating power, we therefore have to explore new methods for making energy transformation within our current energy storage systems more efficient.
G-STIC，the global sustainable technology and innovation community, is dedicated to accelerating market-ready integrated technological solutions for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). G-STIC also urges people to look beyond technological innovation, exploring innovative approaches, laws, regulations and funding mechanism for technology upscaling and deployment.
The conference has been successfully held four sessions since 2017. GIEC began cooperation with VITO from 2019 and has participated in the co-hosting the previous two sessions, attracting over 2,000 participants for each session, involving more than 100 countries and regions. GIEC takes the lead in organizing the "Energy Cluster", focusing on global energy integrated technology solutions. In 2021, G-STIC was held in conjunction with the Dubai World Expo, further expanding G-STIC’s international influence.
Fig. Energy Cluster Screenshot Photo