Past Event

Scaling up low-carbon energy: Economic, geopolitical, and environmental impacts

July 7, 2020
Scaling up low-carbon energy: Economic, geopolitical, and environmental impacts
Webinar

Location

Zoom Webinar

Co-sponsored by


Overview

The energy sector is facing unprecedented challenges, with the global Covid-19 pandemic complicating an already challenging transition toward a low-carbon future. One of the key elements in addressing both the current pandemic and climate change is with forward-looking collaborations in technology development and innovation—which have long been a hallmark of MIT’s approach to problem solving.

MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) and Energy Initiative (MITEI) are pleased to present a special webinar series with leading researchers and experts in the energy domain sharing their insights on important themes: “Energy Transitions & Economics” (May 6), “Innovations in Critical Low-Carbon Technologies” (May 13), “Grid-Scale Energy Storage” (May 21) and “Scaling up low-carbon energy: Economic, geopolitical, and environmental impacts” (July 7). 

Please join us in these webinars to hear and discuss with the experts so together we will be able to better navigate these difficult times for a successful transition to a sustainable energy future after the current crisis.    

  • Overview

    The energy sector is facing unprecedented challenges, with the global Covid-19 pandemic complicating an already challenging transition toward a low-carbon future. One of the key elements in addressing both the current pandemic and climate change is with forward-looking collaborations in technology development and innovation—which have long been a hallmark of MIT’s approach to problem solving.

    MIT’s Industrial Liaison Program (ILP) and Energy Initiative (MITEI) are pleased to present a special webinar series with leading researchers and experts in the energy domain sharing their insights on important themes: “Energy Transitions & Economics” (May 6), “Innovations in Critical Low-Carbon Technologies” (May 13), “Grid-Scale Energy Storage” (May 21) and “Scaling up low-carbon energy: Economic, geopolitical, and environmental impacts” (July 7). 

    Please join us in these webinars to hear and discuss with the experts so together we will be able to better navigate these difficult times for a successful transition to a sustainable energy future after the current crisis.    


Agenda

10:00am - 10:05pm

Opening Remarks
Program Director, MIT Corporate Relations
CJ (Changjie) Guo
Program Director

Dr. CJ Guo joined the Office of Corporate Relations as a Senior Industrial Liaison Officer in July, 2015. CJ comes to OCR with 25 years of extensive global experience in technology innovations, portfolio management and business development in emerging and conventional energy sectors with leading multinational corporations in the US, China and Canada.

CJ is a leading expert in emerging energy technologies and energy system transitions. With Shell, he was the Emerging Technology Theme Leader in China/Beijing (2011 to 2015), worked extensively with the Chinese energy communities on the country's future energy landscape, and the Senior Technology Advisor in alternative transportation fuels in the US / Houston (2006-2010), and served during 2010 as Chairman of the Fuel Operations Group for the US DOE FreedomCar Partnership. Prior to joining Shell, CJ has held technology development, commercialization and management positions with Air Liquide (2002-2006) and The BOC Group (1995-2001) after working as a research scientist in oil-sands upgrading with CANMET in Canada (1992-1994).

CJ earned his Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, at CSU, Ohio, his M.S. and B.S., Chemical Engineering at TYUT, China. He has earned various awards from Shell, Air Liquide, BOC, Shanxi Province (China). He holds many patents and has sat on the board of Shenzhen Sanmu Battery Technology Company as an independent board member during 2009-2010.

10:05am - 10:15am
Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
Director, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)
Robert Armstrong
Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
Director

Professor Robert C. Armstrong directs the MIT Energy Initiative, an Institute-wide effort at MIT linking science, technology, and policy to transform the world’s energy systems. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Armstrong served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007. His research interests include polymer fluid mechanics, rheology of complex materials, and energy.

Armstrong has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) and the National Academy of Engineering (2008). He received the Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering (2020), Warren K. Lewis Award (2006), and the Professional Progress Award (1992), all from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He also received the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter,

Armstrong was a member of MIT’s Future of Natural Gas and Future of Solar Energy study groups. He advised the teams that developed MITEI’s most recent reports, The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World (2018) and Insights into Future Mobility (2019), and is co-chairing the new MITEI study, The Future of Storage. He co-edited Game Changers: Energy on the Move with former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

10:15am - 10:40am
Deputy Director, MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
Senior Research Scientist, MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR)
Director, Energy at Scale Center
Paltsev
Sergey Paltsev
Deputy Director, MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
Senior Research Scientist, MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR)
Director, Energy at Scale Center

Dr. Sergey Paltsev is a Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR), and a Director of the MIT Energy-at-Scale Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA. He is the lead modeler in charge of the MIT Economic Projection and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model of the world economy. Dr. Paltsev is an author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals and books in the area of energy economics, climate policy, transport, advanced energy technologies, and international trade. Sergey was a Lead Author of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is a recipient of the 2012 Pyke Johnson Award (by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, USA, for the best paper in the area of planning and environment). Sergey is an Advisory Board Member for the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) Consortium and a Member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Integrated Assessment Modeling Consortium. Additional information at:

https://globalchange.mit.edu/about-us/personnel/paltsev-sergey

10:40am – 11:25am
Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
Director, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)
Robert Armstrong
Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
Director

Professor Robert C. Armstrong directs the MIT Energy Initiative, an Institute-wide effort at MIT linking science, technology, and policy to transform the world’s energy systems. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Armstrong served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007. His research interests include polymer fluid mechanics, rheology of complex materials, and energy.

Armstrong has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) and the National Academy of Engineering (2008). He received the Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering (2020), Warren K. Lewis Award (2006), and the Professional Progress Award (1992), all from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He also received the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter,

Armstrong was a member of MIT’s Future of Natural Gas and Future of Solar Energy study groups. He advised the teams that developed MITEI’s most recent reports, The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World (2018) and Insights into Future Mobility (2019), and is co-chairing the new MITEI study, The Future of Storage. He co-edited Game Changers: Energy on the Move with former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

Vijay Swarup
Vice President for Research and Development, ExxonMobil
Agustín Delgado
Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer, Iberdrola
Thomas Fitzgerald
Senior Analyst, National Grid
Claudia Schaeffer
Global Energy and Climate Change Director, The Dow Chemical Company
11:25am - 11:30am

Closing remarks
Henry Jacoby
Professor Emeritus; Former Co-Director, MIT Joint Program
  • Agenda
    10:00am - 10:05pm

    Opening Remarks
    Program Director, MIT Corporate Relations
    CJ (Changjie) Guo
    Program Director

    Dr. CJ Guo joined the Office of Corporate Relations as a Senior Industrial Liaison Officer in July, 2015. CJ comes to OCR with 25 years of extensive global experience in technology innovations, portfolio management and business development in emerging and conventional energy sectors with leading multinational corporations in the US, China and Canada.

    CJ is a leading expert in emerging energy technologies and energy system transitions. With Shell, he was the Emerging Technology Theme Leader in China/Beijing (2011 to 2015), worked extensively with the Chinese energy communities on the country's future energy landscape, and the Senior Technology Advisor in alternative transportation fuels in the US / Houston (2006-2010), and served during 2010 as Chairman of the Fuel Operations Group for the US DOE FreedomCar Partnership. Prior to joining Shell, CJ has held technology development, commercialization and management positions with Air Liquide (2002-2006) and The BOC Group (1995-2001) after working as a research scientist in oil-sands upgrading with CANMET in Canada (1992-1994).

    CJ earned his Ph.D., Chemical Engineering, at CSU, Ohio, his M.S. and B.S., Chemical Engineering at TYUT, China. He has earned various awards from Shell, Air Liquide, BOC, Shanxi Province (China). He holds many patents and has sat on the board of Shenzhen Sanmu Battery Technology Company as an independent board member during 2009-2010.

    10:05am - 10:15am
    Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
    Director, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)
    Robert Armstrong
    Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
    Director

    Professor Robert C. Armstrong directs the MIT Energy Initiative, an Institute-wide effort at MIT linking science, technology, and policy to transform the world’s energy systems. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Armstrong served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007. His research interests include polymer fluid mechanics, rheology of complex materials, and energy.

    Armstrong has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) and the National Academy of Engineering (2008). He received the Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering (2020), Warren K. Lewis Award (2006), and the Professional Progress Award (1992), all from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He also received the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter,

    Armstrong was a member of MIT’s Future of Natural Gas and Future of Solar Energy study groups. He advised the teams that developed MITEI’s most recent reports, The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World (2018) and Insights into Future Mobility (2019), and is co-chairing the new MITEI study, The Future of Storage. He co-edited Game Changers: Energy on the Move with former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

    10:15am - 10:40am
    Deputy Director, MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
    Senior Research Scientist, MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR)
    Director, Energy at Scale Center
    Paltsev
    Sergey Paltsev
    Deputy Director, MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change
    Senior Research Scientist, MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR)
    Director, Energy at Scale Center

    Dr. Sergey Paltsev is a Deputy Director of the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change, a Senior Research Scientist at the MIT Energy Initiative and MIT Center for Energy and Environmental Policy Research (CEEPR), and a Director of the MIT Energy-at-Scale Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), Cambridge, USA. He is the lead modeler in charge of the MIT Economic Projection and Policy Analysis (EPPA) model of the world economy. Dr. Paltsev is an author of more than 100 peer-reviewed publications in scientific journals and books in the area of energy economics, climate policy, transport, advanced energy technologies, and international trade. Sergey was a Lead Author of the Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). He is a recipient of the 2012 Pyke Johnson Award (by the Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, USA, for the best paper in the area of planning and environment). Sergey is an Advisory Board Member for the Global Trade Analysis Project (GTAP) Consortium and a Member of the Scientific Steering Committee of the Integrated Assessment Modeling Consortium. Additional information at:

    https://globalchange.mit.edu/about-us/personnel/paltsev-sergey

    10:40am – 11:25am
    Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
    Director, MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI)
    Robert Armstrong
    Chevron Professor of Chemical Engineering
    Director

    Professor Robert C. Armstrong directs the MIT Energy Initiative, an Institute-wide effort at MIT linking science, technology, and policy to transform the world’s energy systems. A member of the MIT faculty since 1973, Armstrong served as head of the Department of Chemical Engineering from 1996 to 2007. His research interests include polymer fluid mechanics, rheology of complex materials, and energy.

    Armstrong has been elected into the American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020) and the National Academy of Engineering (2008). He received the Founders Award for Outstanding Contributions to the Field of Chemical Engineering (2020), Warren K. Lewis Award (2006), and the Professional Progress Award (1992), all from the American Institute of Chemical Engineers. He also received the 2006 Bingham Medal from the Society of Rheology, which is devoted to the study of the science of deformation and flow of matter,

    Armstrong was a member of MIT’s Future of Natural Gas and Future of Solar Energy study groups. He advised the teams that developed MITEI’s most recent reports, The Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World (2018) and Insights into Future Mobility (2019), and is co-chairing the new MITEI study, The Future of Storage. He co-edited Game Changers: Energy on the Move with former U.S. Secretary of State George P. Shultz.

    Vijay Swarup
    Vice President for Research and Development, ExxonMobil
    Agustín Delgado
    Chief Innovation and Sustainability Officer, Iberdrola
    Thomas Fitzgerald
    Senior Analyst, National Grid
    Claudia Schaeffer
    Global Energy and Climate Change Director, The Dow Chemical Company
    11:25am - 11:30am

    Closing remarks
    Henry Jacoby
    Professor Emeritus; Former Co-Director, MIT Joint Program