Significant advances in clean energy are increasingly result from energy improved research and collaboration internationally, and throughout Asia. These advances help accelerate the deployment of clean energy technologies, by bringing down costs and improving operational efficiencies. Rapid advances in commercializing applications such as long-term energy storage and renewable heating and cooling are also needed to meet the Sustainable Development Goals and to go “beyond Paris.”
For the first time in 2019, ACEF is organizing a track that will highlight leading-edge research into new and innovative clean energy technologies and systems. This track will focus on identifying the market trends and technologies that are driving the clean energy revolution, their fundamental drivers and the outlook for the future.
Topics will include, but are not limited to, research in clean energy conversion technologies (including high value-added end uses); energy efficiency and renewable energy; energy management, policy, economics, and sustainability; energy storage; and intelligent energy systems. Case studies and examples of regional cooperation will be presented throughout the track.
Abstracts should address one of the topics listed below:
Energy Trends, Session 1: Novel PV Applications and Grid Parity
The global market for solar PV market is expected to grow by a dramatic 65-fold by 2050[5], due to technology innovations and policy incentives. Topics covered will include, but are not limited to, experiences and practices in PV development, incentives and policies, new business models and investment approaches, future PV technologies and applications, and new and emerging PV technologies.
The session will address the following questions:
- What are the emerging and future PV technologies and applications?
- What are the innovative business models as the technology matures and continues to decrease in cost?
- What is a practical roadmap to achieving more widespread grid parity, and what are the lessons learned to date from developed nations?
- What are the key challenges and success stories in the region?
Energy Trends, Session 2: Bioenergy and Waste-to-Energy
With increased urbanization and rural development, waste generation and agriculture biomass will continue to increase at exponential rates. There are significant needs for solutions to convert waste products into valuable energy in a reliable, environmentally safe, and easy-to-implement way. This session will provide up-to-date information on technologies for extracting energy from waste products; new biomass conversion technologies; biochar from biomass and solid waste; gasification and pyrolysis; waste to biochemical products and materials; integrated system solutions for optimal use of bioenergy and waste, and examples of smart policies and incentives.
The session will address the following questions:
- What are new technologies for bioenergy and waste-to-energy?
- What enabling policy and regulatory frameworks are required to help scale up the market?
- How can the challenges of cross-sector stakeholders (such as waste and energy governing bodies within municipalities) be effectively addressed?
- What are the key challenges and success stories in the region?
Energy Trends, Session 3: Ocean Energy in the 21st Century
While oceans have proved to be a promising source of clean energy, they have not gained popularity or become a mainstream source of renewable energy, as have wind and solar. The session will provide an overview on developments in commercializing ocean energy generation and related end-uses, such as offshore wind, marine floating solar, ocean biomass, in-stream tidal conversion, and cleaner marine propulsion.
The session will address the following questions:
- Which existing ocean energy technologies are commercial or near commercial?
- Which legal, economic, and social issues serve as key impediments to industry development?
- How do you address the deployment of new technologies in remote locations and locations with low technical capacity for maintenance and repair?
- How can we make ocean energy a mainstream source of renewable energy?
Energy Trends, Session 4: Renewable Heating, Cooling, and Storage
Nearly half of global final energy consumption is used for heating and cooling applications, including industrial processes. This offers a huge opportunity to tap renewable energy for heating and cooling households and industries. Similarly, there is a need to leverage energy storage technologies beyond just batteries for electric vehicles. This session will examine various applications for high efficiency and renewable heating, cooling and storage and highlight recent developments.
The session will address the following questions:
- What policy and regulatory mechanisms are required for the scale-up of such technologies?
- How can we decarbonize heavy industries that traditionally rely on coal; and help meet, and go beyond the Paris goals?
- What are recent developments in bio-based substitutes for coal, power to gas, low-carbon process heat (e.g., concentrating solar thermal power), geothermal district heating and cooling, thermal storage for seasonal time-shifting of renewable electricity, for non-electricity applications, and for space cooling with seawater?
- What are the key challenges and success stories in the region?