Seminar on Sustainable Energy

Chaired by Prof. Wolfgang Herrmann, Member of the EIT Governing Board and Executive Committee, this EIT seminar focused on one of the thematic areas designated for the first two to three Knowledge and Innovation Communities (KICs): Sustainable Energy.

The EIT seminar on "Sustainable Energy" was the second in a series of three seminars on the themes of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities. Interest in the subject was extremely high, with demand for participation heavily exceeding places available. The final audience of just under 200 participants from over 20 countries reflected very well the variety of actors involved in the knowledge triangle, with representatives from higher education, research, technology transfer, government and business. The latter made up about one quarter of the audience, thereby confirming a very positive trend of stable interest in the EIT from the private sector.

During the first part of the seminar , Prof. Herrmann presented the views of the Governing Board on the KICs and on 'Sustainable energy' as a KIC theme. He stressed the idea of co-location centres, which will have to be an intrinsic feature of the KIC fabric. Colocation centres are meant to be four to six major 'nodes' within a KIC, where staff from different stakeholders come to work together, face-to-face and which link other partners, such as local clusters of SMEs. Furthermore, each co-location centre should encompass a significant part of the innovation chain.

As regards the 'sustainable energy' topic, Prof. Herrmann pointed out that there were significant areas of synergies with the KIC topic of 'climate change adaptation and mitigation', e.g. carbon capture and storage; energy efficiency; alternative fuels; energy storage; the electric economy: heating vehicles etc; or the hydrogen economy. He stressed that such overlap was not only expected, but seen as a positive element of having KICs on these two critical topics. For the sake of focus and for the purpose of the assessment process, KIC applicants will however need to identify the central topic area (sustainable energy or climate change adaptation and mitigation) for their application.

During the second part of the seminar , an open discussion with EIT Governing Board Members (chair: Prof. Wolfgang Herrmann, cochairs: Dr. Gołębiowska-Tataj, Dr. Peter Tropschuh) addressed key features of the Knowledge and Innovation Communities, and helped to clarify several questions from the audience in relation to the preparations for the KIC partnerships.

The Seminar

Agenda 
Seminar Report
Resumés of Keynote Speakers

Seminar Presentations:

Prof. Wolfgang Herrmann - EIT Governing Board
Presentation on "The EIT Governing Board's View on Sustainable Energy"

Dr. Henrik Bindslev - Director: Risø National Laboratory for Sustainable Energy, Technical University of Denmark
Presentation on "Sustainable Energy Generation, Storage and Distribution: Challenges, Limitations and scope of New Technologies"

Prof. Wolfgang Palz - Chairman of the World Council on Renewable Energies (WCRE)
Presentation on"Energy Based on Renewable Resources"

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Steiger - External Relations: Head of Future Technology, Volkswagen AG
Presentation on "Energy Efficient Mobility: Challenging Technologies for Tomorrow's Transportation Systems"

Dr. Stefano Carosio - Head of Research and Innovation Unit, D'Appolonia SpA
Presentation on "Energy Efficient Buildings: Sustainable Technologies for Avant-garde Housing Systems"

Dr. Jan M. van der Eijk - Chief Technology Officer, Royal Dutch Shell
Presentation on "Energy Efficient Chemical Conversion and Production: Technologies towwards efficient use of Resources"