Bathroom Displays

I-SEE Seminar

Energy Transition Pathways, Scenarios and Technologies for a Low Carbon UK Future

Professor Geoff Hammond, Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Bath

The United Kingdom (UK) has placed itself on a transition towards a low carbon economy and society, through the imposition of a legally-binding goal aimed at reducing its ‘greenhouse gas’ (GHG) emissions by at least 80% by 2050 against a 1990 baseline. Thus, the socio-technical insights and opportunities associated with the transition towards a low-carbon future are of critical importance in many industrialised countries. Two sets of transition pathways or scenarios are therefore described that relate to the electricity sector and to industry respectively. Tools such as ‘horizon scanning’ and ‘technology assessment’ were required in order to credibly populate these scenarios. Transition pathways for the power sector were developed via an innovative collaboration between engineers, social scientists and policy analysts. They included an examination of the potential for increasing the use of low-carbon electricity for heating and transport. A second set of scenarios, and coupled technology roadmaps, were devised that reflect the transition challenges that will need to be met by industry out to 2050. Reducing industrial energy demand and improving resource efficiency could make a substantial contribution towards the UK Government’s decarbonisation goal, while simultaneously improving productivity and creating employment opportunities. These technology roadmaps exhibit quite large uncertainties, and reducing GHG emissions over the long-term will depend critically on the adoption of a small number of key technologies, alongside the ‘decarbonisation’ of electricity supply.

Geoffrey Hammond is Professor Emeritus in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Bath (UK), and was founder Director of its Institute for Sustainable Energy & the Environment (I•SEE) until 2011. He is a mechanical engineer with a multidisciplinary background, including environmental protection and business management. His research interests are mainly concerned with the technology assessment of energy systems, industrial decarbonisation, and transition pathways to a low carbon future. His journal publications in the field of sustainable energy and the environment have been awarded the Dufton Silver Medal (CIBSE), the George Stephenson Prize (IMechE), and the James Watt Medal (ICE). He has given keynote and invited lectures internationally; most recently the opening keynote address at the 10th International Conference on Applied Energy (ICAE2018) held in Hong Kong (China). In recent years he has advised the UK Government’s the Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, the Government Office for Science, and their independent Committee on Climate Change. He has been Convenor of the new British Standards Institution (BSi) ‘Greenhouse Gas’ (GHG) Management Group since 2014.

I-SEE seminars are free and open for all to attend

http://www.bath.ac.uk/i-see/events

You are welcome to join us for prior discussions and afternoon tea in the 'Wessex Restaurant', University of Bath from 16:00 to 16:25