Today, on November 3, 2022, at 12 p.m., the inauguration of the 2022-2023 academic year of the Doctoral School has been taken place in the Auditorium of the Escola Politècnica Superior of Universitat de Girona (UdG).
Dr. Gerardo Boto Varela, Director of the Doctoral School, has led the event. It has been chaired by the rector of UdG, Dr. Quim Salvi. And the inaugural lecture has been led by Dr. Joan Ramon Morante, IREC’s director and Professor of Physics at the University of Barcelona.
The lecture entitled “Green energy: from the laboratory to the market“, the theme of which is completely aligned with the main topics of this event: sustainability and non-recyclable materials, while underlining the commitment of the UdG to sustainability in all its aspects. The conference has been focused on research on the mechanisms for converting the sunlight energy, as an inexhaustible source, into various energy forms such as thermal, electrical or chemical, among others. At the nanometric level, constitutes the basis for knowledge and management of these processes with maximum efficiency.
The implementation of new energy models without fossil fuels, based on renewable energy develops into a new energy carrier, such as the green hydrogen. This requires making a change in habits in order to achieve a change in energy model.
The combination of the two approaches, from materials to the system and from the system to the material, is the key to bring research results from the laboratory to the market as a strong way for getting an impact and achieving innovation. Several cases have been presented and discussed as examples. Hydrogen production or CO2 capture and reuse or biomethane production or synthetic aviation fuels, SAF, demonstrating how quality research can be done and how it can give rise to patents and also to new ideas to create spin-offs.
Dr. Morante, director of the IREC, has finished his conference saying: “if we want to be sustainable as a society, we have to change the energy model. The new models are based on renewable energy. Each territory must ensure the sovereignty of its energy and value the capacities of rational energy consumption. Research and knowledge are essential to support future options in the field of energy issues”.
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