The IPCC report “Global Warming of 1.5°C” (Oct. 2018) issued a dire warning that unless CO₂ emissions are halved by 2030, devastating changes will occur on land and in ocean irreversibly and sooner than expected. Time is running out for transitioning to new energy systems globally. Logic and numbers show that the world must take a two-step approach: (A) deploy existing, industrially proven technologies, namely solar, wind, and nuclear base load at an unprecedented scale and pace, from now to 2050 -- when a house catches fire, firemen must run to the closest hydrants and stop disputing which water stream would be purer; and (B) develop new concepts and technologies that may replace the dirtier parts of (A) post-2050, at terawatt scale.

The Applied Energy “A+B” symposium is dedicated to the accelerated deployment of (A), and new concepts and emerging technologies for (B). For (A), reducing capital and operating costs, managing social dynamics, and minimizing environmental impact while maintaining extreme productivity are key; automation, artificial intelligence, social mobilization, governmental actions, and international coordination will provide essential boosts. For (B), we seek new concepts and emerging technologies (e.g. in energy storage, superconducting transmission, etc.) that stand a chance to scale to terawatts within 30 years.

All presentations (with the author’s permission) will be video recorded and posted on YouTube or other open sources for public dissemination. Outstanding presentations will be considered for publication in a special issue of Applied Energy (top energy journal with Impact Factor 7.9; more information about the journal can be found at https://www.journals.elsevier.com/applied-energy).

To be invited to present at this symposium, please upload a .zip file (<200MB) containing a video or voice file (≤10 min) or a Powerpoint presentation (≤30 slides) or a traditional abstract (≤6 pages), with up to 3 supplemental PDF files if need, that explain how and why your work matters to A or B. The manuscript will be reviewed by symposium organizers for acceptance to the conference. The submission format is very flexible; examples of topics include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Renewable energy: Solar energy (A or B), wind energy (A or B), bioenergy (A or B), geothermal energy (A or B), and other renewables.
• Nuclear energy: Shipyard constructed floating reactors (A), small modular reactors (A or B), fast reactors (B).
• Clean energy conversion technologies: Conversion of petroleum/gas/coal to high-valued materials and chemicals (A), hybrid energy systems, such as the combination of intermittent renewable energies and nuclear heat storage for load following, chemicals/materials/fuel production (A or B), multienergy carrier energy systems (A or B).
• Mitigation technologies: Carbon capture and sequestration (B), nuclear waste (A), solar waste (A), battery waste (A), reduced-CO₂ production of cement, bulk metals and chemicals (A or B).
• Intelligent energy systems: smart grids (A), ultra-efficient/superconducting power transmission (B), wireless power transmission (B); electrification of transportation and industrial production, such as electric cars/trucks (A or B), electrified air flight (A or B).
• Energy storage: Pumped hydro/compressed air (A), thermal energy storage (A or B), grid-scale batteries (A or B), distributed energy storage (A or B).
• Sustainability of energy systems: Environmental monitoring (A), social mobilization (A), consensus building (A), governmental policy-making (A), international coordination (A).

Given the grave urgency of our mission, we ask authors to be earnest, practical, and in a problem-solving mode in their presentations. Creativity will be highly valued. 

If you have questions regarding this conference or submission, please contact Conference Organization Committee Chair Dr. Ray (Zhenhua) Rui at MIT (aeab2019@applied-energy.org).

Important Dates

Submission deadline: Feb 25, 2019
Review: Feb 26 – March 7, 2019
Notification of acceptance: March 8, 2019
Conference: May 22 - 24, 2019
Conference Registration and MIT Campus Tour: May 22, 2019