North-South Collaborative Workshop on Renewable Energy
Abstract
Recent advances in materials and processes have led to significant progress and cost reductions in technologies that harvest and store energy from renewable sources. In contrast to fossil fuels, renewable energy resources such as sunlight and wind are geographically distributed in a way that favors many Latin American countries. The development of advanced technologies that take advantage of these resources is crucial to achieving energy self-sufficiency in regions that currently lack reliable large-scale power infrastructure. Moreover, renewable energy sources are highly scalable and cost-efficient even in small implementations, making them ideal for use in local scale distributed electrical systems. This is an important challenge, as the 2015 Sustainable Development Goals require at least 55% of new electricity generation to be local-scale (isolated off-grid or part of a local energy grid) to achieve universal access to electricity by 2030. Less developed countries often face a technology gap compared to developed economies. They lack skilled labor, infrastructure, and know-how to locally manufacture advanced equipment. Moreover, scientists working in these countries usually do not have access to specialized tools needed for internationally competitive research. This, in turn, limits opportunities for high-level training, and scientific breakthroughs, and contributes to brain drain from South to North. This international workshop called North-South Collaborative Workshop on Renewable Energy to tackle the challenges in the field. It builds on the network and activities of the UNESCO Chair in Materials and Technologies for Energy Conversion, Saving and Storage (MATECSS), which was launched in 2014. Additionally, it aims to support the mission of The International Organization for Chemical Sciences in Development (IOCD), which is to promote the pursuit and application of chemical sciences for sustainable, equitable human development and economic growth. The IOCD workshop s first version was very successful, as it brought together over 50 scientists from 16 different countries during two full days of talks and discussions. Participants jointly conceived projects aimed at creating new materials for next-generation renewable energy technologies, studying emerging solar technologies such as solar hydrogen production from water, low-cost and low-energy intensive photovoltaics, solar windows, materials for efficient solid-state lighting, fuel cells with improved performance, and renewable energy materials.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Feb 06, 2025
- Source ID
- FA95502410236
Entities
People
- Fabian Ambriz Vargas
Organizations
- Air Force Office of Scientific Research
- Centro de Investigaciones en Optica
- United States Air Force