Materials and Integration Challenges in Alternative and Renewable Energy Systems

Over the next several decades, global demand for energy is projected to sharply rise. It is estimated that globally 10 terawatts of power will be needed (equivalent to an additional 150 million barrels of oil) per day by 2050. Future energy production and distribution must be sustainable, environmentally conscious, and less reliant on conventional fossil fuels that are associated with a massive carbon footprint. Advanced ceramic materials and multiscale ceramic integration technologies will dramatically impact the energy and environment landscape due to their wide scale applications in all aspects of alternative and renewable energy production, storage, distribution, conservation, and efficiency. Examples include fuel cells, thermoelectrics, gas turbine propulsion systems, distribution and transmission systems based on superconductors, nuclear power generation, NOx and COx reduction technologies, and a wide variety of green and energy efficient manufacturing processes and technologies. Affordable and reliable solar energy technologies could play key role in sustainable development around the globe without major impact on environment since solar power is a clean, renewable, and sustainable energy source. However, revolutionary approaches for thermal energy storage (TES) system at elevated temperatures (>700 ˚C) for concentrated solar power (CSP) are needed for reliable energy supply. Integration technologies are key to making these systems a reality. The development of robust and reliable integrated systems with optimum performance requires the understanding of many thermochemical and thermomechanical factors, particularly for high temperature applications. In this presentation, various challenges and opportunities in design, fabrication, and testing of integrated systems will be discussed. Specific examples will be given for integration of fuel cell systems, thermal management, and thermal energy storage devices. Potential opportunities and need for the development of innovative design philosophies, approaches, and integrated system testing under simulated conditions will also be discussed.

Biography

Dr. Mrityunjay Singh is Chief Scientist, Ohio Aerospace Institute, NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, Ohio. He is President of the American Ceramic Society and Governor of Acta Materialia, Inc. He is Academician of the World Academy of Ceramics, Italy and currently serves as Vice President of the International Board of the Academy. He received his Ph.D. in Metallurgical Engineering from Indian Institute of Technology-BHU, Varanasi, India in 1983 and did his post-doctoral work at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY. He is a Fellow of the American Ceramic Society, ASM International, and American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS). He was awarded Distinguished Life Membership of Alpha Sigma Mu-Materials Engineering Honor Society in 2014. He is Honorary Fellow of Indian Institute of Ceramics and also received honorary membership from Materials Research Society of India. He has received Honorary Doctorates from Nagaoka University of Technology in Japan and Slovak Academy of Sciences, Slovakia.

Dr. Singh has received numerous awards and has edited/co-edited fifty books/proceedings and seven journal volumes, authored/co-authored fourteen book chapters/invited reviews and more than two hundred seventy five papers in journals and proceedings. He has delivered numerous keynote and plenary presentations in international conferences, forums, and workshops all over the world. He has chaired/co-chaired numerous international conferences and currently serves on the advisory boards and committees of more than fifteen highly respected international journals and technical publications.