The Waterloo Institute for Nanotechnology (WIN) and the Faculty of Arts are pleased to present a “Mash-Up” event, on the theme of “Alternate Energy and the Hydrogen Economy."
This event will take place on Wednesday, April 5, 2023 from 10:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. in QNC 1501. A networking lunch will be hosted after the presentations.
Joint Seed Funding Competition
A seed funding competition will be called after the WIN-Arts Mash-Up, which will support joint projects in this space to generate initial data points needed for future applications to significant national and international funding programs, which will require diverse teams to address the complex and multi-disciplinary scope of these challenges. See below for more details.
The Alternate Energy & the Hydrogen Economy Challenge
With climate change becoming one of the existential crises of the twenty-first century, there is a significant push to develop technologies that would be carbon neutral (or even negative emission) as energy sources. This necessity is also compounded by the current geo-political scenario of reliance on carbon-based fuel (petrochemicals and oil) which has created a significant energy crisis for everyone, and in particular Europe. Hence, diversification of the national energy portfolio is imperative with the conscious effort to meet the greenhouse gas (GHG) standards prescribed in the Paris Agreement.
Currently, several concurrent technologies are being pursued. Hydrogen is becoming an “energy currency” of the future with significant endeavour globally. However, it has its challenges, such as transportation, storage and also the source of hydrogen production (“blue” vs. “green” hydrogen). Alternate fuel such as Ammonia, which has the inherent advantage of being a carbon-free molecule, will not produce any carbon emissions after burning for energy production. Even in some parts of the world, modular nuclear reactor technologies are developed to mitigate climate and energy crises.
Any introduction of new technology has its pros and cons and comes at a cost. At the mixer, we would like to discuss how a comprehensive understanding of these energy technologies from different lenses including (i) political, (ii) social, (iii) policy, and (iv) economy of scale which are critical to creating a resilient energy future for Canada and nations globally.