All listed times are in Eastern Daylight Time (EDT). Groups of names are listed alphabetically by last name.
Day 1 - May 25, 2022
1:00 p.m.
Opening/Welcome
1:30 p.m.
Keynote Plenary
Emily Grubert
Deputy Assistant Secretary for the Office of Carbon Management in the Office of Fossil Energy and Carbon Management
The US Department of Energy’s Office of Carbon Management’s mission is to facilitate a just and environmentally sustainable transition toward a net-zero carbon economy. How do we do this? By focusing on carbon dioxide—its storage, containment, and capture. We address emissions associated with the power and industrial sectors, as well as legacy emissions in the atmosphere, and we seek to permanently store and/or convert carbon dioxide (CO2) to reduce negative climate impacts.
Activities to deliver the Office’s mission center on investments in technological readiness and analysis. To do so, our department researches a portfolio of carbon management approaches, with an emphasis on facilitating development of approaches that meet our technical, justice, and sustainability requirements for commercialization. Our goals are to improve their performance, reduce costs, and scale the deployment of the technologies to decarbonize the power and industrial sectors and to remove CO2 from the atmosphere.
2:15 p.m.
Flash Talks
The following researchers will share short research presentations:
- Ken Davis | Progress toward continuous monitoring of methane emission rates from the natural gas supply chain
Knowledge of methane emissions from the natural gas supply chain, and methods for measuring these emissions have both grown remarkably in recent years. Continuous monitoring of emissions is also possible. I will present recent work quantifying methane emissions from major shale gas production basins in the central and eastern United States using both episodic and continuous monitoring. - Derek Hall | Redox flow batteries for grid-scale energy storage
Large quantities of grid-scale energy storage capacity are required to meet quickly approaching decarbonization targets. Estimates of the energy storage need for the U.S. electric grid range from 100 to 400 gigawatts of capacity by 2050. This lightning talk will discuss how redox flow batteries can provide safe and inexpensive alternatives to li-ion batteries for stationary energy storage applications. - Alfonso Mejia | Enhancing hydropower and nuclear energy operations with hydro-meteorological forecasting
This talk describes how weather predictions, hydrodynamic modeling, and machine learning can help maximize the climate benefits from hydropower and nuclear energy. These same technologies can be used to improve wind, solar, and biomass energy operations. Implementing this solution will require training forecasters and operators to work with improved forecasting systems. - Rebecca Napolitano | Why are we throwing away so much carbon? An argument for adaptive reuse
With historic structures, there tends to be a lot of undercorrection or overcorrection. Undercorrection is when we don’t fully repair a building and it can fail; overcorrection is when we go straight for demolition. While it is very clear that we don’t want buildings to fail, there are a lot of consequences to overcorrecting that are not always discussed. This flash talk will touch on some of those. - Wei Peng | Making deep decarbonization realistic and robust
Integrated assessment modeling methods (IAMs) have been widely used to assess future decarbonization pathways and their implications on cost and the environment. While most IAMs focus on optimal, idealized policies, real-world decisions need to balance competing objectives, manage future uncertainties, and ensure political feasibility. In this talk, I will showcase our recent efforts to advance IAMs for identifying realistic and robust decarbonization strategies, from assessing the cost of state-driven climate policy in the U.S. to the unintended health effects of a global carbon price. - Shashank Priya | Energy harvesting
Energy harvesting devices capture freely available environmental energy and convert them into useful electricity. Examples of environmental energy include sunlight, heat, wind flow, vibrations, magnetic fields etc. This talk will provide brief overview of various energy harvesting devices. - Hannah Wiseman | Policy tools for the energy transition
This talk compares and contrasts the tools that countries and U.S. states are using to: 1) support fossil fuel sector workers and communities negatively impacted by the transition; 2) address the impacts of low-carbon energy in host communities; and 3) make the low-carbon energy sector more inclusive. - Linxiao Zhu | Renewable energy harvesting from the cold universe and the sun
We will first discuss our research on using the cold universe for passive radiative cooling, including radiative cooling to sub-ambient temperatures and for solar absorbers. Then we will discuss combining radiative cooling and solar energy harvesting.
3:00 p.m.
Break
3:15 p.m.
Breakout Sessions
Choose from four concurrent sessions. See session description for room numbers.
Carbon Capture and Storage
Room: 106
Track: Advancing Technology Research and Development
Decarbonization to achieve sustainable energy production and achieve atmospheric carbon reduction solutions will require novel technical and natural carbon capture and storage solutions. This session will explore frontiers of carbon capture and storage approaches and their tradeoffs, including challenges and opportunities for scaling innovation and application.
Session Lead
Moderator
Speakers/Panelists
Natural Gas and Hydrogen: Transitions to or Do We Need a Revolution?
Room: 107
Track: Advancing Technology Research and Development
Gas turbines produce nearly 40% of the US electricity today and, as such are important to power generation. Turbines have historically operated on fossil fuels starting with coal and most recently transitioning to natural gas. As we continue on decarbonization efforts, turbines will continue to be a critical power generation technology with the potential of moving towards becoming more fuel flexible including using hydrogen. This session will discuss the challenges of moving towards hydrogen; what it would require for Penn State in this transition; and what Penn State researchers are doing to help advance gas turbine technology.
Session Leads
Moderators
Speakers/Panelists
Equity and Inclusion in Building Electrification and Decarbonization
Room: 108
Track: Addressing energy inclusion, equity, and justice
Electrification of buildings is a primary strategy in building decarbonization. This session will bring together stakeholders from design, policy, and implementation perspectives to discuss how equity and inclusion can be brought to the forefront in building electrification work.
Session Leads
Speakers/Panelists
Critical Minerals for Batteries Using Pennsylvania Feedstocks: Opportunities and Challenges
Room: 109
Track: Achieving implementation
Abstract: The EV market is expected to experience severe shortage of critical mineral and battery materials like cobalt, graphite, lithium, manganese, nickel, REE, and vanadium. According to some reports, there are not enough mines in the world currently to supply all the raw materials needed for the forecast applications. Penn State has recently completed a preliminary estimate of cobalt and manganese in the cola refuse and acid mine drainage in PA. The preliminary estimate is that coal refuse in Pennsylvania contains approximately 52,000 metric tons of cobalt. Over a half million metric tons of manganese are contained in these accumulations. This session discusses these resources and also lithium resources in mercer clay deposits in PA. Session participants—researchers, project developers and other stakeholders—will discuss these opportunities and what might be done to address the challenges in developing these extraction plants in the commonwealth and elsewhere.
Session Leads
Speakers/Panelists
4:30 p.m.
Poster Session
Room: Presidents Hall 3 and 4
Undergraduate and graduate students, post-docs, extension educators, and faculty will share posters at an in-person poster session focused on energy.
Some poster presenters uploaded their work to the online poster gallery.
Day 2 - May 26, 2022
8:30 a.m.
Opening/Welcome
9:00 a.m.
Keynote Plenary
Leslie Marshall
Director, Society of Fire Protection Engineers Foundation
Title: Why Cross-Sectoral Collaboration Is Essential for Energy and Infrastructure Transition
This presentation will focus on opportunities for strategic cross-sectoral collaboration to drive a more equitable and sustainable energy future for the region. Using the example of the Marshall Plan for Middle America – a project she spearheaded while at the University of Pittsburgh – Dr. Marshall will describe how energy and infrastructure transition can bring together diverse (if seemingly unlikely) stakeholders from industry, finance, labor, academia, government, and community organizations around shared interests in economic development and regional prosperity. Attendees will learn how the MP4MA came together, why it was created, and what it can teach us about the potential for actors across the region to cooperate in the pursuit of energy and climate solutions. Turning to new opportunities, Dr. Marshall will also discuss how innovative technologies, materials, and systems associated with energy transition and climate change mitigation create new pathways for interdisciplinary and cross-sectoral collaboration. To illustrate, she’ll draw on the example of the SFPE Foundation’s new Grand Challenges Initiative and discuss why cooperation is essential to ensure that our energy future is more sustainable, equitable, and safe for all.
10:00 a.m.
Break
10:15 a.m.
Breakout Sessions
Choose from three concurrent sessions. See session description for room numbers.
Are Environmental and Energy Justice Solutions Aligned or at Odds within PA or This Region?
Room: 107
Track: Addressing Energy Inclusion, Equity, and Justice
Abstract: From the coal reserves of the Appalachian Mountains to the natural gas fields of the Marcellus Shale, Pennsylvania has an abundance of fossil fuel energy resources, making it one of the top energy-generating states in the United States. In the past decade, Pennsylvania has experienced a fossil fuel energy transition—from reliance on coal to reliance on natural gas. Motivated by the need to respond to climate change, Pennsylvania recently joined the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, a regional cap and trade program, to accelerate the state’s low carbon energy transition. Given disparities in economic reliance on fuel production and energy generation throughout the Commonwealth, these transitions raise distributional concerns. This panel will discuss the environmental and energy justice challenges raised by energy transitions in Pennsylvania along with the policy solutions designed to address them. It will focus on questions such as: What will Pennsylvania’s energy transitions look like over the next decade? What are the distributional implications of these energy transitions? How can policies be designed to promote environmental and energy justice in the midst of low carbon energy transitions? How will Pennsylvania’s energy transitions affect the broader region?
Session Leads
Speakers/Panelists
Financial and Management Considerations in Environmental, Social, and Governance-Oriented Energy Investment
Room: 108
Track: Catalyzing Capital Investment
The business community has embraced ESG considerations in investment strategies, including in the energy arena. However, challenges exist in making the case that sustainable energy can be as economically viable as existing sources. This panel will explore different business considerations that must be addressed to highlight sustainable energy advantages. It will focus on (1) the role of ESG in the investment community; (2) optimizing supply chains for environmental benefits; (3) rethinking natural gas utilities and infrastructure; (4) developing and financing micro-nuclear; and (5) introducing ESG to student investment programs.
Session Lead
Speakers/Panelists
Reimagining Appalachia: What are the Opportunities for Energy 2.0 in the Appalachian Region?
Room: 109
Track: Achieving Implementation
The Appalachian Region, including Pennsylvania, has long been critical to the energy development of the United States and the world. For example, the world’s first oil well was developed in Titusville, Pennsylvania in 1859. Long extraction of oil, coal, and now natural gas has left a sizable footprint in this region. Going forward as we work to decrease carbon emissions and manage the need for a robust energy transition, how to do so in a way that’s “good for workers, communities, and the environment” is critical. This breakout session will highlight plans on how to help with this transition, including the Marshall Plan for Middle America and Reimagining Appalachia. After briefly introducing these efforts, speakers will share where things stand and what might come next.
Session Leads
Speakers/Panelists
11:30 a.m.
Lunch
Room: Presidents Hall 3 and 4
12:30 p.m.
Breakout Sessions
Choose from four concurrent sessions. See session description for room numbers.
BEST Battery Research Update
Room: 106
Track: Advancing Technology Research and Development
Abstract: Batteries are key enablers for electric vehicles and grid storage. Penn State researchers in the Battery and Energy Storage Technology (BEST) Center are tackling challenges in energy density, cost, and safety. In this session, we will hear from BEST researchers about their latest exciting work in the battery field. Discussion with the panelists will center around development and deployment of these technological solutions at scale, the barriers to widespread adoption, and resources needed to expedite solutions.
Session Lead
Moderators
Panelists
Pathways for Just Energy Transitions: What have We Learned from Global and National Climate Assessments?
Room: 107
Track: Addressing Energy Inclusion, Equity, and Justice
Abstract: More than 100 countries have proposed or are considering a net zero emissions target for mid-century. But how to ensure an equitable energy transition as we respond to the climate challenge? Drawing insights from major global and national climate assessments, this panel invites the authors from the 6th Assessment Report of the IPCC and the ongoing 5th US National Climate Assessment to discuss the following questions: What do we know about the equity implications of energy decarbonization? What are key features of mitigation pathways that might result in synergies or tradeoffs between climate mitigation and energy justice? What types of national, regional, and local policies would be useful to enable a just transition?
Session Lead
Speakers/Panelists
What do Family Forest Owners “Know” and Perhaps “Want” from Carbon Programs?
Room: 108
Track: Catalyzing Capital Investment
Abstract: Opportunities for forest owners to engage in climate change mitigation have increased due to the recent emergence of forest carbon market programs. However, research conducted by the National Woodland Owners Association found only a small fraction of forest owners are familiar with these opportunities and even fewer are enrolled. This session reviews the factors possibly driving low rates of enrollment and discussion will focus on what might help address these low rates. Research and case studies examining which forest owners do in-fact enroll in carbon programs will also be presented. Findings suggest diverse types of contracts and payment levels are needed for the widespread participation of forest owners in climate change mitigation programs. Thoughts on the ethical implications of financializing ecological services within a stewardship decision-making framework will also be discussed.
Session Lead
Speakers/Panelists
Communities and Campuses: Working Together for Local Climate Action
Room: 109
Track: Achieving Implementation
Abstract: This session brings together local leaders from across Pennsylvania with applied and academic experience in climate action and adaptation planning. The goal is to provide insight into the technical, public-facing, planning, and (small-p) political and policy processes to move from interest and will to a plan capable of implementation and means by which to include students and faculty in these processes. Examples focus on municipal and intergovernmental policy and budgeting as well as the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection’s statewide Local Climate Assistance Program which specifically partners university students and municipal government officials together to work on greenhouse gas inventories and climate action plans. In this session, we hope to answer key questions about the opportunities for partnerships such as these moving forward including, (1) how can we maximize the utility of the work to be completed by students for the municipality’s benefit, (2) how can we ensure students are having meaningful engagement experiences with their communities, both in person and remotely, (3) how can we expand the reach of a model such as this, and (4) the role of climate educators in government more broadly to provide more municipalities around the state with the information and will they need to prepare for the changing climate?
Session Leads
Speakers/Panelists
1:45 p.m.
Break
2:00 p.m.
Plenary: Implementing Energy and Climate Solutions: Critical Needs in Research, Education, and Engagement
To implement the energy and climate solutions being discussed at this conference and beyond, there are plenty of needs and opportunities in research, education, and engagement. This final plenary panel of energy and climate experts will discuss what they see across these dimensions:
- Vision: We need to cut our GHG emissions in half by 2030. How do we do this? What do we need to get there?
- Research: What innovations do we need for policy, finance, or technology to meet this challenge and fast track implementation?
- Education: What are the core skills we need for the workforce to meet this need and how can we get there faster?
- Engagement: How do we better engage at a range of levels to ensure that the needs of individuals to communities to countries are being addressed, particularly given the environmental justice challenges embedded in energy and climate?
This moderated discussion will help inform potential next steps as Penn State continues to focus on this critical energy transition.
Speakers/Panelists
3:00 p.m.