Prof. George TSATSARONIS
Technical University of Berlin
Institute for Energy Engineering
Berlin, Germany
Professor Tsatsaronis received a Diploma in mechanical engineering (NTU Athens, Greece 1967-1972), and an MBA, a Ph.D. in combustion, and a Dr Habilitatus Degree in Thermoeconomics, all from the RWTH Aachen, Germany (1972-1982).
He worked as Research Professor at the Energy and Environmental Engineering Center of Desert Research Institute, USA (1982-1986), and as Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the Center of Excellence for Electric Power, Tennessee Tech University (1986-1994). Since 1994 he is the Bewag Professor of Energy Engineering and Environmental Protection at the Technische Universität Berlin, Germany.
His areas of interest include exergy-based methods (exergetic, exergoeconomic, and exergoenvironmental analyses and evaluations) and the design, development, simulation, analysis and optimization of energy conversion systems. He contributed significantly to the fundamentals and applications of conventional and advanced exergy-based methods.
He is co-author of the book Thermal Design and Optimization (Wiley, 1996), has published over 500 papers, and co-edited 20 bound volumes. He served as chairman or co-chairman of 20 international conferences and received many international awards and recognitions including a Doctoris Honoris Causa from the Polytechnic University of Bucharest, the James Harry Potter Gold Medal from the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), Honorary Professor from North China University of Electric Power, Life Fellow (ASME), and twice the Edward F. Obert Best Paper Award from ASME.
Chalenges of the energy-sector decarbonization
Significant reductions in carbon dioxide emissions can be achieved by using appropriate technologies and policies in the electricity, heat generation, industry, buildings, agriculture, and transportation sectors. The required energy transition in these sectors should be viewed in the context of global trends and local preferences that will impact the demand for different technologies. Decarbonization is technically possible through a combination of technical solutions. However, several solutions face difficulties during implementation. For decarbonization to be successful, several developments including changes in regulations and user preferences, technological breakthroughs, and lower zero-carbon energy prices are required.
In the presentation some solutions, technologies and policies will be critically reviewed. Particular attention will be given to decarbonization options that are currently not cost competitive with conventional technologies.