DTU is hosting the world's first conference on electrolysis for energy purposes, the 1st International Conference on Electrolysis (ICE) this week at Axelborg in Copenhagen. More than 200 international researchers and industrial representatives will be attending.
Scientists and industrial representatives from all over the world meet this week at Axelborg in Copenhagen for the world's first conference on electrolysis for energy purposes, ICE2017.
"All the electrolysis industry's hot names from both the research community and industry will be coming as this is the first open forum in the world that is only about electrolysis," says Professor Jens Oluf Jensen, DTU Energy, who heads the conference. And the interest has been overwhelming.
"Our goal was a three-day conference with 150 participants, but we rounded 200 participants and have had to expand one more day to accommodate all the participants," says Jens Oluf Jensen.
The participants come from 26 countries all over the world, most of them from the United States, Japan, China, South Africa and the EU, and they will be spending four days listening to 72 lectures about research on electrolysis as well as presenting their own research to other researchers and representatives from the 27 international Companies that are also present, among these companies like Green Hydrogen, Siemens, NEL Hydrogen, Hydrogenics and Haldor Topsøe.
"The International Conference on Electrolysis 2017 is a timely event of paramount importance to the hydrogen community. It is a rare opportunity to put together under the same roof experts, scientists, and students to sharing key information and ideas"
Marcelo Carmo, Operating Agent, the International Energy Agency Electrolysis Annex 30.
The missing link in green change
“With the growing importance and penetration of renewable energy on a global scale, renewable hydrogen is a key missing piece to connect the grid to transportation and industrial applications. ICE 2017 provides a needed forum, bringing the scientific community together to address an emerging area of critical need”, says Bryan Pivovar of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), USA.
Electrolysis is a key technology, a Missing Link in the green change when renewable energy from among other things Wind turbines and solar cells must be stored or converted into fuels for transport industry.
“The International Conference on Electrolysis 2017 is a timely event of paramount importance to the hydrogen community. It is a rare opportunity to put together under the same roof experts, scientists, and students to sharing key information and ideas. The International Energy Agency (TCP-IFC Electrolysis Annex 30) is obviously very supportive into promoting this common platform to discuss the topic of hydrogen generation. That is the only way to quickly foster R&D on the use of renewable energies and its storage/conversion via Hydrogen”, says Marcelo Carmo – Operating Agent IEA Electrolysis Annex 30.
“When talking to different Hydrogen experts from different countries, we have the assurance that the ICE shall be a great success and it will be the first of many that will come over the next years.”
Putting forward an overlooked technology
The International Energy Agency has long considered electrolysis to be a very useful technology to boost the conversion of energy from fossil fuels, yet politicians have overlooked the technology.
"There is a need for more wind turbines, but when it comes to storing energy for times when the wind does not blow, we lack a way to do it efficiently. We also want to make the transport sector more sustainable, but it is difficult to put power from wind turbines directly into the tank. Electrolysis can solve both these problems, but the technology has often been overlooked, perhaps because there has not been a common forum for researchers in the area where you can exchange ideas. We are now establishing this forum", says Professor Jens Oluf Jensen, DTU.
The 1st International Conference on Electrolysis (ICE2017) will establish Denmark in a key position in electrolysis research. The conference was created in collaboration between DTU, Aalborg University and Ewii Fuel Cells, supported by a number of research projects under the Innovation Fund Denmark and the EUDP.
Read more about the 1st International Conference on Electrolysis (ICE) here