Event Details:
In the 21st century the world faces the new challenge of drastically
reducing emissions of greenhouse gases while simultaneously expanding
access to energy and economic opportunity for billions of people. In a
recent MIT study we have examined this challenge in the electricity
sector, which has been widely identified as an early candidate for
deep decarbonization. In most regions, serving projected electricity
load in 2050 while simultaneously reducing greenhouse gas emissions
will require a mix of electrical generation assets that is different
from the current system. While a variety of low- or zero-carbon
technologies can be employed in various combinations, our analysis
shows that excluding nuclear energy as an option may significantly
increase the cost of achieving deep decarbonization targets. The
least-cost portfolios in our analysis include an important share for
nuclear, and the magnitude of this share grows substantially as the
cost of nuclear energy drops. Despite this promise, prospects for the
expansion of nuclear energy remain decidedly dim in many parts of the
world. We have examined what is needed to reverse that trend; the
salient findings from our analyses will be presented in this talk.
SPEAKER BIO:
Jacopo Buongiorno is the TEPCO Professor of Nuclear Science and
Engineering at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and
the Director of Science and Technology of the MIT Nuclear Reactor
Laboratory. He teaches a variety of undergraduate and graduate
courses in thermo-fluids engineering and nuclear reactor
engineering. Jacopo has published 90 journal articles in the areas
of reactor safety and design, two-phase flow and heat transfer, and
nanofluid technology. For his research work and his teaching at MIT
he won several awards, among which the ANS Outstanding Teacher Award
(2019), the MIT MacVicar Faculty Fellowship (2014), the ANS Landis
Young Member Engineering Achievement Award (2011), the ASME Heat
Transfer Best Paper Award (2008), and the ANS Mark Mills Award
(2001). Jacopo is the Director of the Center for Advanced Nuclear
Energy Systems (CANES). In 2016-2018 he led the MIT study on the
Future of Nuclear Energy in a Carbon-Constrained World. Jacopo is a
consultant for the nuclear industry in the area of reactor
thermal-hydraulics, and a member of the Accrediting Board of the
National Academy of Nuclear Training. He is a Fellow of the American
Nuclear Society (including service on its Special Committee on
Fukushima in 2011-2012), a member of the American Society of
Mechanical Engineers, a participant in the Defense Science Study Group
(2014-2015) and in the Naval Studies Board (2016-2019).
ADMISSION INFO
Free and open to all.
Visit this website for more information
[https://energy.stanford.edu/energy-seminar/upcoming-energy-seminars]
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07/04/2020 Last update