Week 1: China’s Climate Policy

Wednesday 20th January 2021 5:30pm

Venue: Online.

Dr. Fan Dai, Director of the California-China Climate Institute. Dr. Fan Dai is the director of California-China Climate Institute, an initiative by former California Governor Jerry Brown in partnership with Xie Zhenhua, China’s Special Representative for Climate Change Affairs. She previously served as special advisor on China to Governor Brown, where she chaired the state’s China Interagency Working Group and acted as the state’s liaison on its critical climate and environment initiatives with China. The recent pledge by China in September 2020 on carbon neutrality by 2060 was a surprising one, yet crucial for the world to achieve its Paris targets. More than that, the upcoming 5-year plan for the period of 2021 to 2025 will be crucial in fleshing out the tangible policies to put china on the necessary trajectory. In this talk, Dr. Dai will talk about 1. Climate action and plans at sub-national levels 2. Key sectors for carbon neutrality by 2060 and 3. What is likely to be in the 14th Five-Year Plan.

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Week 2: Technology Enabling Decarbonisation

Wednesday 27th January 2021 5:30pm

Venue: Online.

Devrim Celal, CEO Upside Energy

Week 3: The role of Blue Hydrogen and CCS for the pathway to net-zero emissions

Wednesday 3rd February 2021 5:30pm

Venue: online

Al Cook, Executive Vice President (Global Strategy and Business Development), Equinor

Week 4: Nuclear Fusion Technology (Culham Centre for Fusion Energy)

Wednesday 10th February 2021 5:30pm

Manufacturing Realisation Section Leader at Culham Centre for Fusion Energy. Oxford Alumna (DPhil Physics)

Venue: Online

Heather received her PhD in Condensed Matter Physics from the University of Oxford in 2010 and then joined Imperial College London working in spacecraft instrument. From there she moved to the defence and aerospace sector working on technology programmes on electromagnetic materials and structures. In 2016, Heather moved to the United Kingdom Atomic Energy Authority, and in 2017 became the Programme Manager for the Joining and Advanced Manufacturing Technology Labs. Heather is now Lead for Manufacturing on the UKAEA STEP (Spherical Tokamak for Energy Production) programme and is running programmes encouraging Innovation and Technology Transfer.

The fusion environment creates unique challenges for materials, manufacture, testing and many other technologies that need to be overcome to realise a fusion power plant. UKAEA researches fusion energy and related technologies, with the aim of positioning the UK as a leader in sustainable nuclear energy. Some of these issues are unique to fusion, however, there is overlap with other sectors. This talk will introduce the challenges and some of the science and engineering development we are pursuing to overcome them but also discuss transferring fusion know-how and requirements to industry and academia and partnering with other industry sectors.

Week 5: Energy SocieTEA

Monday 15th February 2021 5:30pm

Venue: online

Kahoot quiz online with Oxford Tea Appreciation Society. Expect questions relating to Energy and Tea. All are welcome, except 5th Week Blues.

Week 5: Delivering A Net Zero Energy System

Wednesday 17th February 2021 5:30pm

Venue: online

Matthew Knight, Head of Business Development, Siemens

Week 6: Investor’s Perspective on Clean Energy Financing

Wednesday 24th February 2021 5:30pm

Venue: online

Peter Dickson, Founding Partner, Glennmont Partners

Week 6: BINGO with GeogSoc

Thursday 25th February 2021 5:30pm

Venue: online

Help us beat the Geography society at Bingo!

Week 6: Fraser Armstrong

tbc

Venue: online

Talk with OUCB

Week 7: Afry Talk

Wednesday 3rd March 2021 5:30pm

Venue: online

Week 8: Bacteria, Biowires and Bio-Batteries

Wednesday 10th March 2021 5:30pm

Venue: online

Julea Butt, Professor of Biophysical Chemistry at University of East Anglia

Bacteria are inspirational materials. Assembled from abundant resources under ambient conditions they self-repair, harness energy from sunlight, and synthesize numerous molecules from sustainable precursors. Some bacteria have an additional fascinating property, they are able to exchange electrons with external electrodes. This fusion of microbiology and electronics offers exciting prospects for the clean production of energy and chemicals. Biomolecular wires, proteins capable of conducting electrons across bacterial cell walls and extracellular space, underpin the electrical interfacing of bacteria with electrodes. In multi-disciplinary research, Prof Julea Butt of the University of East Anglia, Norwich, is revealing the molecular basis of electron transfer through biomolecular wires. In this talk Julea will review some of her group’s latest findings in the context of opportunities to advance electromicrobiology.