Realizing true energy impact
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Inside: EDITORIAL
Realizing true energy impact ENERGY SECTOR ANALYSIS
Born in the lab: Hydrocarbon fuels ditch their fossil origins ENERGY SECTOR ANALYSIS
Deep decarbonization faces deep challenges
ENERGY QUARTERLY ORGANIZERS CO-CHAIRS George Crabtree, Argonne National Laboratory, USA Elizabeth A. Kócs, University of Ilinois at Chicago, USA Andrea Ambrosini, Sandia National Laboratories, USA Monika Backhaus, Corning Incorporated, France David Cahen, Weizmann Institute, Israel Russell R. Chianelli, The University of Texas at El Paso, USA Shirley Meng, University of California, San Diego, USA Sabrina Sartori, University of Oslo, Norway Anke Weidenkaff, University of Stuttgart, Germany M. Stanley Whittingham, Binghamton University, The State University of New York, USA Steve M. Yalisove, University of Michigan, USA
“Born in the lab: Hydrocarbon fuels ditch their fossil origins” Credit: Creative Commons Zero. “Deep decarbonization faces deep challenges” Credit: Stuart Williams, Flickr Creative Commons.
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Realizing true energy impact To achieve energy sustainability by 2050, we need a radical shift in the process and goals of research. Under the 2016 Paris Agreement, 95 countries agreed to pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5˚C above preindustrial levels. However, recent explorations of clean energy technologies highlight their inability to achieve such ambitious mitigation objectives. The most common questions often revolve around political drivers, rates of deployment, and scientific and economic viability of current technologies, spurring debate in the scientific community. Bill Gates’s recent announcement of Breakthrough Energy Ventures speaks highly of the need for “investing in [scientific breakthroughs] and moving them from the lab to the market.” At the 2017 MRS Spring Meeting, a panel on Materials Needs for Energy Sustainability by 2050 rallied around accelerating the transition from idea to implementation. While discussions centered on what research is needed (tailored catalysts; high energy density, low-cost storage; self-healing materials; thermoelectrics), more sparks flew when considering how research should be conducted. Ultimately, the concept that researchers must think differently yielded two key recommendations: 1. Researchers should think differently about the goals of research. As David Cahen, editor of MRS Energy & Sustainability, provoked in his panel introduction: “Let’s assume that everything [the science] will work out.… You may be able to publish 20 papers in Science and Nature … but what then?” Similarly, Cherry Murray, Harvard University, said, “Industry will not fund applied fundamental science, which is somewhat curiosity driven.” As scientists, we are often driven by curiosity. In fact, science begets innovation due to its curious and exploratory nature. But what inspires that curiosity, and can it be channeled toward solving immediate challeng
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