European-Sino Workshop exceeds all expectations with over 3,600 attendees

In his lecture "Germany's Energy Transition: Lessons for China", Prof. Dr. Hou emphasized that we urgently need the energy transition, as we "all have only one earth". There are high demands on the one hand, but also many opportunities on the other. Using comparative data on the current state of development between Germany and China, he stated that "China is running - Germany is just going".

More than 2,100 listeners took part in the second lecture via Zoom when Prof. Dr. DING Yulong from the University of Birmingham spoke on the topic of "Multi-Vector Energy Network Infrastructure for Net-Zero Greener Energy Transition". The presentation focused in particular on greenhouse gas emissions, emphasizing that these are not exclusively made up of carbon dioxide. In his presentation, he outlined the technologies needed to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and made recommendations for developing new energy sources and improving energy efficiency. He also emphasized the prominent role of hydrogen in the industrial and civil sectors of the future.

At the beginning of the presentation by Ms. Arvea Marieni, Partner & Board Member, Brainscapital & Technical Director Regenerative Society Foundation, Italy, the number of listeners increased by another 200 guests - and the trend is still rising. In her presentation on competitive cooperation as the key to common climate and environmental security goals, she highlighted the relevance of energy security, which plays a crucial role in the context of the rapid development of new energy sources and the unpredictable international situation.

Prof. Dr. LI Angui from the School of Building Services Science and Engineering at Xi'an University of Architecture and Technology, China, addressed one of the biggest challenges of the last two years - the Covid-19 pandemic. He presented ventilation control systems that are used, for example, in intensive care units or in the Zhengzhou Metro Station to prevent infection and the spread of aerosols.

Dr. Ludwig Möhring, Managing Director and Board Member of the German Association for Natural Gas, Petroleum and Geoenergy (BVEG), gave a presentation on the volatility of the gas market. Was the good supply of the "old" European gas market with relatively reasonable prices "too good to be true"? In principle, Russian gas is not necessarily cheaper than gas from other countries - but suddenly it is extremely rare and expensive - so what went wrong? He tried to illustrate these questions in his analysis of the previous and current situation of the natural gas market in Europe. He also examined the natural gas supply chain against the background of the current situation and highlighted the role of LNG in current and future energy systems.

In the last contribution of today's workshop, Dr. XIE Yachen from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Clausthal University of Technology outlined the challenges of_{CO2 neutrality} in China in the context of atmospheric_{CO2 concentration},_{CO2 prices} and_{CO2 treatment technologies}. In addition, Dr. Xie explained the model of "Assessment Tool for Portfolios of Coal Power Production under Carbon Neutral Goals" (ATPCC) to evaluate the trade-offs in China's coal power industry from two perspectives: the carbon-energy-water (CEW) nexus and the financial profit prospects.

In the concluding panel discussion, there is a consensus that the energy crisis is a major challenge, but also holds great opportunities and will have a positive impact on the course of the energy transition. Not everyone has access to coal or gas, but everyone has access to sun, wind, water and geothermal energy, according to Prof. Dr. Hou. And although, according to Dr. Möhring, "it doesn't sound sexy - we could cope with it [the energy crisis] for longer, but not forever". The more than 3,600 participants show in an impressive way that there is a great deal of interest in the topic, which is why Dr. Kannenberg concludes: "We need more workshops like this".