Blog
UKERC Participation in RD20 Summer School 2024
26 Sep 2024
Author: Dr Sibimol Luke, Research Fellow at UCL and UK-HyRES Hub
The 6th RD20 Conference, held in the vibrant city of New Delhi, India, from 2-6 December, marked a significant step forward in the global effort to advance clean energy technologies. Hosted by The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) at the India Habitat Centre and focusing on hydrogen and biofuels, this event brought together leading researchers, policymakers, visionaries and industry experts from G20 countries to discuss and collaborate on innovative solutions for a sustainable future.
This was the first time RD20 initiative, which launched in 2019 in Tokyo, was hosted outside Japan. It is a platform for collaboration between leading research institutes in G20 countries to come together and exchange the best practices in research in clean energy technologies. A UKERC-led delegation represented the UK and participated in this conference’s sessions.
The conference commenced with an inspiring inaugural session, featuring addresses from prominent dignitaries. Mr P.K. Singh, Secretary of India’s Ministry of New and Renewable Energy (MNRE), outlined India’s ambitious plans to lead in green hydrogen development, emphasising the need to reduce its cost to unlock its potential. He highlighted India’s target of achieving 500 GW of renewable energy capacity by 2030 as a cornerstone of this vision. Dr William Tumas of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) USA echoed the sentiment of global collaboration, urging attendees to work together to accelerate innovation through shared research, analysis, and development. The opening ceremony set the tone for a dynamic and impactful event.
Dr Sibimol Luke at the RD20 Conference
The conference kicked off with two parallel technical sessions on 2 December, one on ‘Addressing Technical Barriers to Hydrogen Implementation’ and the other on ‘Sustainable Biofuels and Bio-chemicals’. Scientists from leading research institutes presented cutting-edge research and developments in hydrogen and biofuels in their countries and geographies. The session on hydrogen provided a platform for sharing knowledge and fostering discussions on the barriers to hydrogen implementation worldwide.
Prof. Aoife Foley, Chair in Net Zero Infrastructure at the University of Manchester & HI-ACT Co-Investigator, presented on ‘Hydrogen Integration in the UK for Net-Zero Transformation’. She discussed UK hydrogen strategy and policy priorities, technology and integration issues, and the importance of a whole system approach for energy transition in the light of UK’s net zero ambitions and energy security. She also showed consolidated hydrogen certification schemes around the world and invited more discussions on hydrogen standardisation, gaps and challenges.
Prof. Aoife Foley presenting at the RD20 Conference
Some of the points that emerged from the discussion in the hydrogen sessions are assessment of assessments, multicriteria decision-making in knowing the availability of capital, market mechanisms, assessing qualities for the energy transition and the methodologies, ensuring energy, social and environmental justice, understanding knowledge gaps in hydrogen projects, and evaluation of resources like water and supply chain.
The discussion also emphasised the importance of diagnostics and prognostics in safety and risk mitigations, the development of hydrogen sensors, the identification of hydrogen implementation projects in G20 countries, and the development of a database to see the duplication of work and missing knowledge from each other.
Dr Jamie Speirs, UKERC and University of Strathclyde, pointed out in the discussion that finding off-takers to finance hydrogen demonstration projects is a big challenge. There is a need for policy interventions to bridge the huge gap between hydrogen supply and demand. So, mapping the policy and market space to understand the balance of hydrogen production and demand is required. Forming task forces and finding volunteers to work on some of the discussed points was another activity in this session.
The delegates also discussed hydrogen’s global warming potential, impacts on climate, and opportunities for leakage reduction. Another important area of concern was on harmonisation of technology readiness level estimates and how this can be applied and considered in a system of systems. The panel was also excited to explore the opportunities to work together on hydrogen hubs. The session ended with food for thought from Dr William Tumas (NREL, USA) to the RD20 delegates to come up with a position for the G20, in a few months, on where we are in hydrogen in general, in production, in developing infrastructure and on how we are sustaining the progress we have made so far in the hydrogen sector to keep the momentum.
The afternoon technical session was on ‘Sustainability, Circularity and Resilience in R&D’. Prof. Jason Chilvers, University of East Anglia and UKERC, discussed the importance of public engagement in clean energy transition and the key role of observatories in doing it. He mentioned that UKERC has pioneered a whole systems approach to public engagement, which is urgently needed in the clean energy transition. The UKERC Public Engagement Observatory uses mapping, networking and experiments with partner organisations to put mappings into practice.
This session also deep-dived into the circular economy approach in solar, the role of critical minerals in energy transition, energy transition analytics, legitimacy, drivers of transition, and measures to foster transition. The delegates articulated that the traditional research agenda, which is only focused on the performance and economics of the technologies, needs to be changed and to be more inclusive of sustainability (economically, socially and environmentally), as well as resilience and justice aspects. The panel also paid attention to defining justice and its dimensions, and expanding it for more comprehensive evaluation and equity strategies.
On December 3, the Leaders Session focused on strategic discussions and future collaborations in clean energy technologies. Prof. Robert Gross, UKERC Director and Imperial College London, represented the UK in these sessions. Dr Michio Kondo, AIST, highlighted the potential for RD20 to support the G20 working groups in techno-economic aspects and lifecycle assessments in carbon-neutral technologies. He also noted the opportunity for RD20 to contribute to South Africa’s G20 presidency in 2025 to enhance the cooperation among G20 countries. Dr Vibha Dhawan, TERI Director General, expressed the need for collective funding for developing countries to transition to clean energy technologies, gender equality in the clean energy space in the global south, and knowledge transfer of successful technologies in each country and how they can be adapted in other countries.
UKERC Director Rob Gross at the leaders session
The leaders discussed opportunities for collaboration between RD20 and Mission Innovation (Clean Energy Ministerial and G20), a global initiative aimed at accelerating clean energy innovation to achieve net-zero emissions. Mission Innovation and RD20 have partnered to advance collaboration on critical clean energy areas, including clean hydrogen and smart grid technologies. The leaders emphasized the importance of sharing knowledge and best practices among nations to overcome common challenges in clean energy deployment. They also stressed the role of initiatives to foster dialogue, identify shared objectives and develop actionable strategies for clean energy transitions.
The leaders also went through past RD20 activities, future vision and activities, workforce development, exchange programmes, and summer schools and training. The UK expressed interest in hosting the next RD20 summer school. The RD20 Leaders Session marked a significant milestone, with a reaffirmed commitment to international collaboration in sustainable and clean energy solutions and in addressing global energy challenges. The second day ended with a networking dinner with delicious Indian cuisine giving another fantastic opportunity for the delegates to meet scientists from other countries and get to know each other better.
The following two days, 4 and 5 December, were dedicated to closed workshops. These sessions were exclusive to RD20 members and invited participants, providing an intimate setting for in-depth discussions on specific topics related to clean energy research and development. At the techno-economics working group harmonisation workshop, I presented work by Prof. Paul Dodds and me on hydrogen techno-economic assessment round-robin results. The participants were actively involved in comparing the results from different research institutions to understand each other’s methodologies in calculating the levelised cost of hydrogen (LCOH), and discussed the structure of the publication they were planning to produce.
The second workshop – on priorities and potential methods for analysing and communicating technology development across sustainability, circularity, social acceptance, reliability and resilience – discussed in detail the definition of sustainability for energy transition. The delegates expressed interest in forming task forces to undertake mapping of public engagement with the energy transition, focusing more on social engagement around photovoltaic technology.
The conference concluded on 6 December with a site visit, offering participants a look at innovative clean energy projects in India. The delegates visited the National Institute of Solar Energy (NISE) and TERI Gram. This visit underscored the practical applications of the technologies discussed during the conference and highlighted India’s commitment to sustainable energy solutions.
As the world continues to grapple with climate change and energy security issues, events like the RD20 Conference are crucial for driving progress in clean energy innovation and making a tangible difference in energy research. The conference reiterated the critical role of research and development, and innovation, as enablers for inclusive and sustainable development. The discussions and collaborations initiated at this conference will undoubtedly contribute to a more sustainable and resilient energy future.
Delegation at the RD20 Conference
With the next conference already scheduled for 2025 in Tsukuba, Japan, the momentum for clean energy innovation continues to build, promising a brighter and greener future for all.