The MIT Energy Initiative: Sustainable Energy and Terawatt-Scale Photovoltaics

Google Tech Talk
November 5, 2009

ABSTRACT

This MITEI on the Road event will open with a brief overview of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) by Daniel Enderton, Executive Director of MITEIs Sustainable Energy Revolution Program (SERP). This overview will highlight the extensive depth and breadth of research, education, campus energy and outreach activities underway as part of the Initiative. Mr. Enderton will give particular focus on the SERP program, with highlights of successful past projects in storage, promising new projects in geothermal and the impact philanthropy is having on renewable energy research at MIT.

Following this, Professor Tonio Buonassisi of Mechanical Engineering will give a presentation describing the key technical challenges to scaling commercial PV technologies to the terawatt level. The speaker will present a vision for the role of university engineering and science towards surmounting these challenges, drawing from personal experience in the solar industry, national laboratories, and academia. Increased solar cell conversion efficiencies, novel materials, and decreased capital equipment costs will be discussed as a means to achieve rapidly scalable manufacturing, highlighting the role of innovation.
technologies and how they will help drive down the cost of solar technology to be competitive with petroleum-based alternatives, while Mr. Enderton will give an overview of the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI) and information on other renewable energy projects at MIT.

Tonio Buonassisi is Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT and heads an interdisciplinary laboratory focused on photovoltaics (solar energy conversion into electricity). Prof. Buonassisi completed his Ph.D. at UC Berkeley, with research at the Fraunhofer Institute for Solar Energy Systems and the Max-Planck-Institute for Microstructure Physics. In addition to teaching classes focused on PV technology, Prof. Buonassisi is an author of 65 journal, conference, and workshop articles focused on PV, and has delivered over 50 invited talks and plenary/oral presentations on his work throughout the world. Prof. Buonassisi's work has been honored with awards including the European Materials Research Society Young Scientist Presentation Award, the German Academic Exchange Service (DAAD) Graduate Research Fellowship, and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory Graduate Student Award. More information about Prof. Buonassisis work can be found at http://pv.mit.edu/.

Daniel Enderton is Executive Director of the MIT Energy Initiatives Sustainable Energy Revolution Program, which seeks to coordinate and enhance support for breakthrough research in renewable energy sources—such as solar, wind, waves, geothermal, and bioenergy—as well as their associated enabling technologies, including storage and transmission. In 2008, Daniel defended his Ph.D. in climate physics and chemistry in MITs Department of Earth, Atmospheric, and Planetary Sciences. His research focused on estimating and understanding the poleward transport of energy by the atmosphere and oceans, and how this partition affects surface climate conditions. As a student, Daniel was a Linden Earth System Fellow, 2007-2008 President of the MIT Energy Club, and Content Director for the 2007 and 2008 MIT Energy Conferences.

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[valtih1978]

@kessass83 Much more importantly is that we need to live in individual houses. If we would build our cities of 10-floor block of flats, we could have schools, shops and everything at arm's length and save immense resources traveling short distances to work by public transport. However, sharing resources, through saves resources to the extent that allows to live 7 bln decently, makes us less self-reliable and limits our freedom. Private ownership and freedom worth killing the planet.

[kessass83]

@valtih1978 oh yes there is no doubt. simple example, there is very simple ingredient into asfalt to pave the roads. today we have that every 5 years you need to repave the road. it is possible to have asfalt capable to be without damage over 50 years.

[aloisgault]

25:00 on you finally get some real info. this is a good overview/primer of PV tech. I am glad to see someone is addressing the rare earths issue.

[Zhudewang]

MIT gets its funding mainly from the Defense Department. I wonder where will these so-called "Free Energy initiative" end up. Will it bring about genuine change in the world or will these alternative end up being controlled by powerful people as a means to enslave the billions of poor people?

[bmecher]

8+ wasted minutes on bureaucratic minutae. I do not want to see agenda or hear about president- get on with your concept! I do not need to hear about your programs- talk about your tech! 15 minutes wated I am gone, Terrawat photovoltaics? no bureaucratese.

[brokendash240]

I agree with you 100%, :-) Two things... the "consumer" has been designed without their knowledge. Check out this guy Edward Louis Bernays an see what horrible gift he gave to the world. Now check this out about the USA and how we used to regulate bussiness's previously in history. more specificlly read the part about "Charter Revocation"... :-) Also if you dont know what a "Futurist" is you should check it out. :-)

[valtih1978]

I do not understand your message. I'm telling that capitalists build inefficient urban infrastructure over the whole world. I live in former USSR and can compare between socialist and capitalist household. The extensive pollution laws in the 1st world do not stop the individual house grass-cutting lifestile. May be you do not know but this planet killing consumerist lifestyle should be very profitable -- the more you consume the better for companies.

[brokendash240]

so,its no problem if the food you eat in your large block house is farmed by a company that knows the labor is cheaper in the 3rd world then where ever you live, and that they wouldnt have to follow the pollution laws where you live because the 3rd world doesnt have any yet, which allows the company to make more profit off the food you eat in your block house?

[valtih1978]

"Building more cars" is a part of capitalism-consumerism planet killing. Urban community must leave their encouraged selfish individualist values: private housing with stupid loan cutting and automobilization lifestyle. A systematic resource sharing (e.g. compact block houses and public communication/transport) is the only solution to support multibillion population.

[PAStheLoD]

Hm. Let's have another look at this. I don't hae a problem with dead dinosaurs helping me to get my speeding ticket. I just live next to two of the busiest streets in my city, and it's no fun. The same goes for my hometown, with its steel mill, cokeing plant, etc.. air pollution is bad.

If we were using highly efficient filters, I wouldn't care about fossils.

However, they're clearly depleting and we need other options. Solar is one worth pursuing. Fusion is an other. Both need breakthroughs.