Seminar - Jack Brouwer

Dr. Jack Brouwer: "Do We Really Need Hydrogen?"

Renowned hydrogen energy expert Dr. Jack Brouwer presented the first in the Partnership's new monthly seminar series. In his lecture, "Do We Really Need Hydrogen?" he shared his latest research on utilizing hydrogen to solve the world's energy crisis.  This first seminar was hosted by the Department of Mechanical Science and Engineering at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.

Bio
Dr. Brouwer is an energy system dynamics expert with research interests in advanced, alternative, and renewable energy systems development; electrochemical conversion devices and systems such as fuel cells, electrolyzers and batteries; dynamic simulation and control systems development; energy system thermodynamics, design, and integration; and electrochemical reactions with concurrent heat, mass and momentum transfer. He is a professor of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, and Civil and Environmental Engineering at the University of California, Irvine; and Director of the National Fuel Cell Research Center as well as the Advanced Power and Energy Program. Dr. Brouwer earned his MS and BS degrees in mechanical engineering from the University of California, Irvine and his PhD in mechanical engineering from MIT.

Abstract
Renewable, ultra-low emissions and high-efficiency energy conversion systems will be required to introduce energy resource and environmental sustainability. In particular, the dynamic dispatch, massive energy storage capacity, and ubiquitous transmission and distribution of energy that the power-to-gas and hydrogen energy storage concepts provide will become essential to enable a 100% renewable economy. In addition, these concepts enable zero greenhouse gas and zero criteria pollutant emissions energy conversion that spans across applications in the built environment, to transportation, to utility grid network support and sustainability. Recent research on the dynamics and control of electrochemical energy conversion systems to enable this future will be discussed.