Energy is a strategic element in all production processes. Since coal was used to fuel boilers in the first industrial revolution around two hundred years ago, the production, use and distribution of different forms of energy has been key to economic growth (and also a cause of economic fluctuations, as in the 1973 oil crisis).

Energy is an issue of global interest. Consequently, all countries devote considerable resources to development in the field of energy, to obtain new sources of production, improve energy storage, and optimize its use, transmission and conversion.

From left to right: PepMartorell (DG Research Generalitat de Catalunya), Enric Fossas (rector of the UPC), and Jordi Bosch (Director Fund. B-TEC).

In this context, today, Thursday 18 June, the tenth edition of Global Energy Challenges Conference will be held in Barcelona. This is an international meeting of experts from universities, research centres and companies to discuss topics such as photovoltaic energy, electrochemistry and climate change. Lecturers and researchers from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) will share their knowledge and perspectives with colleagues from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya – Barcelona Tech (UPC) and the University of Barcelona (UB), in open sessions that will take place in the Auditorium of the Torre Telefónica in Barcelona throughout the day.

New technological developments in the energy sector are of vast importance, as the results affect the entire planet. Collaboration is crucial, which is why meetings like these, where alternatives can be discussed openly and with a global perspective, are so vital.

Jessika Trancik, Professor at MIT, Energy Studies in the Engineering Systems Division.

In CIT UPC, we devote much of our resources to research into energy technologies and the environment. Part of the work of the over 500 researchers and technologists is dedicated to developing new products and services to optimize the consumption, storage, analysis and monitoring of equipment and installations, among other activities. However, we are also concerned with the impact of these processes on the environment, and research aspects such as environmental pollution and safety in all processes.

For more information on the technological capacities of CIT UPC in the field of energy, see:

http://cit.upc.edu/en/technologies/technology/6/energy_and_environmental_technologies.