World Energy Congress
Fusion "at a time of transition"
16 Sep 2019
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Julie Marcillat
In the United Arab Emirates, Abu Dhabi is often referred to as a tourism hotspot that combines luxury and ancient traditions. In September, Abu Dhabi was in the spotlight for another reason: the city hosted the 24th edition of the World Energy Congress, held for the first time in a Middle Eastern—and OPEC—member country.
In a parallel session on ''New Technologies Frontier,' ITER Chief Strategist Takayoshi Omae and Tokamak Energy CEO Jonathan Carling shared their views on the latest innovations and breakthrough technologies driving the energy transition.
The 24th edition of the World Energy Congress took place from 9 to 12 September in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Under the umbrella theme of "Energy for Prosperity," the Congress turned out to be a global platform where decision makers, researchers and government representatives shared their opinions and views on a strategy for a collaborative, sustainable and innovative energy future.
"This global gathering comes at a time of great transition in the energy sector, presenting challenges and opportunities that we must, as an industry, address," said the country's Minister of Energy & Industry, H.E. Eng. Suhail Mohamed Faraj Al Mazrouei, during the opening speech. "It is through foresight, commitment and unity that we can and will collectively meet the growing energy demands the world is facing."
The country made a number of announcements at the Congress, pledging, for example, to aim to reduce its carbon footprint by 70 percent by 2050 through combined investment in nuclear and renewables.
A visit at the ITER exhibition stand provided a perfect opportunity to learn about how nuclear fusion can fit into a clean energy transition process. After a tour in the walk-in ITER cinema, these three ladies from a Polish research institute are planning to organize a worksite visit for their students.
ITER participated in discussions on the potential of fusion. On the first day of the conference, ITER Chief Strategist Omae Takayoshi was invited to be part of a panel on how breakthrough technologies would drive the energy transition. "I strongly believe that ITER is an innovation model by itself," he told participants. "In a very close future, a combination of new industrial technologies such as artificial intelligence, the "internet of things," and computer science will be applied to build and assemble the oversize components and operate the ITER machine."
The ITER walk-in cinema and stand were also present throughout the week, to introduce some of the conference's 15,000 participants with the world's most ambitious fusion energy project.