Last week we hosted the 2009 International Workshop on Environment and Alternative Energy at GE Global Research Europe. This workshop is a yearly event organized by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) and Center for Pollution Prevention (C3P). The workshop program included presentations and breakout sessions on alternative energy topics and technological solutions (from R&D to commercial) with a focus on collaborations. It was the first time that this workshop was held in Munich and was a great success with more than 90 participants from multiple industries, research centers, and both U.S. and German universities.
The workshop started with opening remarks from General P.C. Branco the General Director of C3P, and Olga Dominguez, the assistant Administrator for the Office of Infrastructure at NASA. In their speeches they emphasized that addressing environmental issues requires a global collaboration and that Europe and the U.S. are important players. They gave examples of successful joint activities started by NASA and C3P in 2003, to identify and validate environmental technologies that enhance mission readiness and reduce risk while minimizing duplication and associated costs.
The opening day also included presentations by Conrad Tribble, Consulate General of the United States in Munich, Carlos Haertel, Director of GE Global Research Europe, and Nuno Lacasta, Executive Director of the Portuguese Climate Change Commission. Tribble’s speech focused on the importance of public private partnerships. Carlos illustrated this with an overview of GE Global Research Europe and gave examples of successful collaborations with the Technical University of Munich and other universities and partners in Europe. Lacasta gave a European perspective to Global Climate Policy in his speech and concluded that a more global effort and better collaboration will be needed to achieve the environmental goals that have been jointly established
The technical session on Renewable and Alternative Energy Systems began on day two and was opened by Oliver Mayer, a principal scientist at GE Global Research Europe. He introduced Michael Idelchik, the GE Global Research Vice President of Advanced Technologies, who gave a presentation on the “Energy Portfolio Evolution … from Generation to Distribution at GE”. It was an impressive overview on environmental and alternative energy technologies and their economic impact for GE. This presentation was followed by several external and GE presentations focusing on specific technologies such as wind, solar, geo-thermal and wave energy, hydrogen and fuel cells, climate change, green sustainable development and technologies, green buildings, materials management and substitution, electronics manufacturing, repair and e-waste recovery. The technical sessions of the event shared a wealth of information and ideas relevant to European and U.S. engineers and scientists interested in solving their environment and energy problems.
Other highlights of the workshop were special sessions with university presentations and a student poster session, to raise awareness with students on the latest technologies, especially towards environmental and alternative energy strategies. They included presentations from the University California San Diego, Technical University Munich, Munich University of Applied Sciences, Beuth Institute Berlin, Institute ESTM Portugal and Forschungsstelle für Energiewirtschaft e.V. The photo shows Holger Fischer and James Leatherwood of NASA with a group of students during the student poster session initiation.
After three days of presentations and discussions at our research center, the workshop closed on Friday, Nov. 13, with a technical tour to the GE Energy – Jenbacher headquarters and gas engine plant in Jenbach, Austria.
The differentiator of this conference was the great variety of the topics shown and discussed. It was not about the well-known technologies of PV, wind, biomass, etc. but on the side aspects with their impacts on the overall technology and environment. The session and coffee break discussions with university and industry participants offered great opportunities to exchange ideas and different points of view. Besides giving insights into current research activities and technology developments, this event was a great forum for getting connected with university and industry participants working on environmental and alternative energy topics.
Some video statements from the event are below.
Michael Idelchik, Vice President of Advanced Technology, GE Global Research
Carlos Haertel, Director of GE Global Research Europe:
Olga Dominguez, Assistant Administrator for the Office of Infrastructure at NASA:








