By Daniel Cook

President - Conservation Solutions Corporation

www.conservationsolutions.com

Carlisle, Massachusetts, USA

Daniel Cook has served as the President of Conservation Solutions Corporation since 1993. The company works with healthcare, commercial, industrial, multifamily, and institutional building owners to reduce energy, water, and chemical use and costs through innovative technologies, expertise, and services. Additionally, Conservation Solutions helps commercial buildings and educational facilities enhance indoor air quality and improve performance for students and workers by implementing UVC systems and air filtration. In healthcare settings, such as hospitals, UVC systems are used to reduce Hospital Acquired Infections and Ventilator-Associated Pneumonias, while also saving energy and improving ventilation within HVAC systems.

Energy Management and Storage with Bio-Based Phase Change Materials

This talk will focus on the role of Bio-Based Phase Change Materials (BioPCMs) in advancing thermal energy storage and energy management. Derived from renewable vegetable oils, BioPCMs offer a wide temperature range for storing latent energy, from -70°C to 175°C, with minimal expansion and contraction. They are non-toxic, biodegradable, and stable for over 100 years of thermal cycling, providing 24 times the thermal energy storage of concrete. These properties make BioPCMs ideal for improving the efficiency of systems like Battery Energy Storage Systems (BESS), solar heating, and HVAC systems, reducing peak demand, lowering equipment size, and enhancing system reliability.

BioPCM systems have demonstrated effectiveness in several applications, such as reducing heat generated during battery discharge, optimizing domestic hot water systems by reducing heat pump size by 50%-65%, and minimizing short cycling in chillers, leading to significant cost and energy savings. Moreover, BioPCMs can be integrated into portable systems for logistics, cold storage, and refrigerated transport, ensuring sustainable temperature control. The talk will also explore how these advancements in thermal storage, alongside innovations in Battery Management Systems (BMS), hybrid energy storage, and smart grids, contribute to renewable energy integration, grid stability, and the broader transition to a low-carbon, sustainable future.

By Professor Frede Blaabjerg

IEEE Fellow and Villum Investigator
Leading Expert in Power Electronics and Renewable Energy Systems

Aalborg University, Denmark

Professor Frede Blaabjerg, IEEE Fellow (F'03), is a distinguished power electronics expert with a PhD in Electrical Engineering from Aalborg University (1995). He has held academic positions at Aalborg University, including Full Professor of Power Electronics and Drives, and has been a Villum Investigator since 2017. Blaabjerg's research interests span power electronics applications in wind turbines, PV systems, reliability, Power-2-X, power quality, and adjustable speed drives. With over 800 journal papers and ten monographs, he has received numerous accolades, including 46 IEEE Prize Paper Awards, the IEEE Edison Medal in 2020, and the Global Energy Prize in 2019. He served as Editor-in-Chief of IEEE Transactions on Power Electronics and has held leadership roles such as President of the IEEE Power Electronics Society (2019-2020). Blaabjerg was nominated by Thomson Reuters as one of the top 250 cited engineers globally (2014-2021).

Challenges of Renewable Energy Integration in Clean Energy Systems

In this talk, Professor Blaabjerg will address the complex transition from fossil-based energy to renewables. This shift necessitates highly efficient power electronics technology for energy conversion, distribution, and end-user applications. Professor Blaabjerg will focus on the role of advanced power electronics and control solutions in integrating renewable energies such as wind and photovoltaics into the grid, addressing issues of technology development, power converter technologies, system control, and synchronization. Additionally, he will explore future trends aimed at reducing energy costs and developing new power devices and tools to enhance system reliability, which are essential.

By Dr. Hacib BEN AISSA

Product Development Manager
Lynas Rare Earth Ltd., Malaysia

Dr. Hacib Benaissa's experience extends over 21 years and includes positions at different multinational companies like Shell, ExxonMobil, and Ceres Power. Currently, Dr. Benaissa is Product Development Manager at Lynas Rare Earth Ltd. where he oversees Developing and Implementing Lynas Rare Earth Product Development Strategy.

Energy Transition and Industry Decarbonisation: Emerging Pathways and Technologies

Dr. Benaissa will cover the role of low-carbon hydrogen and power-to-X technologies in industrial decarbonization. He will describe the integration of captured CO₂ from heavy industries with green or low-carbon hydrogen to reduce emissions. He supports global efforts to advance hydrogen as a key energy vector, especially in heavy transport. Dr. Benaissa, in his current role at Lynas Rare Earth Ltd., focuses on developing rare earth-based materials to support the hydrogen economy and CO₂ valorization.

By Professor Hamid Laga

Information Technology
Murdoch University
Murdoch, WA, Australia

Hamid Laga is a professor with Murdoch University, Australia. His research interests span various fields of machine learning, computer vision, computer graphics, and pattern recognition, with a special focus on the 3D reconstruction, modeling, and analysis of static and deformable 3D objects, and on machine learning for agriculture and health. He is the recipient of the Best Paper Awards with SGP2017, DICTA2012, and SMI2006.

https://researchportal.murdoch.edu.au/esploro/profile/hamid_laga/overview

Efficient Deep Learning for 3D/4D Shape Analysis: From Medical Applications to Generative AI

In this talk, Professor Laga will present his group's research on 3D and 4D computer vision, focusing on the challenging problem of reconstructing 3D shapes and motions of natural and manmade objects, such as humans and animals, from RGB images and videos. Despite extensive research, this remains an unsolved, ill-posed problem. He will first highlight the importance of this topic across fields such as biology, medicine, autonomous driving, and virtual/augmented reality. Then he will explore the use of deep neural networks for inferring 3D shape and motion, emphasizing their potential over traditional geometry-driven techniques, while also discussing their limitations, such as their black-box nature, high power consumption, and computational cost. He will conclude by showcasing their latest work, which delves into the mathematical foundations of neural networks, offering more accurate, explainable, and efficient formulations. Professor Laga will demonstrate these advancements in representing high-resolution, large- scale images for applications like remote sensing, space exploration, digital art, and digital health, as well as in 3D world reconstruction and dynamic shape analysis. Additionally, he will discuss the statistical modeling of static (3D) and dynamic (4D) shapes using the Square Normal Fields (SRNF) framework, which supports applications in growth modeling, medical diagnosis, and generative AI for 3D/4D reconstruction and generation from images, videos, and text.

By Dr. Tedjani Mesbahi

Associate Professor (McF HdR)
INSA Strasbourg
ICube-CNRS laboratory, France

Dr. Tedjani Mesbahi is an Associate Professor at INSA Strasbourg, affiliated with the ICube-CNRS laboratory in France, specializing in electrical engineering and energy management. He holds an Engineer Diploma, M.Sc., Ph.D., and HdR, with extensive experience leading national and European research projects, securing over 10M€ in funding, managing 33 research projects and contributing to 2 technology transfer and start-up projects. Dr. Mesbahi has published over 120 papers, patents, and software licenses, earning recognition as one of the world's top 2% most influential researchers in electrical engineering, particularly in energy. His research focuses on optimizing energy management for electric vehicles, using AI to improve battery performance and longevity. Additionally, Dr. Mesbahi leads training programs in Industry 4.0 and coordinates research teams, contributing to the development of innovative solutions in the field.

Smart Battery and Hybrid Energy Storage Systems for Electric Vehicles and Drones: Advanced Energy Management Strategies and Applications

Dr. Mesbahi’s talk will explore the integration of smart battery systems and hybrid energy storage solutions, combining batteries and supercapacitors, for electric vehicles, drones, and domestic applications. He will focus on advanced energy management strategies using advanced control techniques and AI algorithms to optimize efficiency, predict the state of health and extend the lifespan of energy systems. A case study on the ELCOD project, which developed the Stork Mk.1 UAV, a long endurance hybrid-propulsion system combining a hydrogen fuel cell (PEMFC) and a LiPo battery is presented. This study highlights how hybridization can mitigate the durability challenges of hydrogen fuel cells by optimizing fuel cell sizing for cruising power and using complementary energy sources (e.g., batteries or supercapacitors) for peak loads. The talk also compares fixed and adaptive frequency-based energy management strategies and emphasizes the key role of supercapacitor state of charge in enhancing system performance and longevity in EV and drone applications.

By Dr. Kamal Hadidi

President
Isklen LLC

Dr. Kamal Hadidi is a plasma scientist and entrepreneur with over 30 years of experience in plasma-based technologies. He received his Ph.D. in Electrical Engineering from the University of Pierre et Marie Curie in Paris, France, in 1992. In 1995, he joined the MIT Plasma Science and Fusion Center in Cambridge, MA, where he spent 12 years developing plasma-based technologies for industrial applications. In 2007, Dr. Hadidi joined Varian Semiconductor Equipment Associates as a principal scientist, where he developed plasma-based technologies for semiconductor fabrication.

Dr. Hadidi has founded multiple companies over the last two decades. He founded Amzil Inc., which developed hazardous metals monitors, and Amastan Technologies, later renamed 6K Energy Inc., which focused on processing and production of high-value materials such as lithium-ion anode and cathode materials, as well as additive manufacturing. In 2022, he founded Isklen LLC, which focuses on developing technologies for the decarbonization of the chemical industry.

Innovating Chemical Manufacturing: Low-Temperature Solutions for Energy Efficiency and Emissions Reduction

Many chemical manufacturing processes, developed decades ago, contribute significantly to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and high energy consumption. For example, the Haber- Bosch (HB) process used to produce ammonia relies on thermocatalysis to dissociate feedstock molecules such as nitrogen and methane to manufacture chemicals such as ammonia, nitric acid, and hydrogen. However, in these processes, energy is applied to heat up entire reactors rather than specifically destroying the chemical bonds to produce reactive radicals, leading to heat losses and inefficiency. Despite optimization over the years, these technologies are approaching their theoretical efficiency limits. For instance, ammonia production alone accounts for 2% of global energy use and more than 1% of total carbon emissions. Other examples of energy-intensive processes include the Ostwald process for nitric acid production, methane steam reforming for hydrogen, and the Claus process for hydrogen sulfide destruction and sulfur production.

Given the scale of the chemical market (ammonia: 240 MT/year, nitric acid: 70 MT/year, hydrogen: 70MT/year), any proposed new technology must meet three key criteria: scalability to very large size, reduced energy consumption, and lower GHG emissions compared to existing processes.

This talk will explore low-temperature technologies that focus on directly breaking chemical bonds to create reactive radicals, offering a more efficient and environmentally friendly alternative to century-old thermocatalytic processes. These technologies not only achieve lower energy use and emissions but are also scalable to meet the massive global demand for chemicals like ammonia, nitric acid, and hydrogen.