2019/2020 Bell Lecture

Grand Challenges in Materials Research for a Sustainable Energy Future

Cherry Murray

Department of Physics
University of Arizona

There is an enormous need for clean energy technology research and development to enable a global transition to sustainable energy systems. This transition will be enabled by advanced materials. There are economic incentives for nations to invest in research and development to enable lower cost and more efficient systems: in 2018, worldwide annual investments in energy were $1.8T. The build out of renewables is up since 2004, but will need to be nearly a factor of two larger in order to meet the 2015 Paris goal of reducing the worldwide emissions of greenhouse gases by 30% by 2030. Beyond 2030, new and vastly cost-reduced technologies for energy efficiency and sustainability in all sectors of the global economy will be needed, as well as enhanced renewable technologies, flexible and smart electric grids combined with efficient and low cost energy storage. In order to sustain the Paris goal of an earth temperature rise by 2 degrees, humanity’s greenhouse gas emissions must be reduced drastically, to below 70% of current levels by 2050. I will discuss areas of materials science research in which advances are needed in order to address this grand challenge.