Call to young energy researchers: Deadline 12 October

(29 Sep 2020) The Young Energy Researchers Conference is dedicated to presenting the work and achievements of young researchers in the fields of energy efficiency and biomass. Deadline for submission of papers is 12 October 2020.

The Young Energy Researchers Conference takes place each spring in Wels/Austria as part of the World Sustainable Energy Days and offers bright young minds the opportunity to interact with researchers and industry experts from all over the world.

The World Sustainable Energy Days (WSED) is arguably one of Europe’s largest annual conferences in the field of sustainable energy and energy efficiency. More than 100 speakers from all over the world offer insights into technology and market trends, new business and financing models and policy updates. Boosting economic recovery with the energy transition is the focus of the next year’s event. The conference aims to show how we can make a green recovery happen in practice and how the energy transition can contribute as an investment engine to this deep transformation.

The conference takes Europe’s ambitious goal of becoming the first climate neutral continent by 2050 as its starting point. The Green Deal and the EU Climate Law are first concrete steps, to be highlighted at the event. The current economic challenges are also an opportunity to accelerate decarbonisation and to create a fairer society and a more competitive economy.

The organisers behind the conference point out that achieving change and a sustainable Europe also requires young and innovative thinkers. For this reason, in 2012, a central place for young energy researchers was created within the World Sustainable Energy Days.

The Young Energy Researcher Conference and Award

Throughout the years, over 450 Young Researchers have participated in the conference. For many, this was a first-time opportunity to hold an international presentation. In 2020, more than 110 proposals were received from 44 countries.

Through the call for papers, contributions are selected by a scientific committee and invited to share their work. The organiser cover the costs of accommodation, meals, participation and local transport for up to 60 selected participants. Moreover, the conference’s two most outstanding contributions are honoured with the awards "Best Young Energy Efficiency Researcher" and "Best Young Biomass Researcher" and receive 1,000 Euro each in prize money.

In 2020, these awards went to Diego Alejandro Quan Reyes and Avishek Goel (Paper: "Evaluating the performance of biomass cookstoves in rural Guatemala"), and Noémie Chagnon-Lessard (Paper: "New cascade design technique for higher efficiency ORC systems").

About the World Sustainble Energy Days

The World Sustainable Energy Days are organised by the energy agency of Upper Austria (OÖ Energiesparverband). Upper Austria, one of Austria’s 9 regions, is strongly committed to the energy transition. Through significant increases in energy efficiency and renewable energy, greenhouse gas emissions in the buildings sector were reduced by 32% in the past 10 years, according to the agency. 60 % of all space heating in Upper Austria already come from renewables. Over 2 billion Euro are invested annually in the energy transition.

Among its activities, OÖ Energiesparverband supports energy technology companies in the context of the Cleantech-Cluster, a business network of over 250 energy and environmental technology companies in Upper Austria (www.ctc-energy.at).

The next edition of the Young Energy Researchers Conference will take place on 24 – 25 February 2021 in Wels/Upper Austria. The Call for Papers is open until 12 October 2020. Submissions are welcome from all scientific fields (e.g. technology & engineering, economic and social sciences, architecture, law, arts). Further information can be found on the conference website.

Registration & information
Conference website www.wsed.at, www.young-researchers.eu and OÖ Energiesparverband, Landstrasse 45, 4020 A-Linz, T: +43-732-7720-14386, office@esv.or.at, www.esv.or.at