Abstract:
Electrochemical CO2 reduction (CO2RR) is an important route for carbon utilization and the production of sustainable fuels and chemicals. Its performance is closely related to coupled transport and reaction processes across different scales, from the reaction interface and porous electrodes to electrochemical reactors and process systems.

This talk will discuss numerical modeling and system analysis of CO2RR, with emphasis on understanding cross-scale mass transfer and reaction mechanisms, guiding the design of electrodes and reactors, and evaluating emerging CO2RR-based chemical systems. The presentation will also highlight the role of computational methods in bridging fundamental transport phenomena with practical process design and techno-economic assessment.

Short Bio:

Prof. Qian Fu is a Professor, PhD supervisor, and Vice Dean of the School of Energy and Power Engineering at Chongqing University, China. His research focuses on multiscale energy and mass transport in electrochemical energy conversion systems, electrochemical CO2 reduction, and microbial energy conversion. He has published more than 100 SCI papers in leading journals, including Advanced Energy Materials, Science Bulletin, and Environmental Science & Technology. He was also listed among Stanford University’s World’s Top 2% Scientists. He has also led numerous national and provincial research projects and published extensively in thermal sciences, electrochemical energy conversion, and transport phenomena.

Abstract: As a sustainable and low-carbon resource, geothermal energy holds strong potential to contribute significantly to global decarbonization efforts. However, due to challenges like high upfront costs, resource uncertainties, and limited institutional support, its share in the current global energy mix remains modest at around 0.34%, despite its vast technical promise. That said, its capability to provide continuous, dispatchable baseload power makes it an excellent complement to intermittent renewable sources like solar and wind.

Between 2009 and 2024, global installed geothermal capacity grew from roughly 10.7 GWe to more than 16.9 GWe, with over thirty nations now actively utilizing hydrothermal power. Technological breakthroughs in high-temperature drilling, reservoir characterization, and power-plant designs—such as flash and binary cycles—have enhanced overall efficiency and expanded its range of application. Furthermore, frontier approaches like Enhanced Geothermal Systems (EGS) and supercritical resource development continue to push the boundaries of geothermal energy deployment.

For many geothermal applications—particularly high-potential options like EGS—substantial investment costs lead to high financial risks, which often makes decision-makers hesitant to commit to new projects. Because these large-scale systems cannot be evaluated through traditional laboratory testing, mathematical modeling and numerical simulation become essential. Even though they involve various inherent uncertainties, these computational tools serve as a crucial guide to support strategic decision-making. These mathematical models are also highly effective for optimizing and further developing existing systems and units.

This presentation will begin with an overview of geothermal energy and its applications for heat and electricity generation. The second part of the talk will address the specific challenges of mathematical modeling and numerical simulation of the thermofluid processes in certain systems, illustrated and discussed through selected case studies.

Short Bio:

Prof. Dr.-Ing. habil. Ali Cemal Benim received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. degrees in Mechanical Engineering from Boğaziçi University in Istanbul, Turkey. He earned his Ph.D. with highest distinction (summa cum laude) from the University of Stuttgart, Germany, at the Institute of Process Engineering and Power Plant Technology. Following his doctorate, he joined ABB Turbo Systems Ltd. in Baden, Switzerland, where he served as the Manager of the Computational Flow and Combustion Modelling Group within the Thermal Machinery Laboratory R&D department.

Since 1996, Prof. Benim has been a Professor of Energy Technology at the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, within the Faculty of Mechanical and Process Engineering. His global academic appointments include a Professorship in Mechanical Engineering at Bursa Technical University in Turkey (since 2025) and an Adjunct Professorship at VelTech University in Chennai, India (since 2022). He has also served as a Visiting Professor at numerous universities across China, India, Poland, Switzerland, and Turkey.

His research focuses on the mathematical modeling and computational simulation of fluid flow, heat, and mass transfer in engineering applications, with a particular emphasis on energy technology. A highly cited researcher, Prof. Benim has been ranked among the top 2% of scientists worldwide since 2019. He currently holds several prominent editorial roles, serving as an Editor of Energy Conversion and Management, Executive Editor-in-Chief of Computation, Section Editor-in-Chief of Fire, and Executive Editor of Progress in Computational Fluid Dynamics, alongside memberships on various international editorial boards.

Title: Thermal Energy Storage: Highly-efficient Mechanisms and Dynamic Regulation Methods

Abstract: Mechanisms for highly efficient thermal energy storage and methods for effective regulation of quality of energy are critical for the efficient utilization of large-scale storage in microgrids. Challenges arise from the low thermal conductivity of phase-change thermal storage materials, the limited application ranges of design methods for phase-change thermal storage devices, and the difficulty of adjusting energy-grade regulation for thermal energy storage and utilization systems. This invited keynote lecture will address the following three aspects of the "material-device-system": 1) the functional group optimization mechanism of PCM performance is proposed under multiple constraints. Various types of and innovation for high energy-density thermal storage materials are developed; 2) interpretable machine learning methods for quick design of thermal storage devices, considering the dynamic attenuation of the thermocline to demonstrate the multi-scale constitutive relations of thermal storage materials and macroscale parameters of thermal storage devices; and 3) novel methods regulating various typical energy storage systems, realizing fast response of thermal energy storage with load command of microgrids, along with examples of commercial explorations for related thermal energy storage technologies developed by our research team.

Short Bio:

Professor Ming-Jia Li is a tenured professor and vice dean of the School of Mechanical Engineering in Beijing Institute of Technology. She is deputy director of the Non-silicon Micro-nano Manufacturing Key Laboratory of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology. She has been selected for the National High-Level Talent Program. Her research focuses on Frontiers of Energy and Power Engineering, Energy Storage and Development & Utilization of New Energy. As a Chief Scientist, she hosted national research programs. Related studies are published as the first/corresponding author in world-renowned journals. Among these, 14 papers are ranked as ESI Top 1% Highly Cited Papers, and 12 papers are selected as Research Fronts in the ESI database. She holds an H-index of 59 with over 11,000 citations. She consistently appears on the Elsevier Most Cited Chinese Researchers list and the World's Top 2% Scientists list. She delivered 31 plenary reports and invited keynotes at international and domestic conferences, and served as a session chair 16 times. Honours and awards received include the Hewitt-Goldstein Young Investigator Award, Asian Young Scientist Award etc.
She serves as associate editor for 2 international journals and on the editorial boards for 6 other international journals. She is the Junior Commission Member of the B2 Professional Committee of the Intl. Institute of Refrigeration etc.