Joule Bergerson, University of Calgary

Joule Bergerson is an associate professor in the Department of Chemical and Petroleum Engineering at the University of Calgary’s Schulich School of Engineering, the Tier 2 Canada Research Chair in Energy Technology Assessment and a member of the Royal Society of Canada College of New Scholars, Artists and Scientists. Dr. Bergerson directs an interdisciplinary and collaborative research team in the development of new methods for energy technology assessment, contributing to the development and broader use of systems tools in the energy sector.

An energy sector in transition: assessing the net emissions outcomes of new and legacy sources

Recent global trends demonstrate that a major energy system transition is well underway. Pressures on our current energy system include increasingly ambitious climate change commitments, technology innovation and the growing role of society in energy system decision-making. At the same time, some carbon mitigation and removal technologies are experiencing exponential growth while others have yet to achieve their potential. In the face of these pressures and choices available to improve our energy system, it is clear we need to advance technologies that lower environmental impacts at competitive costs. However, we must also develop more transparent and credible systems to assess and integrate emerging technologies and processes. Systems-level assessment techniques are required to evaluate technologies at each stage of research, development, and deployment to inform policy and investment decisions. Systems tools are currently underutilized but can drive innovation starting at the ideation stage. They can also be used to improve process designs, prioritize RD&D, ensure that the goals of innovation are achieved and avoid potential unintended negative environmental consequences. This talk presents several advancements to the systems toolkit and their application to promising emerging technologies. The examples will demonstrate how these tools can be used to help identify technologies – or optimal combinations of technologies – that could provide particularly large life cycle benefits.