The combination of climate change, the inherent limits of natural resources and the need for energy sovereignty are forcing humankind to embark on an energy transition and take up the formidable challenge of replacing fossil fuels (coal, gas and oil) with other energies, both electric and non-electric (nuclear, solar, wind and bioenergy). The difficulties are many : the need to address the issue on a global scale, the need to solve technological problems (energy storage, mobilization of biomass, transformation of a whole range of industrial processes, etc.). As well as the economic and social issues that inevitably accompany this transition.
The year's lecture 2023-2024 will complement the 2022-2023 lecture, which provided an introduction to the issue of energy transition, in that it described the current energy and climate context and discussed the various possible energy scenarios that have been developed in recent years to inform French energy policy. This time around, we'll be taking stock of three major aspects of the energy transition currently underway : the use of biomass to produce bioenergy, the hydrogen revolution and electric mobility. The lecture will conclude with a colloquium to discuss economic and social issues (Europe of energy, energy sovereignty and the electricity market) and current innovations in various fields (biomass, waste andCO2 recovery, green hydrogen production, plastics recycling, etc.).