Volgograd State University discussed the development of the energy industry in the context of sustainable development

Volgograd State University became a platform for a meeting of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, which will determine the winners, who will be announced on July 3 at the ceremony of announcing the laureates of the prize in Volgograd.

The Global Energy Prize is an award for outstanding scientific research and scientific and technological developments in the energy industry. The Global Energy Prize stimulates the development of science and demonstrates the importance of international cooperation and the involvement of public and private institutions in ensuring energy security and energy saving on the planet.

According to the IREG International Observatory, the Global Energy Prize is one of the TOP 99 most prestigious and significant international awards. The annual prize fund amounts to 39 million rubles.

Since 2003, 50 scientists from 16 countries have become laureates of the prize.

Over the years of its existence, the Global Energy Prize has gained a high international status and gained wide recognition in the world. The prize promotes the establishment of an open dialogue in the fuel and energy sector and the creation of a single platform for interaction between industry and the scientific community. Previous ceremonies have been held in a number of Russian cities: Kaluga, Kazan, Khanty-Mansiysk and Kemerovo. This year’s ceremony will take place in Volgograd.

The closed session was preceded by a meeting of the delegates of the Global Energy Association with Prof. Dr. Alla Kalinina, Rector of Volgograd State University, scientists and students of universities of the Volgograd region. The guests came to preserve the traditions of technology and innovation synergy, as well as to honor scientists who have made a significant contribution to the research of innovations and energy in the context of sustainable development.

The Global Energy Association on development of international research and projects in the field of energy is an NGO established to promote and support innovations in the field of energy, and to foster international cooperation. Founded in 2002, the organization works as the operator of the Global Energy Prize.

The delegation of the Global Energy Association included: Sergey Brilev, President of the Global Energy Association, Professor Emeritus of Volgograd State University; Rae Kwon Chung, Chairman of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, member of the IPCC, Nobel Peace Prize 2007 laureate, Professor Emeritus of Incheon University (Republic of Korea); William Byun, member of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, General Director and Managing Director of New ASEAN Energy Inc. (Republic of Singapore); Liye Xiao, member of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, Director of Applied Superconductivity Laboratory of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Director of Interdisciplinary Research Center of the Institute of Electrical Engineering of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (People’s Republic of China); and Dmitry Bessarabov, member of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, Director at HySA Infrastructure Competence Center (South Africa). Oleg Nikolaev, Deputy Governor of Volgograd Region, also attended the meeting.

At the meeting with the members of the Global Energy Prize International Award Committee, students of the universities of the Volgograd region asked questions related to a set of measures aimed at meeting the needs of people today while preserving the environment and resources for future generations. In particular, the students were interested in the prospects of improving climate models, ways of solving the problems of green energy development while equalizing tariffs with those of traditional energy sources, and modern green economy projects.

The speakers answered questions about the problems of raising public awareness of carbon literacy, ways to generate energy through waste recycling, battery recycling, the impact of wind energy on the environment, especially on wildlife, and regional climate change. They touched on the energy security aspects of wind farms and solar panels, the challenges of hydrogen energy, and clean energy ideas.

Sustainable development is also relevant for the Volgograd region. According to Sergey Brilev, Volgograd is a place for interesting experiments:

“The Volgograd region is implementing projects at the intersection of ecology, economy and energy, that are at the forefront of global trends. We are talking not only about the introduction of new wind and solar power plants, but also about the creation of facilities for the production of stainless steel, which is so necessary for the energy sector. This includes the project to build a new canal from the reservoir of the Volga HPP, the largest in Europe, to the Volga-Akhtuba floodplain. This will make it possible to stabilize the Volga water regime, build a new small HPP, and double (and maybe even triple) the amount of vegetables and fruit grown. These and other initiatives of Governor Bocharov made Volgograd an ideal platform for gathering the members of the International Committee and announcing the names of the Global Energy Prize laureates.”