Overview

Thermomechanical energy conversion technologies are poised to play a vital role in future low carbon, low cost and secure energy systems. These technologies can be used for the recovery, re-use and conversion of “waste heat”, which is widely considered an indispensable element of enhanced industrial efficiency and decarbonisation. Concomitantly, these technologies are also well-suited to large-scale and long-duration electricity storage, essential for power grid stability and energy affordability given the increasing penetration of intermittent renewables generation capacity.

In this talk, Professor Markides will describe the variety of thermomechanical energy technologies and solutions for the recovery and conversion of waste heat – across different temperatures and scales. This will include discussion of heat integration, Organic Rankine Cycle (ORC) systems, heat pumps and thermally-driven cooling, alternative heat-to-power technologies, and others. He will also review a new class of promising bulk energy storage technologies based on thermomechanical principles, which includes compressed-air energy storage, liquid-air energy storage and pumped-thermal electricity storage.

Following this broad presentation of the technological options, Prof. Markides will explore the underlying operational principles in each case, the resulting performance and cost characteristics, and show maps to distinguish the most appropriate options for different sectors and applications. He will address current developments and R&D actions, technology readiness levels (TRLs), costs, broad brush technical and financial characteristics, advantages and disadvantages, as well as sharing his personal knowledge of the challenges faced during the development of selected technologies. Finally, he will propose exploitation pathways for a selection of the most promising technologies in specific applications of interest.

After the close of the lecture and Q&A, Geraint Evans, CESIG chair, will lead the Annual General Meeting (AGM) which will include a summary of the CESIG's activities and achievements over the past year and a look forward at the plans for 2025-26.

A new Chair and Secretary will be elected as Geraint Evans (Chair) and Leonel Eto (Secretary) will be standing down. 

Apply for a committee role here.

Speaker

Prof. Christos Markides, Professor of Clean Energy Technologies, Imperial College London

Christos Markides is Professor of Clean Energy Technologies, Head of the Clean Energy Processes (CEP) Laboratory, and leader of the Experimental Multiphase Flow Laboratory, which is the largest experimental space of its kind at Imperial College London. He is also Editor-in-Chief of two scientific journals, Applied Thermal Engineering, and, AI Thermal Fluids.

Christos specialises in applied thermodynamics, fluid flow, heat and mass transfer processes in high-performance devices, technologies and systems for thermal-energy recovery, utilisation, conversion or storage. Beyond his research, he is interested in technology transfer, innovation and commercialisation. In 2018, he founded Solar Flow, an Imperial spin-out company, to commercialise a ​solar collector that integrates two solar technologies into a single device.

Christos has authored  approximately 400 journals and over 350 conference articles on topics related to this talk, including review articles, and two books: “Renewable and Waste-Heat Utilisation Technologies” (Cambridge) and “Power Generation Technologies for Low-Temperature and Distributed Heat” (Elsevier). He has won multiple awards, including: IMechE’s 2016 ‘Donald J. Groen’ outstanding paper prize; IChemE’s 2018 ‘Global Award for Best Research Project'; and two Imperial President Awards, one for Teaching Excellence in 2016, and one for Research Excellence, in 2017.

Dr Geraint Evans, CESIG Chair

Geraint is a Chemical Engineer specialising in renewables, low carbon energy and industrial decarbonisation. Within these areas, he is particularly interested in biomass and wastes including the technologies for extracting useful products from these, electricity and hydrogen generation, CCS, and identifying optimal choices for the future low carbon energy system. He has wide industry experience, gained from nearly 40 years in the energy and heavy chemicals industries, across coal, oil, bio and industrial decarbonisation. This experience has been through from his roles in consultancy, operations, industrial and academic research, and process engineering in roles at the Energy Technologies Institute, the NNFCC, Phillips66, BP, GSA Process Engineering Consultancy, Baker-Petrolite, British Coal and Aston University.

Geraint is now retired. He volunteers for the IChemE, leading the Clean Energy Special Interest Group, and the SCI as a member of the Energy Group; plays in a Brass Band; and is renovating his house. 

Time

09:00 - 10:00 BST.

Software

The presentation will be delivered via Microsoft Teams. We recommend downloading the app from the Microsoft website, rather than using the web portal.