Energy Transition

Course objectives

The educational goal of the course is to provide a general framework on the concepts related to the energy transition process. In particular, basic physics and chemistry topics will be treated with a geological approach, but also with implications in the economic, engineering, ecological and sociological fields. The concept of total system energy, of useful energy (exergy) and of non-usable energy (anergy) will be applied to various stages of economic-industrial processes, to underline the need to increase knowledge in detail of the various facets of activities related to western lifestyle. The course will provide the student with the fundamental skills for understanding the fundamental relationships between hard science (especially physics and chemistry) and the declinations associated with the production of goods necessary to support the growth and maintenance of quality standards in developed countries. The approach will be completely multidisciplinary, with information in the theoretical field but also of an applied type in specific topics related to the industrial production cycle, including the concept of circular economy. The course will be fundamentally based on the role of hydrocarbons and the search for alternative energy sources that can compete with fossil ones, with implications on the physics of the atmosphere by developing the concept of pollutant. Major emphasis will be devoted on the possible processes for the neutralization, capture and use of CO 2 and its surface and deep cycles. Topics related to nuclear energy (both associated with the fission and fusion processes) will be covered, but also with the fundamental implications in the cultural sphere that the drive to search for new energy sources will force us to follow.

Channel 1
MICHELE LUSTRINO Lecturers' profile

Program - Frequency - Exams

Course program
1. Basic knowledge - Unit of measurement of energy, work and power - Types of energy - Energy for the transport of things and people - Energy consumption and use - Energy for food production - Biocapacity - UN Sustainable Development Goals - Definition of reserves and resources of energy and raw materials - Global energy consumption by sector - World energy consumption by sources - Reserves and consumption of fossil fuels 2. Mental transition - Advantages and disadvantages of high and low carbon impact sources - Human energy - Electricity consumption in Italy - Electricity (sources, efficiency, distribution, temporal variations, percentages compared to total energy consumption) - Energy storage systems - Green growth - oxymoron - Taxations, prohibitions and subsidies - Jevons paradox - Role of oil in society and food production 3. The three carbon cycles - Carbon cycle in stars - Carbon cycle within the Earth - Carbon cycle on the surface of the Earth 4. CO2 and global warming - Carbon exchange between terrestrial and marine ecosystems - Anthropogenic CO2 emissions - Global carbon cycle - Composition of atmospheric gases - Planck black body radiation - Wien's law (temperature/wavelength emitted) - Stefan-Boltzmann law (emission temperature/radiance) - Opacity of the atmosphere at wavelengths - Variation of temperatures recorded with various methods - Role of the Sun in climate variation - Variation models of Total Solar Irradiance - Anthropogenic forcing - Hockey Stick Theory (Hockey Stick Model) - Temperature variation over the last ~2000 years - Ice melting and sea level rise - Holocene warming - Phenomenon of the Younger Dryas (Alpine Canedrium) - Keeling curve 5. Energy transition and financial transactions - IPCC 1989-2024 - ETS (Energy Trading System) - CT (Carbon Tax) - CDM (Clean Development Mechanism) - IPCC Sixth Report (2023) 6. Climate and energy flow - Climate system, climate forcing and climate sensitivity - Radiative forcing of CO2 - ECS (Equilibrium Climate Sensitivity) - ASR (Absorbed Solar Radiation) - OLR (Outgoing Longwave Radiation) - Specific heat of atmosphere, soil, ice and oceans - CO2-temperature correlation from Arrhenius to IPCC - EEI (Earth Energy Imbalance) - Factors influencing climate variations - Mitigation, adaptation and knowledge - Kaya's identity 7. Physical limits of the energy transition - Energy, Exergy, Anergy - Exergy replacement costs - Capacity Factor - Criticality of raw materials - Intensity of matter - Energy storage systems - Types of electric vehicles - TRL (Technology Readiness Level) - Extraction and recycling of critical metals - Distribution of REEs in the earth's crust - Metal wheel - Earth Overshoot Day - LCA (Life Cycle Assessment) - EROI (Energy Return On Investment) - Electronic waste - Urban Mining - Hubbert peak theory 8. Green energy - Biomass - Wind power - Hydroelectric - Solar - Slavery of Uyghurs in China - Tides - Geothermal - Nuclear - Hydrogen 9. Actionable actions - Carbonation - Biomineralization - Artificial photosynthesis - Photolysis of water - Electrolysis of water - Syn Gas (Synthetic Gas)
Prerequisites
- Elements of the periodic table, chemical bonds, ion, valence, octet rule, balancing of charges in chemical reactions. - Units of measurement, temperature, heat, force, pressure, electromagnetic waves.
Books
- Lesson notes in MS Power Point format can be downloaded from the elearning site from time to time. - Letcher T.M. (Ed.) 2020. Future Energy (third edition). Elsevier. ISBN 978-0-08-102886-5 - Bustillo Revuelta M. 2018. Mineral Resources – from exploration to suistanability assessment. ISBN 978-3-319-58760-8 - Dincer I. e Rosen M. 2020. Exergy – Energy, Environment and sustainable development (third edition). ISBN 9780128243725.
Frequency
Two two-hour lessons one time a week
Exam mode
The exam involves a MS PowerPoint presentation on a topic agreed upon between the instructor and the student. The presentation will last a maximum of 60-80 minutes. There is no minimum or maximum number of slides to present. The topic must be multidisciplinary and address topics discussed in class. During the presentation, the instructor may ask questions to assess the candidate's understanding of the topics outlined in the syllabus.
Lesson mode
Two two-hour lessons per week (tot. 4 hours per week). Attendance is not mandatory, but is strongly recommended due to the discussions that arise during lectures.
  • Lesson code10612138
  • Academic year2025/2026
  • CourseExploration Geology
  • CurriculumSingle curriculum
  • Year1st year
  • Semester2nd semester
  • SSDGEO/07
  • CFU6