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MIT News: Students Helping to Make Islands Carbon Neutral

 About The Project

The Net Zero Carbon Group 2019 Workshop was an interdisciplinary collaboration between faculty, professionals, and graduate students working to map out the processes involved in transforming a model island community with a conventional energy profile to one with a resilient net zero carbon energy system supplying its permanent residents. For the initial kick-off meeting, the group met for five days with the objective of developing an initial roadmap for reaching this goal. As this collaborative effort will helped lay important foundations related to the energy transition in community-sized energy systems, the paths taken to achieve the end goal are vital. For the inaugural meeting, Model-Based Reasoning and Design Thinking were carefully chosen as tools to facilitate collaborative work during the process of creating the outline of a draft master plan for a model community.

This workshop produced three theoretical projects for MV on:

  1. Green Housing Fund
  2. Sustainable Farming
  3. Economics

The MIT Energy Initiative hosted the workshop on campus in Cambridge, Massachusetts with the support of the companies Shell and Viessmann. 

This January workshop was funded by Shell and the National Science Foundation sponsored EMBeRS project.

Contributors & Instructors

Robert Hannemann: A mechanical engineer by training, Hannemann's background includes roles as a researcher, manager, entrepreneur, and academic. Most recently he was Director of the Tufts Gordon Institute and chair of the Mechanical Engineering Department, where he developed and taught the Sustainable Energy Systems course. He currently chairs the Vineyard Sustainable Energy Committee and is director of the Cape Light Compact and the Cape and Vineyard Electric Cooperative. 

Andres Alvarez: Alvarez graduated from MIT in 2017 with a B.S. in Nuclear Science and Engineering and a minor in Energy Studies. He is currently an Analyst in the CEO Office of AVANGRID, Inc. Alvarez's previous experience includes an internship in the U.S. Department of Energy and as a Research Aide at MIT's Energy Initiative. While at MIT, some of Alvarez's activities included participation in the MIT Energy Club, the American Nuclear Society, and the MIT Gordon Engineering Leadership Program.

Michael Pomrehn: A Shell Sales Business & Energy Transition Manager, Pomrehn holds a degree in Innovation Management with a focus on Change Management and transformation of organizational structures. He has led multiple Shell digital solutions project teams throughout Europe, and in his current role works to deliver clean energy solutions and make Shell a trusted partner of the global energy transition. 

Lennart Locher: Locher joined Shell in 2017 after graduating from a Master of International Business & Sustainability at the University of Hamburg. He is currently working for Trading & Supply DACH looking after traditional business development topics and is also supporting T&S DACH Energy Transition Team. Locher is a member of the Innovation Committee in Hamburg supporting Shell's preparations needed for the change causes by Digitalization and Globalization. 

Uwe Schabla: A Fuels Scientist for Shell's Future Portfolio Team with a focus on synthetic gas-to-liquid fuels and home energy projects, Schabla has more than 10 years of experience in the energy industry. He has a degree in Industrial Engineering with a focus on renewable energies, energy efficiency and transition. He previously worked in the testing and operation area for many years and led the Commercial Fuels test bench team until 2015.

Caralyn Cutlip: A recent graduate of MIT with a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering, Cutlip has just completed a post-graduate internship with Shell in Hamburg, DE where she worked with the T&S DACH Energy Transition Team and Project & Technology. Her professional interests include User Experience, Product and Experience Design, and Energy Infrastructure and Development.

Dr. Antje Danielson: Danielson is the Director of Education at the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). She received a PhD in geochemistry from the Freie University in Berlin Germany. Her previous role was as Director of the Tufts Institute of the Environment and Assistant Professor in the Department of Public Health at Tufts; she is also a co-founder of Zipcar. Her areas of interest are energy education, carbon capture and storage, mobility, and interdisciplinary research and collaboration.

 Dr. Dave Gosselin: Gosselin is the Director of Environmental Studies, Professor of Earth Sciences, Co-Chair of the Chancellor's Sustainability Commission, and Chair of the Science for Educators Specialization, Masters of Applied Science, all at the University of Nebraska Lincoln (UNL). He was previously the Associate Director of the School of Natural Resources at UNL. Gosselin's areas of interest include science education, groundwater chemistry, the Nebraska Earth Systems Education network, and water quality.

Mito Mihelic: Trained as a communication designer, Mihelic has been a Design Thinking catalyst at Viessmann for almost 3 years, responsible for strengthening the focus on end-customers in the traditional industry, based on a business-to-business approach. He leads a User Lab within VC/O (Viessmann Group) and is co-founder of the Berlin-based innovation agency Kill Your Darling. His agency's clients include education institutions, NGOs, medium-sized corporations like Nissan and Bosch. He also runs a seminar at Anhalt University of Applied Sciences in Dessau.

Krists Krievins: Krievins has a background in Digital Marketing, Innovation and Experience Design Strategy and is a User Research at VC/O. His previous role was in the Berlin-based strategy agency as an Experience Design & Innovation Strategist using methodologies like Design Thinking, Lean, and Business Modeling. He has a degree in International Business Relationships & Innovation and Entrepreneurship.

Maud Bocquillod: Maud is trained as an Industrial Engineer with a drive for Human-Centered Design. She joined Viessmann two years ago as a Design Thinking coach, where she combines analytical and empathetic skills. She has Masters in General Engineering and International Design Business Management. She previously worked as a co-founder and product engineer of a hardware healthcare startup in Finland as well as a Course Instructor in Product Development & Innovation.

Eytan Gross: Eytan is the Deputy Director of the Mobility of the Future study at the MIT Energy Initiative (MITEI). He received his undergraduate degrees in Transportation Engineering and in Economics in Haifa, Israel, and recently graduated with a Master's degree from MIT's transportation program, where he also worked on the Mobility of the Future Study. Previously he worked for a small public transportation planning firm for 2 years. Eytan is passionate about public transportation, and is interested in mobility, sustainability, and economics. 

 

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