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 International Masters in Technologies for Greenhouse Gases Mitigation
University of Perugia
The greenhouse effect is now acknowledged as the primary cause of climate
change, and is therefore a principal concern for ours and future generations.
Different approaches have been meted by different countries to reduce
greenhouse gas emissions, but there is no agreement on how to mitigate the
consequences of climate changes. Governments and industry need competent
advisers who have a multidisciplinary background including physics of the
atmosphere, economics of energy sources, engineering of power plants and energy
systems, chemical engineering of carbon capture and removal systems. This kind
of education can be achieved with the International Masters in Technologies for
Greenhouse Gases Mitigation.
The Masters gives students several job opportunities, with the main destination
being companies included in the EU National Allocation Plans. These plans aim to
reach CO2 mitigation goals in the second phase of the application of the Kyoto
Protocol and may also need help in the current phase with trade allowances. A
second destination is governmental and local agencies involved in the application
of the Protocol. Other places are research centres, banks and consultancies
in trading emissions and evaluating carbon mitigation projects, organisations
promoting voluntary carbon mitigation projects, and organisations active in the
emission allowances certification.
In sum, this multidisciplinary education is useful in all activities where energy
and environment competency is required. It meets the EU directive 87/2003/CE
(Emission trading) for specialisation in GHG emission certification auditing.
The Masters is organised by the University of Perugia, with the Université de
Liège (Belgium) and Mälardalens Högskola (Sweden). The University of Perugia
will launch the third one in 2007. It lasts one year and is followed by training in
industrial or academic laboratories and a thesis, and provides 60 ECTS. Classes
will be held at the School of Engineering of the University of Perugia by professors
from the partner universities and other important academic institutions and
industry. Enrolment starts from October and course fees are 3000 Euros.
Modules
Modules cover:
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The Earth, its climate and the greenhouse effect; |
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Political and legislative aspects of climate changes; |
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Economic aspects of energy systems and greenhouse gases; |
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Energy sources; |
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High efficiency & Renewable energy systems; |
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Energy saving; |
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Certification of GHG emissions; |
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Kyoto Protocol flexible mechanisms and Emission Trading; |
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Post combustion and Pre-combustion CO2 capture; |
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Non CO2 emissions mitigation; |
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CO2 transport and storage; and, |
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Non fossil fuels, hydrogen and fuel cells. |
The practical training can be completed at any of the cooperating universities and
any academic, governmental, and private institution involved in GHG mitigation
or trading.
Perugia is a small town in central Italy with a population of 150,000 inhabitants,
150 km southeast of Florence and 170 km northeast of Rome in Umbria - the
Green Heart of Italy. Its university was founded in 1308 and will celebrate its
700th anniversary in 2008. It is a lively town with a student population exceeding
30,000, making it one of the most attractive university towns in Italy. It can be
reached by plane (nearby airports are Florence, Rome and Ancona), train and car.
The course is open to graduates of Engineering, Architecture, Science,
Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry and Environmental Sciences. The lessons are
in English and students from all over the world are encouraged. The minimum
number of students is 10, the maximum is 30. Admission is dependent on a CV
and possibly an interview.
Research and Technology Transfer
Since 1997, the Masters has researched carbon capture and removal. The
academic team has published several papers on the modelling of carbon removal
technologies, fuel decarbonisation and power plants using mitigation technologies.
The Industrial Engineering department also researches renewable energy sources,
hydrogen production, advanced high efficiency power plants and fuel cells. Its
fuel cell laboratory is the only academic laboratory in Italy with high temperature
(MCFC and SOFC) testing capability.
The university’s Enerpol Lab is dedicated to the research of pyrolysis of biomass
and a pilot plant with a microturbine of 80 kW is being built at the University
of Perugia - it will be the only power plant of this size worldwide using biomass
pyrolysis.
Out of this research, two spin-off companies were founded in 2005. The first
(Tecnologie per la riduzione delle emissioni engineering, www.tre-eng.com) is
dedicated to high-level consulting in greenhouse gas mitigation technologies,
and offers a range of services including CO2 allowance trading, assistance to
companies in developing a carbon strategy and participation to CDM/JI projects.
The second (Biomasse e Nuove Tecnologie, www.bio-net.it) is aimed at the
development and commercialisation of the pyrolysis technology for small and
micro-size power plants (< 500 kW) but can also provide other biomass and
renewable technologies.
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