Energy and Sustainability

As the world races to mitigate climate change and ensure equitable resource access, energy and sustainability stand at the heart of global transformation. This theme explores how science, technology, and systems innovation are converging to decarbonize industries, optimize resource use, and foster a circular, low-impact economy.

A new era of AI-driven sustainability is emerging, where machine learning and predictive analytics are enabling smart grids, adaptive energy systems, and real-time decision-making. Sessions will explore how AI and digital twins are revolutionizing energy efficiency, forecasting, and dynamic control—from utilities to industrial ecosystems.

Breakthroughs in energy storage—including next-gen batteries, thermal storage, and hybrid systems—are critical to stabilizing renewable integration and ensuring resilient power networks. Paired with advancements in fuel cells and hydrogen technologies, these innovations offer scalable pathways toward decarbonized mobility and industrial processes.

The theme will also highlight innovative wastewater treatment and resource recovery, focusing on low-energy desalination, nutrient recovery, and closed-loop sanitation systems. Biorefining and sustainable petrochemical alternatives, particularly using lignocellulosic feedstocks, will feature as key enablers of a fossil-free chemical industry.

Sustainable materials will take center stage, from polymers engineered for recyclability to bio-based materials like cellulose nanocomposites and bioplastics. Meanwhile, decarbonizing heavy industry, especially steel and cement, remains one of the grand challenges—demanding system-level solutions, policy alignment, and clean process redesigns.

Sessions will weave in lifecycle analysis, environmental impact metrics, and regional case studies on scalable sustainability. By convening researchers, industry leaders, policy makers, and innovators, this theme will illuminate bold pathways to accelerate the global transition—where technology, nature, and human ingenuity intersect to shape a just and regenerative energy future.