Prof. Ocon Participates at the 12th SDEWES Conference in Croatia

admin • Oct 10, 2017

Last October 4-8, 2017, Prof. Joey Ocon attended the 12th Conference on Sustainable Development of Energy, Water and Environment Systems (SDEWES) in Dubrovnik, Croatia. This year’s conference focuses on the improvement and dissemination of knowledge on methods, policies and technologies for increasing the sustainability of development by de-coupling growth from natural resources and replacing them with knowledge-based economy, taking into account its economic, environmental and social pillars.

During the conference, Prof. Ocon presented his feasibility study on replacing diesel-powered mini/micro grids in NPC-SPUG off-grid areas with solar PV-battery-diesel hybrid energy systems, a two-month study that he did while taking his post-doctorate studies with the Off-Grid Systems group of the Reiner Lemoine Institut in Berlin.

The results have been, by large, hopeful: there is huge economic and environmental potential of powering up off-grid areas using alternative sources of energy. Cost-wise, it is expected that renewable energy hybridization can bring down the cost of electricity by 20%, due to savings in diesel importation among other factors. This can have an implication in the reduction of the universal cost of missionary electrification (UCME) subsidy that bridges the gap between the high diesel-based generation cost and the subsidized tariff paid by the consumers.

Of course, in the middle of the conference, Prof. Ocon had the opportunity to visit the famous places in Croatia, including several scenic areas where some episodes of the Game of Thrones were shot.

 

By Mecaelah Palaganas 13 May, 2024
The CIPHER project team , led by Prof. Joey Ocon and Assoc. Prof. Julie Anne D. del Rosario-Paraggua, recently visited South Korea from March 27 to April 7, 2024. During the trip, the team participated in joint research workshops at Inha University, Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST), and Hanyang University. They presented their research works, fostering discussions on advanced topics in electrochemical engineering. The team also gained valuable insights by touring state-of-the-art research facilities at these universities, including the GIST Advanced Institute of Instrumental Analysis (GAIA) center, which offers LEE members access to cutting-edge material characterization equipment to further their studies and projects. The visit not only facilitated academic exchange but also paved the way for potential collaborations in the future. By tapping into the expertise and resources available at these institutions, LEE aims to drive innovative research and advancements in electrochemical engineering.
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Prof. Joey Ocon, Asst. Prof. Michael Castro, and Mr. Ovid Tubalinal attended energy systems research collaboration meetings and workshops at The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology (HKUST) , Hong Kong SAR. The team from LEE was hosted by Asst. Prof. Laurence Delina from the Division of Environment and Sustainability (ENVR). Prof. Ocon shared a brief introduction of LEE and the energy systems studies being conducted in LEE to graduate students of HKUST-ENVR who were participative with questions on the topics presented such as the effect of incorporating storm hardening measures and insurance into hybrid renewable energy systems (HRES), the transition pathways to 100% renewable in Philippine off-grid islands, and the evaluation of green hydrogen potential in the Philippines. The remaining days were spent in preparation for two meetings with HKUST faculty regarding cooling (and heating) demands of cities to explore future research collaboration. The productive meetings resulted in planning for funding acquisition and conceptualization of a collaborative research project.
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Honesto Ovid Tubalinal, a Research Fellow of CIPHER Project , has finished a three-month special research student program at the Morikawa Laboratory in the Graduate School of Engineering , Osaka University Suita Campus from October 2023 to January 2024. He was mentored by Prof. Morikawa Yoshitada, and PhD Student and LEE alumnus Mr. Ace Christian Serraon on improving the results of the density functional theory (DFT)-based study on the passivation of hydrohalogenic acid-treated germanium (001) surfaces. Mr. Tubalinal also attended workshops organized by the professors of the Quantum Engineering Design Course (QEDC) where PhD and MS students present the progress of their studies. This sandwich program was a great opportunity to interact and to work with international students, and to learn new techniques on DFT-based calculations and operation of high-performance computing (HPC) clusters.
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