SYMPOSIUM 15: Ceramic and Composite Materials and Systems for a Sustainable and Resilient Energy Future

The symposium aims to cover the role of ceramic and composite material systems in advancing next-generation technologies for energy efficiency, emissions reduction, and industrial innovation. Despite tremendous progress in the innovation of new materials, systems, and technologies, many challenges remain in achieving enhanced energy security and industrial competitiveness while supporting cleaner and more efficient processes. Technical communities will collaborate to advance ceramic and composite materials, components, processes, and systems that will strengthen the energy sector, optimize resource use, and develop practical solutions for emissions control and carbon management. Challenges related to material systems, integration with energy and industrial platforms, performance under demanding conditions, and long-term durability will be discussed along with future research and development directions.

Proposed Sessions/Topics 

• General perspectives of a sustainable and resilient energy future
• Advances in industrial processes and manufacturing technologies for reducing emissions and improving efficiency
• Role of ceramic and composite material systems in industrial optimization, emissions reduction, and energy system resilience
• Ceramic/composite materials and components for various technologies, including electrochemical methods, for gas separation, carbon management, and emissions mitigation
• Ceramics and composites for energy production, refining, and chemical processing
• Role of ceramic processing for carbon dioxide mineralization and utilization
• Ceramic materials and processes in various infrastructures, including buildings and pavements, for carbon capture and conversion
• Degradation and corrosion issues of materials and components for industrial and environmental applications
• Materials and processing issues for carbon dioxide mineralization and utilization
• Circular economy of ceramic materials and their role in resource efficiency and lifecycle extension
• Ceramic materials and technology for reduction of other pollutant gases such as SOX and NOX
• Innovation of new ceramic materials systems, novel processing and manufacturing techniques to overcome current technical challenges
• Manufacturing and process control of battery-grade ceramics and composites
• Recycling, sustainability, safety and reliability for energy material and systems
• Advances in characterization tools and property evaluation techniques relevant to emission mitigating technologies
• Advances in computational methods, data science, and theoretical approaches for predictive design of high performance, stable materials and components to address industrial sustainability challenges
• Perspectives for future R&D directions including multi-scale modeling, long-term durability, and accelerated deployment
• Technoeconomic analysis, safety issues, codes, and standards for scalable ceramic and composite solutions

Symposium Organizer(s)

• Manoj Mahapatra, University of Alabama, Birmingham, USA
• John S. Hardy, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, USA
• Edgar Lara-Curzio, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
• James G. Hemrick, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA
• Jorgen F. Rufner, Idaho National Laboratory, USA
• Sepideh Akhbarifar, The Catholic University of America, USA
• Tianyu Zhu, Clemson University, USA
• Dong Hou, Clemson University, USA

Point(s) of Contact

• Manoj Mahapatra; mkmanoj@uab.edu

Symposium Sponsor(s)

• Basic Science Division
• Energy Materials and Systems Division
• Manufacturing Division