Abstract

The seminar will analyse the global energy megatrends and focus specifically on the future role of nuclear power and hydrogen. Regarding nuclear power, the presentation will explore how cost-effective is nuclear power and the perspectives of building small nuclear reactors considering the declining costs of renewables and electricity storage options. Furthermore, this seminar will analyse whether the international hype of hydrogen is justified for the global energy transition and decarbonisation efforts due to the uncertainties of cost, energy, and technology efficiency as well as new geopolitical risks, vulnerabilities, and supply chain dependencies.

About the Speaker

Frank Umbach is the Head of Research of the European Cluster for Climate, Energy and Resource Security (EUCERS; previously part of King’s College in London from 2010-2020) at the Center for Advanced Security, Strategic and Integration Studies (CASSIS), University of Bonn/Germany; Senior Lecturer at the University of Bonn; Adjunct Senior Fellow at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at the Nanyang Technological University (NTU) in Singapore; and international consultant on international energy and climate security, raw material supply security, geopolitical risks (management), cyber security and critical (energy) infrastructure protection (CEIP), and security policies in Europe/Eurasia and Asia-Pacific. Moreover, he is NATO-consultant on energy and climate security since 2012 and regular presenter at official high-ranking NATO-conferences; author of more than 600 publications in more than 30 countries worldwide, several books and contract author of the Geopolitical Intelligence Service (GIS), Liechtenstein since 2011. He is also author of the United Nations study: “Strengthening Energy Security and Building Resilience in the Asia–Pacific”, United Nations – Economic and Social Committee in Asia and Pacific (UN-ESCAP), Bangkok 2021, 150 pp. as well as of the book essay “Erdgas als Waffe. Der Kreml, Europa und die Energiefrage” (“Natural Gas as a Weapon. The Kremlin, Europe and the Energy Question“), Edition.foto-TAPETA_Berlin 2022, 123 pp.