This seminar is part of the Climate Cookies & Coffee series of the Belgian Climate Centre. This is a new seminar series launched by the Belgian Climate Centre to foster knowledge-sharing, collaboration, and interdisciplinary discussion among climate researchers.
For the second edition, the Belgian Climate Centre will welcome Bart Vermang (UHasselt - IMEC) who will talk on: 'Solar energy at the heart of the energy transition'.
Solar energy is Earth’s most abundant energy resource, and photovoltaic (PV) solar power has now become the cheapest power source ever recorded. The journey began in 1839 when Edmond Becquerel discovered the operating principle of a PV cell, and in 1883, Charles Fritts produced the first functioning cell. In 1954, the first practical silicon solar cell emerged at Bell Labs, sparking decades of industry advancements in both efficiency and cost reduction. Today, PV solar energy is hailed as the “new king” of global power markets, with the International Energy Agency (IEA) reporting PV’s expansion as the fastest in two decades and projecting an even steeper growth curve ahead. The exceptionally low cost of PV solar energy now drives unprecedented global demand for renewables. This lecture will explore the history, evolution, and future of solar energy in the context of a fast-accelerating energy transition.
