Access to sustainable energy is one of the biggest challenges in the world, with significant consequences for both prosperity and the environment. KTH has extensive and leading research in the entire energy field that will be crucial in the coming decades to solve Sweden's energy supply. Breakthrough technologies play a particularly important role as they can contribute to reduced environmental impact through fossil-free energy production and resource efficiency.
Meet our researchers in Sustainable Energy Systems
Christophe Duwig
Christophe Duwig is a Professor of Process Technology at KTH Royal Institute of Technology, and his research focuses on how industrial processes can become more energy-efficient, resource-efficient and environmentally friendly. Christophe leads a research group specialising in simulating how fluids transport mass and heat and intensify chemical reactions. The research lies at the interface of fluid mechanics, heat transfer and reactor engineering. Using advanced simulations and machine learning, Christophe analyses complex flows and investigates how chemical reactions intensify heat transfer.
His research aims to develop innovative technologies for clean waste heat recovery, carbon capture, renewable heat and air purification, thus contributing to a more sustainable and energy-efficient industrial sector.
He collaborates with the Swedish industry, and his research finds applications in several areas, such as iron and steel production, cooling of high-voltage transformers, district heating and advanced cycles for future nuclear energy.
Pär Olsson is a professor of physics specialising in nuclear materials and is head of the physics department. Pär's research focuses on studying and developing materials that can withstand the extreme conditions that prevail in nuclear reactors. This includes research on new nuclear fuels, how radiation affects materials and how to create sustainable solutions for waste disposal.
Pär Olsson leads a research team that is working on developing the next generation of nuclear power. They are developing fourth-generation reactors that are much smaller, safer and more efficient than today's water-cooled reactors. These reactors are called small modular reactors (SMRs), and KTH is working to establish a research reactor that uses molten lead instead of water as a coolant. The goals are to produce fossil-free heat at high temperatures that can be used to decarbonise industry effectively and enable nuclear fuel reuse. The fuel we have dug up to date could last much longer and, in addition, the final disposal time can be reduced to a much more foreseeable time horizon than the hundreds of thousands of years that are talked about today.
