2007 MIT Manufacturing Summit
Welcome and Opening Keynotes
The Carbon and Energy Intensity of Manufacturing
Prof. Timothy Gutowski
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
In this presentation we will review the carbon and energy intensity of manufacturing at several scales; global, national and at the industry, product and process level. We then outline and evaluate four strategies to reduce one’s carbon footprint: 1) sell services, 2) change fuels, 3) use off-sets, and 4) improve efficiency. From this we identify new opportunities for manufacturing firms.
Grand Research Challenges in Photovoltaics
Prof. Tonio Buonassisi
Professor of Mechanical Engineering
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
It is commonly agreed that the cost of solar energy must decrease by at least a factor of three for widespread substitution of fossil fuels. Economies of scale alone may not be sufficient to deliver this cost reduction in a timely fashion; process, product, and manufacturing innovation is required to guarantee the successful adoption.
Two research groups at LMP are solely dedicated to solar energy development, led by Prof. Ely Sachs and Prof. Tonio Buonassisi. This presentation will focus on their research towards reducing the cost of solar, highlighting the grand research challenges to bring solar energy of age.
Energy at a Crossroads
Dr. Paul Sheng
Partner, McKinsey and Co.
This presentation provides some context as to why energy matters for engineers. The world’s energy supply-demand balance has gone through several eras in the last century, but today we are facing real uncertainties around the future. Hydrocarbon resources are still plentiful, yet constrained to fewer and riskier resource holders. Oil and gas demand has risen 1.5% p.a. and will likely accelerate to 2% p.a. over the next decade, but will be driven by the growing economies of China, India and the Middle East. Capacity shortages have created price volatility and fly-ups, yet scalable alternatives are scarce.
The implications of global energy markets on manufacturers (and engineers) will be significant over the next decade. We are likely to see increased resource nationalism, a shift of manufacturing centres, developing manufacturing economies competing for security of supply, and pricing mechanisms liked to the carbon agenda. These factors will impact not only the future cost of products, but where we choose to manufacture and how we design in energy efficiency. There will also be a need to apply greater engineering discipline and manufacturing thinking to the future exploration, development and production of hydrocarbons.
Biography
Paul Sheng is a partner in McKinsey’s London office and leader of its European Petroleum practice. Since joining McKinsey in 1998, Paul has served a number of energy clients (Majors, National Oil Companies, E&P Independents, Oilfield Services, and Private Equity) on business strategy, organisation and operations. Prior to McKinsey, Paul was Associate Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of California, Berkeley where he taught manufacturing and product design from 1991 to 2000. He also served as Faculty Mechanical Engineer at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and Senior Project Engineer within the Advanced Manufacturing Staff of General Motors Corp.
Paul received his S.B., S.M. and PhD degrees (all in Mechanical Engineering) from MIT.
