A deeper understanding of tomorrow’s energy systems and how these can tackle climate change is increasingly important. All carbon-neutral energy sources are required, and this course describes various such technologies, their advantages/disadvantages and their interdependencies. You will be able to understand how these technologies work and how they contribute to some of the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals.
General information
The course is an elective interdisciplinary course worth 7.5 ECTS which is not included in any other educational program. The course stretches over an entire year. Each theme is given on a 4-week study cycle, each representing 25 hours of in-class and out-of-class activities. The in-class activities are organized on Friday afternoons.
The course covers eight broad themes:
• Energy and transport systems
• Bioenergy and power-to-fuel
• Hydropower technology
• Wind power technology
• Solar power technology
• Nuclear power technology
• Batteries, fuel cells and electrolysis
• Environmental economics and energy policy
The course is a flipped course which means that self-paced learning elements are provided on each theme, followed by teacher-led interactive sessions promoting active learning. By applying the learned concepts on practical examples, you will develop an in-depth understanding of the various technologies.
Each course module is structured in a similar manner:
- Some self-paced online preparatory work (pre-class activities) amounting to ca. 7 hours per module. This typically includes studying some teaching materials, watching some short video lectures and answering online quizzes, among other things.
- 3 interactive sessions per module organized on Friday afternoons and representing in total 18 hours of work per module. Those hours include both in-class and post-class activities. One needs to attend at least 2 interactive sessions per module onsite at Chalmers to pass the course (substitution tasks will be provided to compensate for missing onsite attendance).
Each module thus represents ca. 25 hours of work. A module is spread over a period of 4 weeks.
There are 8 course modules, thus representing in total 200 hours of work. The entire course stretches over the entire academic year.
For more information, please contact: Prof. Christophe Demazière.
You may also contact any of the other teachers involved in the course: Assoc. Prof. Maria Grahn, Prof. Håkan Nilsson, Dr. Sara Fogelström, Prof. Anders Hellman, Assoc. Prof. Björn Wickman and Prof. Sonia Yeh
Prerequisites
The course is open to all 2nd and 3rd year students (BSc level). Other attendees could also be, e.g., MSc and ERASMUS students. The course is first and foremost directed to students learning engineering. Basic knowledge in thermodynamics is advantageous.
How to apply
You make your course selection at universityadmissions.se (or antagning.se for corresponding webpage in Swedish). Read more here.
For all other persons, apply through this form (https://forms.office.com/e/EXTrVEmDrY).
Details
Teacher: Christophe Demazière
Course dates: The course stretches over an entire year, study period 1-4, starting in September 2025
Credits: 7.5 ECTS (Basic level), (MTS-course)
Course code: TRA355
Application deadline: May 6-20, 2025