On the evening of September 28, the scientific and cultural salon "Carbon Neutrality and Energy Revolution" was held in the USTC1958 cafe on the East Campus. This salon was lectured by Academician Bao Xinhe, President of China University of Science and Technology, Governor Wang Qingxian of Anhui Province, Member of the Standing Committee of the Provincial Party Committee and Minister of United Front Zhang Ximing, Secretary General of the Provincial Government Pan Zhaohui, as well as the general Office of the provincial government and relevant departments and bureaus, Hefei City and Xuancheng City, Hefei Institute of Physical Science of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other major leaders, academicians, experts, and heads of well-known enterprises, Shu Gequn, Secretary of the Party Committee of HKUST, Yang Jinlong, Luo Xisheng, vice presidents of HKUST, and scientists in related fields participated in the dialogue.

Bao Xinhe first explained the concept of "carbon neutrality" and proposed that the real problem is to ensure the growth of GDP and the total amount of energy is not reduced while reducing carbon, and it is also where scientific and technological innovation should play a key role. In order to achieve the goal of "carbon neutrality" as scheduled, the most important thing is how to adjust the industrial structure and energy structure with a clear time limit.

Focusing on "optimal use of fossil energy", "scale of renewable energy", "carbon dioxide emission and treatment", and "preparation, application and future of hydrogen energy", Bao Xinhe shared with the guests in four aspects:

First, two directions to improve the efficiency of fossil energy use: coupling of petrochemical industry and coal chemical industry, and directly developing new coal chemical industry on the basis of renewable energy.

Second, the main renewable energy used in the future is wind and solar energy, to make solar energy more widely used, the most important thing is to make full use of solar cells and solve the problem of energy storage.

Third, there are three ways of carbon dioxide conversion: catalytic, photoelectrochemical and electrochemical methods, which have different advantages and disadvantages, and some important scientific problems need to be further studied.

Fourth, as a clean energy, hydrogen energy can drive the development of many industries, and the biggest trend of hydrogen in the future should be in industrial engineering.

Bao Xinhe stressed that carbon reduction should be gradual and the balance between economic development and ecological environment should be maintained. Fossil energy is the foundation, renewable energy is fundamental, hydrogen energy replacement is the key, carbon dioxide treatment is the future. The ecological environment is important, but energy security, economic development and people's well-being cannot be forgotten.

The keynote speech ended in a round of applause, followed by the guests on the spot warm and straight to the topic of questions and exchanges. "What is Anhui Province's current direction of new energy?" "How can new energy be put on the grid?" "Is a regional power grid feasible?" "Is it possible to commercialize controlled fusion in the next 40 years?" A number of issues have led to ongoing discussion.

Governor Wang Qingxian, Director of the Department of Ecology and Environment He Zequn, Chairman of Conch Group Wang Cheng, Director of the Provincial Energy Bureau Feng Kejin, Chairman of Guoxuan Gaoxuan Li, Academician Shi Zhengrong of the National Academy of Technology and Engineering of Australia, Secretary of the University Party Committee Shu Gequn, former Deputy Director of the Standing Committee of the Provincial People's Congress Ji Kunsen, Chairman of Nextev Li Bin, Academician Li Jiangang, Secretary of the Party Committee of Hefei Institute of Material Science Huang Chenguang, Xuancheng City Mayor He Chunkuan and other more than 20 guests, have combined Anhui Province, industry and local demands and confusion to express their views.

The dialogue atmosphere was frank and warm, and the questions and exchanges were delayed for more than an hour than the original time.

At ten o 'clock in the evening, Secretary Shu Gequn summed up the experience of attending the salon. First of all, he thanked Bao Xin and the president for their wonderful report, and believed that this salon, which combines government, industry, academia and research, and brings together experts from many fields to discuss the common theme, is very valuable. At the same time, while waiting for the emergence of revolutionary technology, scientific researchers should make a difference and actively serve the national strategy. Shu Gequn said that the university will take the preparation of carbon neutral research institutions as the carrier, docking the reality and future needs of Anhui Province, and contributing to the implementation of the national "double carbon" strategic goal.

Science and Culture Salon is a high-end cross-border dialogue forum sponsored by the Science Communication Research Center of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, which was founded in May 2021, and this event is the third phase. The purpose of the Salon is to select important topics at the frontiers of innovation, science and culture, and lead with keynote speeches, to form cross-border exchanges on topics in a relaxed and open thinking environment, and to provide dialogue space for promoting the spread of new ideas, new explorations and new practices.

(Research Center for Science Communication, Chinese Academy of Sciences)