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30 September 2026

Jorge Frade explains how variable renewables are reshaping the electricity mix

Jorge Frade explains how variable renewables are reshaping the electricity mix

The Department of Materials and Ceramics Engineering (DEMaC) at the University of Aveiro and CICECO hosted a lecture by Professor Jorge Ribeiro Frade on September 29, 2026, on the topic "The rising share of variable renewable electricity". The talk was organized by Andrei Kovalevsky.

A retired DEMaC lecturer, Jorge Frade is a national reference in the field of materials science and engineering for energy. Focusing on the growth of electricity in final energy consumption, with statistical data from the world, the EU27, and Portugal, the lecture addressed the correlations between GDP and per capita electricity consumption.

The electricity mixes of different countries and regions were also analyzed, with the distribution between renewables (hydroelectric, wind, solar) and other sources (nuclear, natural gas, coal), using statistical and real-time information. The potential of renewable sources was illustrated with the Global Solar Atlas and the Global Wind Atlas.

Another central theme was the variability of hydroelectric, wind, and solar power production and ways to address it: the trade of electricity between countries as a way to overcome gaps between supply and demand; the contribution of hydroelectric power, including pumped-storage hydroelectric plants, to balance the intermittency of wind and sun; and, finally, the industrial-scale storage of electricity in batteries and the role of electric mobility.

Speaker's Background

Jorge Frade holds a degree in Chemical Engineering from the University of Coimbra (1978), a PhD in glass technology from the University of Sheffield (1983), and a habilitation in Materials Science and Engineering from the University of Aveiro (1995). He has been a full professor since 1996 and a member of the Scientific Council of the University of Aveiro. In 2005, he received the Scientific Excellence Award from the Foundation for Science and Technology.

He has published over 300 articles, received approximately 7,000 citations, and has an h-index of 45. He has coordinated 20 funded projects (nine European) and supervised 20 postdoctoral researchers and 15 doctoral students. Throughout his career, his interests have evolved from glass and crystallization to energy conversion and storage materials: solid oxide fuel cells, oxygen separation membranes, low-CO? iron production technologies (such as the European ULCOS and SIDERWIN projects), heat storage, thermoelectric materials, and the integration of renewable energy sources.

See the photos: https://photos.app.goo.gl/uLpUiXmzvtJwGXg36 

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