This book seeks to provide a basis for reflection on energy at a global level. It synthesizes the main energy-related issues and requires no specialist knowledge, either of economics, engineering sciences or international relations. It comprises four main chapters, that discuss the major energy sectors (oil, natural gas, coal, synthetic hydrocarbons, electricity, renewable energy), the impacts of energy at macro-economic level, geopolitics and new issues related to energy, notably environmental aspects and successes of demand management policies. The book is aimed at industry professionals, (under)graduate students / academics, economists and policy-makers in the energy sector/field.
The main part of Renaud Gicquel's curriculum has taken place at École des Mines de Paris (Mines ParisTech), at its Centre for Energy Studies which he headed from September 1987 to January 2003. Named full professor in July 1986, he teaches applied thermodynamics, an introduction to global energy issues and energy system modeling.
He was formerly Special Assistant to the Secretary General of the United Nations Conference on New and Renewable Sources of Energy from April 1980 to October 1981 in New York and Chargé de mission for multilateral issues with the Service des Affaires Internationales of the Ministry for Research and Technology in Paris in 1982. From 1983 to 1985, he was Adviser for International Issues at the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS). In 1986, he was one of the two founders of the Observatoire Méditerranéen de l'Énergie (OME). From May 1991 to May 1994, he was Deputy Director of the École des Mines de Nantes (EMN) in charge of Research, and head of its Energy Systems and Environment Department.
He has published about 80 papers in the field of energy and two books:
- in 1992 "Introduction aux Problèmes Énergétiques Globaux" (Editor: Economica, Paris);
- in 2001 "Systèmes Énergétiques, Tome 1 et Tome 2" (Editor: Presses des Mines, Paris).
A revised edition and a third volume were published in 2009. Revised versions of these books have been translated into English and published by CRC Press:
- "Energy Systems, a new approach to engineering thermodynamics" in 2012;
- "Introduction to Global Energy Issues" in 2013.
Renaud Gicquel created the Thermoptim-UNIT portal (www.thermoptim.org) dedicated to a new paradigm for teaching applied thermodynamics, as well as various software packages, in particular Thermoptim, which is used by over one hundred and twenty higher education institutions worldwide.
May Gicquel graduated from École Polytechnique - ParisTech as an engineer in 2007 and subsequently joined the Corps des Ponts, des Eaux et des Forêts to become a highranking civil servant in France.
From 2008 to 2010, her work focused on emerging economies (mainly China and India). She first studied the impact of the arrival on the international scene of firms from these economies on the global automotive sector and on its industrial organization, in terms of innovation, partnerships, and business models. She also researched how these countries' extractive industries (coal, iron ore, aluminum, etc.) were restructuring to enter the global competition. The following year, she was based in Beijing to survey the development of electric and hybrid vehicles in China, taking into account the public policies that were being implemented, the new technologies under R & D, the growing number of industrial players, and the definition of Chinese standards and security tests.
In 2010, she returned to Paris to work for the French Ministry of Finance's Directorate-General of the Treasury (DG Trésor), where she was in charge of supervising the AFD group's strategy and finances for three years. AFD (the French Agency for Development) is the agency responsible for implementing most of the French bilateral official development assistance (ODA).
In 2013, she joined the Treasury's Eurozone Task Force, focusing on the European Stability Mechanism.
