23rd IERE Forum: Accelerating the Carbon-Neutral Energy Transition for Industry & Territories

Singapore is an important & dynamic innovation hub where Asia meets Western countries. Cultural diversity (and challenges!) are pivotal to co-create the myriads of solutions needed to accelerate the Energy Transition.

Why did ENGIE participate in this Forum?

Energy is present in every aspect of our daily lives. At ENGIE, we strongly believe that there is no miracle technological solution, but a collection of technologies which can complement each other to enable us to reach our ambitious climate targets of staying well below 2 degrees. 

It is however difficult to predict what impact game changing technologies, that will for sure pop up in the coming years, will have on the zero-carbon energy transition. We will need many such emerging ‘sustainable’ technologies; there is not one that has the potential to overcome the challenge alone. The challenge is too large to overcome alone as a person/company/sector, we must collaborate. ENGIE is committed to co-develop these emerging technologies using pilots and demos with partners to help the much needed acceleration. The partnership with IERE is one of those that will make the energy transition a reality.

Event highlights

During 48h very intense hours, attendees from 15 different countries were offered several plenary sessions and workshops, on a variety of topics around energy.  The Forum was concluded with a visit of the ENGIE Singapore Lab on the island of Semakau island (REIDS SPORE)

Among the sessions, let’s mention Caroline Guyot, Head of ENGIE Factory South East Asia leading an inspiring session on how start-ups can help accelerate the transition. She presented 4 start-ups, accelerated or developed within ENGIE Factory: Pyxis active in  passenger boat electrification,  SunGreenH2 working on high efficient PGM free H2 production,  Seaborg Technologies proposing Small Modular Nuclear Reactors on ships/barges and PHNXX Power offering offering independent microgrids for renewable energy power generation and sustained energy efficiency.

Thomas Baudlot, CEO of Energy Solutions APAC and Country Head Southeast Asia ENGIE enthusiastically explained why South-East Asia is such an interesting place for the energy transition, particularly because of the speed at which manufacturing plants (e.g. semi-conductors, pharma, ...), data centres and needs for cooling in urban centres is developing in the region! Research and innovation being the main driver for accelerating this development with partnerships being an essential key for success!

Greg Tosen, IERE Chair Emeritus & Head Of Faculty The Da Vinci Institute, coming from South Africa, wisely pointed out the geo-political changes over the last decade and how these resulted in systemic consequences for electricity utilities! He explained how over the last three centuries, the world went through three energy transitions but that an Ecosystem/System Environment resilience capsule exists. 

Last but not least, Subbu Bettadapura from Frost & Sullivan presented IERE’s 2023 Technology Foresight which highlighted the disruptive technologies to be expected in the 2030s. This exhaustive exercise started from 100 technologies shortlisted after in depth analysis to 20 technologies spread over 6 categories : cutting edge technologies, power generation, common technologies, transmission & distribution, strategic management as well as retail customers.  

Key figures

About 40 presentations from 15 countries/regions: 

- Asia: Japan, China, Singapore, South Korea, Taiwan, Hong Kong, India 

- Europe: Germany, France, Belgium, Holland, Finland & UK 

- Other Regions: South Africa and Canada 

Companies : 

- Asia: IERE, ENGIE, CRIEPI , CLP, Kansai EPCO, TPC, A*Star, PHNXX, Pyxis, SunGreenH2, Seaborg Technologies, 1PointFive, CEPRI, Chubu EPCO, PuroEarth, KEPCO, Nanyang Technological Univ., EPRI, Frost & Sullivan

- Europe: ENGIE, E.ON, KU Leuven, Sirris, EnBW, RWE TI, Vaisala, ICSC, Grenoble INP

- Other Regions: IERE, Powertech Labs

Key take aways

• Carbon Neutral Energy Transition for industry and territories is a reality but we need to  accelerate. Innovative solutions are numerous and some more daring than others, some of these innovative solutions are occurring at a global scale. We all have a part to play in this acceleration. Solutions are various and depend on local reality and needs.  
• The good news is that in just 2 years, a lot of technologies matured with demonstration or prototype technology share reduced from 50% to 35% as put forward in IEA’s last report 2023 Net Zero Roadmap. 
• ENGIE is committed to co-develop these emerging technologies using pilots and demos with partners to help the much needed acceleration.

A special thank you to the members of the Scientific Committee for their continuous support in making this Forum very interesting: IERE, E.ON, CRIEPI, KEPCO & ENGIE. 

N.B. Reports and presentations available on IERE’s website.