Sustainable Industry

According to the IEA, almost a quarter of global direct CO2 emissions comes from the industry sector. Which processes actually cause such emissions and how can we reduce or even eliminate them? To get an understanding of what can and needs to be done, we will visit highly efficient industrial sites, as well as sectors that are just at the beginning of the road ahead.

 

Offshore Wind Innovation – Renewable Power from the German Coast

By the end of 2019, Germany counted 25 fully operational offshore wind energy projects and the installed transmission capacity in the North Sea added up to more than 7 GW. The joint side event from the Association of German Offshore Wind Farm Operators (BWO) and TenneT will give an overview on existing projects and future developments providing insights both from a transmission system operator and offshore wind farm operators.

Programme:

09:00 am: Offshore Grid Connection Systems in the North Sea (TenneT)
09:30 am: Current Status of Offshore Wind in Germany (BWO)
10:00 am: Discussion

Following TenneT Virtual Vision Tour until 1 pm.

You can register under: info@bwo-offshorewind.de

Ambitious climate targets and the new order of geopolitics

The global energy transformation driven by renewables will have significant implications on the geopolitical realities. To the extent that renewable energy reduces demand for oil and gas and increases energy independency of states, there will be significant geopolitical consequences: The energy transition is about to speed up through increased ambition to reduce C02 emissions by a number of states and regional entities. The European Union has committed itself in December 2019 to reach climate neutrality by 2050 and adopted the European Green Deal to pave the way for the road ahead. CO2 pricing schemes, coal exit plans and hydrogen strategies have considerably increased in numbers. At the same time, forward leaning energy transition policies were met by fierce opposition in some countries adding to polarization in societies and threatening governance on global commons.

Rentier states that still rely on fossil fuel exports and do not adapt to the energy transition will risk losing their influence and facing socio-economic consequences in the transformation process. Therefore, a number of major oil-producing countries are setting targets to increase the proportion of renewables in their energy mix.

The more fossil fuels will be replaced, R&D as well as critical resources e.g. for batteries will be a key success factor in the transition process and will become a new means of dependencies between states.

The session will highlight how countries are adopting to these developments and what could be a new pattern for the world map of geopolitics.

Transforming industry for a green future

The industrial sector is both a global economic powerhouse and a major emitter of greenhouse gas emissions: industry emits about 28 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, of which 90 percent are CO2 emissions. In order to accelerate the global energy transition, industrial sectors must be decarbonised. Key areas of transforming industries are heavy industries such as steel, cement and chemicals, where renewables can be put to direct use. Another area is the interplay with the grid, where the industrial sector has huge potential for flexibility through demand-side management (DSM).

The energy transition as a competitive advantage

The energy transition is a millennium project with enormous benefits and opportunities for national economies as well as companies. Setting the course for the energy transition will create employment, guaranties low and stable energy prices and therefore offers attractive opportunities for companies with high energy demand. Through this structural transformation of the energy transition national economies create invincible locational advantages. National initiatives to support the private sector in Research and Development will additionally support a positive structural change. The session shall give an impression of the economic benefits for countries transitioning their energy production from conventional to renewable energies and present examples of companies supporting the transition of the energy system.