IRENA’s Innovation Week 2023: Renewable solutions to decarbonise end-use sectors – GWC Mag

At the end of September IRENA held a four-day event “Innovation Week 2023: Renewable solutions to decarbonise end-use sectors” in Bonn, Germany. A wide range of speakers discussed tangible solutions to decarbonise energy intensive sectors such as transportation, buildings and industry, informed by first-hand project experiences and supported by insights from IRENA’s in-depth analyses. Topics included direct and indirect electrification, green hydrogen, steel, chemicals, EV batteries, critical materials, demand side management and storage, data driven decision making, sector coupling and more. Cartoonists from Visual Harvesting were there to record the sessions, a very impressive feat of drawing live and in real time to capture the salient discussion points and main messages, which we present below (you’ll need to zoom in on some of the cartoons to see everything). Enjoy!

Day 1: Direct Electrification (Renewable-powered solutions)

High level dialogue: Innovation for the energy transition

Participants…

Roland Roesch, Director, Innovation and Technology Center, IRENA

Francesco La Camera, Director-General, IRENA

Nawal Al-Hosany, Permanent Representative of the UAE to IRENA

Elizabeth Press, Director, Planning and Programme Support, IRENA

Amani Abou-Zeid, Commissioner for Infrastructure and Energy, African Union Commission

Philippe Henry, Vice President and Minister of Climate, Energy, Mobility and Infrastructure, Walloon Region

Kadri Simson, Commissioner for Energy, European Commission

Kaleb Udui Jr., Minister of Finance, Palau

Siva Gunda, Vice Chair of the California Energy Commission

Power systems of the future: Infrastructure requirements for widespread electrification

Participants…

Yan Huafeng, Chairman, CEPRI

Asami Miketa, Head Transition Planning and Power Sector Transformation, IRENA

Bo Li, Director of International Affairs, CEPRI

Norela Constantinescu, Head of Innovation, ENTSO-E

Kristian Ruby, Secretary General, Eurelectric

Luis Cunha, Board Member, EU DSO Entity and Director, EDP

Annegret Groebel, President, CEER

Wenpeng Luan, Advisory expert, CEPRI

Ninghong Sun, Team Lead of System Planning, TransnetBW

Sylvie Tarnai, Chief Strategy Officer, EnergyPool

Electrifying road transport

Participants…

Arina Anisie, Analyst – Renewable Energy Innovation, IRENA

Siva Gunda, Vice Chair of the California Energy Commission

Daniel Bowermaster, Senior Programme Manager, EPRI

Gilles Dillen, Senior Manager – Foreign Investments, Renewable Energy & Cleantech, City of Amsterdam

Luis Cunha, Board Member, EU DSO Entity and Director, EDP

Henrik Engdahl, Director, Electromobility Business Development, Volvo Trucks

Michael Mohnhaupt, Board of Directors, The Mobility House

Gregory Poilasne, CEO, Nuvve

Jan-Peter Sasse, Regulator E-mobility and distribution grid, BNetzA

Electrifying heating and cooling in buildings

Participants…

Juan Pablo Jiménez, Analyst, IRENA

Yoichi Fujita, Technical Researcher, Energy Conservation Technology Dept, New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO)

Thomas Nowak, Secretary General, European Heat Pumps Association

Matthias Grapow, Vice President Business Development & Digitalisation, MAN ES

Ezzeddine Jradi, Chief Transformation & Business Excellence Officer, Emicool

Stefan Moser, Head of Unit – Buildings and Products, European Commission

Kazuyoshi Nakano, Senior Research Scientist, Central Research Institute of Electric Power Industry (CRIEPI)

Day 2: Indirect Electrification (Decarbonising hard-to-abate sectors)

Walking the last mile of the energy transition with green hydrogen

Participants…

Francisco Boshell, Head Innovation and End Use Applications, IRENA

Deger Saygin, Industry Programme Lead, OECD

Alicia Eastman, President , Intercontinental Energy

Gokce Mete, Global Hydrogen Lead, South Pole

Ulf Bäumer, Head of Innovation Centre, Thyssenkrupp Nucera

Donal Cannon, Head of Regional Representation for South Asia, EIB

Norela Constantinescu, Head of Section Innovation, Entso-E

María Jaén, European Hydrogen Research Leader, EPRI

Francisco Maza, Hydrogen Director, REPSOL

Mark van Stiphout, Deputy Head of Unit – Research, Innovation, Digitalisation, Competitiveness at DG Energy, European Commission

Solutions to decarbonize the iron and steel sector

Participants…

Luis Janeiro, Team Lead – End Use Sectors, IRENA

Andrew Purvis. Director, Sustainable Manufacturing

Samuel Flückiger, Head of EU Climate Policy, thyssenkrupp Steel Europe

Christopher Gusek, Head of Steel Technology, H2 Green Steel

Robert Jan Jeekel, Head of Europe Institutional Affairs, ArcelorMittal Europe

José Noldin, Chief Executive Officer, GravitHy

Solutions to decarbonize the chemical and petrochemical sector

Participants…

Francisco Boshell, Head Innovation and End Use Applications, IRENA

Florian Ausfelder, Head – the Energy and Climate Department, Dechema

Lars Boerger, VP, Strategy and Long term Development, Renewables and Polymer Chemistry, Neste

Martijn de Graaff, Program Director, Voltachem

Rosella Di Virgilio, Head of Opportunity Analysis and Strategy Report, Versalis- ENI

Dharik Mallapragada, Principle Research Scientist, MIT/DC-Muse

Joerg Unger, Senior Vice President – Low Carbon Emission Technologies & Projects, BASF

Youth & Innovators Hub

Participants…

Nawal Al-Hosany, Permanent Representative of the United Arab Emirates to IRENA

Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General, IRENA

Sajith Wijesuriya, National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL)

Takurou N. Murakami, National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology

Adekoyejo Kuye, Co-founder and Managing Director, KAMIM Technologies Limited

Ghida Ismail, Board Member, Sustain The World

Natashsa Louise Jones, CEO, Metris Energy

Augusto Facundo Diaz, Co-Founder / Head of Projects, HD Photovoltaics

AbdulRahman Fahmy, Consultant, IRENA

Clara Neppel, Senior Director European Business Operations, IEEE Technology Centre

Anastasia Kuskova, CEO, Sirius

Suzana Fred Munuo, CEO, Gilsun Technologies

Peace Olalekan Bello, CEO, Chemotronix Ltd

Ioan-Dacian Jurj, Cofounder, Renergia

Riccardo Toxiri, IRENA

Solutions to decarbonise the shipping and aviation sectors

Participants…

Pierpaolo Cazzola, Director – European Transport and Energy Research Center, ITS UC Davis

Carlos Ruiz, Programme Officer – Innovation and End-use Sectors, IRENA

Tianfu Zhang, Chief Scientist – Green Power Conversion, State Power Investment Corporation

Maisarah Abdul Kadir, Associate Programme Officer – End-use sectors and roadmaps, IRENA

Bernd Hackmann, Team Lead – NDCs, LTLEDS and sectoral mitigation actions, UNFCCC

Karl Hauptmeier, Managing Director, Norsk e-fuel

Emile Herben, Director – Product Management & Certification – Clean Ammonia, Yara

Bruno James, Head – New Energy Business Development, Airbus

Nelson Mojarro, Head – Innovation and Partnerships, International Chamber of ShippingFuture materials for EV batteries

Participants…

Luis Janeiro, Team Lead – End Use Sectors, IRENA

Michalis Christou, Senior Expert, JRC, European Commission

Francisco Boshell, Head Innovation and End Use Applications, IRENA

Maximilian Fichtner, Professor, Helmhotz Ulm/KIT

Srini Godavarthy, CEO, Li-metal

Rashi Gupta, CEO, Vision Mechatronics

Maroš Halama, Assoc. Professor, University of Kosice/Inobat

Marcos Ierides, Innovation Consultant, Bax & Company

Grid evolution: Transforming energy landscapes in developing countries and SIDS

Participants…

Simon Benmarraze, Team Lead – Technology and Infrastructure, IRENA

Reji Kumar Pillai, President , India Smart Grid Forum

Chavan Dabeedin, General Manager, Central Electricity Board of Mauritius

Sofja Giljova, Policy Advisor for Energy Transition, GIZ

Kaleb Udui Jr., Minister of Finance, Palau

Kader Diop, Conseiller Technique, ANER-Senegal

Claire Nicolas, Senior Energy Economist, Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), World Bank

Ambrosio Yobánolo del Real, Vice-Chair UNFCCC Technology Executive Committee

Geopolitics of the energy transition: innovation in critical materials

Participants…

Elizabeth Press, Director, Planning and Programme Support, IRENA

Leonardo Buizza, Lead – Supply Chains & Materials Analyst, Energy Transitions Commision

Lucilla Crexell, National Senator, Argentina

Indra Øverland, Research Professor, NUPI

Sjarah Soede, Deputy Director – Inclusive Green Growth Department, Deputy Director, Inclusive Green Growth, MFA, Netherlands

Closing remarks and takeaways

Participants…

Felicia Jackson, Editor, Sustainable Growth Voice

Roland Roesch, Director, IRENA Innovation and Technology Center, IRENA

Peter Schniering, Founder & CEO of Future Clean Architects

Eleanor Webster, Head Secretariat Mission Innovation

Day 3: Innovation Sessions & Workshops

Demand side management and storage – Case Studies

Participants…

Arina Anisie, Analyst – Renewable Energy Innovation, IRENA

Juan Pablo Jimenez, Analyst, IRENA

Siva Gunda, Vice Chair of the California Energy Commission

Emanuele Taibi, General Manager – Italy, Field

Sylvie Tarnai, Chief Stratey Officer, Energy Pool

Michael Villa, CEO, SmartEn

Hideyuki Umeda, Director for International Policy on Carbon Neutrality, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Japan

Songsong Chen, CEPRI

Daniel Bowermaster, Senior Programme Manager, EPRI

Gregory Poilasne, Co-Founder, Director, Chairman and CEO, Nuvve

Francisco Boshell, Head of Innovation, IRENA

Enabling data driven decision making – The Energy Innovation Metrics Hub (Mission Innovation)

Participants…

Eleanor Webster, Head of Mission Innovation Secretariat

Ingrida Murauskaite-Bull, EC JRC Project Officer & MI INSIGHTS Module Manager

Aliki Georgakaki, Project Leader, Energy Transition Insights for Policy, EC JRC

Francisco Boshell, Head Innovation and End Use Applications, IRENA

Suzy Leprince, Energy Data Officer, IEA

Eleanor Webster, Head of Mission Innovation Secretariat

Ann-Kathrin Lipponer, IRENA Associate Programme Officer & MI INSIGHTS Officer

Evangelos Tzimas, Head of Unit, EC JRC

Meeting of the IRENA Collaborative Framework for High Shares of Renewables

Participants…

Hideyuki Umeda, Director for International Policy on Carbon Neutrality, Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, Japan

Gauri Singh, Deputy Director-General, IRENA

Francisco Boshell, Head Innovation and End Use Applications, IRENA

Gurbuz Gonul, Director Country Engagement and Partnerships, IRENA

Martin Hartvig, Senior Engineer, Energinet, Systemperspektiv

Bruce Douglas, CEO, Global Renewable Alliance

Rudolf Zauner, Senior Innovation Manager, Verbund

Alex Oudalov, Power Systems of the Future Manager, Hitachi Energy

Anser A. Shakoor, Managing Director, GE Energy Consulting, Europe

Chigozie Nweke-Eze, CEO, Integrated Africa Power

Vanessa Interiano, Permanent Representative to IRENA, El Salvador (ONLINE)

Day 4: Innovation Sessions & Workshops

Participants…

Asami Miketa, Head Energy Transition Planning and Power Sector Transformation, IRENA

Angela Mutsotso, Associate Professional – Clean Energy Transition Scenarios, IRENA

Christopher Gross, GET.Transform Team Leader, GIZ

Martin Hartvig, Senior Engineer, PhD, Energinet

Claire Nicolas, Senior Energy Economist- Energy Sector Management Assistance Program (ESMAP), World Bank

Kaare Sandholt, Chief International Expert, China Energy Transformation Programme, Energy Research Institute of the Academy of Macroeconomic Research (ERI)

Paul Mbuthi, Senior Deputy Director Renewable Energy, Ministry of Energy, Kenya

***

Cartoons by Visual Harvesting

For details of IRENA’s Innovation Week click here

To contact IRENA’s innovation team email innovation@irena.org