CERAWeek 2021

The COVID-19 pandemic has led to more disruptive changes in the energy sector than any other event in recent history. In this sense, the crisis also offers opportunities. We have a unique opportunity to accelerate the energy transition worldwide. We must now join forces to quickly bring the economy back on track for recovery and, at the same time, align it sustainably and with a view to climate protection.

The foundation of the energy transition is increasingly driven by digitalization and the Internet of Things (IoT). The transformation from analog to digital exposes the energy industry to cyberattacks that could upend the promise of a more efficient, sustainable and clean energy future. Securing the benefits of the energy transition requires a new, innovation-based architecture placed at the center of this digital ecosystem with accessible AI-based cybersecurity technologies and partnership models to deploy these solutions across industrial operating environments.

Hydrogen is not just a hype, but a central pillar of deep decarbonization. It is key to reducing and eventually eliminating carbon emissions across sectors of the economy that have proved difficult to decarbonize: the chemical, iron and steel industries as well as transportation, especially long-haul traffic.

Artificial Intelligence can be an important driver of decarbonization, since it allows the continuous improvement of power plant operations towards higher efficiency and less degradation – and thereby help to save fuel and decrease CO2 emission significantly.

With green hydrogen we can tap into the large underutilized potential for renewable energy of many regions in the world – both wind and solar. By exporting this renewable energy in the form of liquid fuels like e-methanol or e-gasoline we’re making good use of natural resources. A vital step in this direction is taking place with a demonstration project in Chile starting on the road to a methanol future. When operational in 2022, it will become the world’s first completely integrated plant producing almost climate-neutral e-fuel.