VoltaChem Annual Event 2023, Recap

25-04-2023 | Event report

On Thursday 13th April, the much-anticipated VoltaChem Annual Event took place at Delta Hotel in Vlaardingen. The event was attended by over 100 professionals from the energy, chemical and equipment supply industry. All eager to gather insights on the latest trends within VoltaChem’s program lines: Power-2-Integrate, Power-2-Hydrogen and Power-2-Chemicals. Speakers and attendees alike engaged in fruitful discussions and presentations, exploring the future of the energy transition and the role of electrification in industry.

The morning sessions of the conference featured three distinguished speakers who shed light on various aspects on power-2-X ‘The Next Level’. The opening remarks by Peter Melis, followed by a Q/A with Martijn de Graaff, Program Director VoltaChem, served as a perfect prelude to the thought-provoking discussions that ensued. Arij van Berkel, Senior Vice President at Lux Research, then proceeded to provide a comprehensive outlook on the low carbon economy, with a focus on the latest trends, business models, and technological advancements. His insights were particularly valuable for the audience looking to gain a deeper understanding of the current state of the industry and its future prospects.

After a brief coffee break, Paul Iske, CFO of Brilliant Failures, offered a refreshing take on innovation, emphasizing the role of failure in fueling progress in a rapidly evolving, complex business environment. Finally, Mareike Beckers, Senior Process Engineer at Ørsted, shared her deep knowledge of the Power-2-X Business, underscoring the importance of this emerging field in bridging the gap between renewable energy and efficient energy storage. Overall, the morning sessions were an excellent blend of theoretical insights, practical examples, and visionary concepts, leaving the audience inspired for the rest of the program.

 

One of the sessions in the early afternoon, was the Technology Poster Session. Overall, the Technology Poster Session at the VoltaChem Annual event was an excellent opportunity for participants to glimpse into the latest advancements of the VoltaChem program. The posters presented were not only engaging and informative, but they also showcased how these technologies can be utilized for sustainable development and clean energy efforts.

  

Parallel to the Technology Poster Session, a unique networking opportunity called "Brainpower Matchmaking" was offered to attendees. The premise of this activity was to bring individuals together with similar professional interests and challenge them with POWER2X trivia questions while allowing them to connect and exchange knowledgeThis engaging and fun format allowed attendees to establish new connections with potential collaborators, spark engaging discussions, and learn from each other. Overall, the brainpower matchmaking set-up was a success, boosting the overall experience of the VoltaChem event and facilitated experts matchmaking.

During the afternoon breakout sessions, the topic of Power-2-Hydrogen took center stage, inspired by Eugene’s McKenna’s (Johnson Matthey) presentationWhile the potential for Power-2-Hydrogen is undoubtedly exciting, the question of how to speed up the process and accelerate widespread adoption was top-of-mind for many participants. Another key topic of discussion was the importance of addressing safety issues in order to secure necessary permitting. Attendees brainstormed innovative solutions for improving electrolyser design and manufacturing to achieve the upscaling needed for mainstream use. Overall, the discussions were productive, thought-provoking, and left participants eager for more progress in the field of Power-2-Hydrogen.

  

Parallel to the hydrogen session, the other half of the attendees filtered into breakout sessions to dive deeper into Power-2-Chemcials specific topics. In this session Markus Oles from Thyssenkrupp gave an inspiring presentation to be followed by breakout sessions. The group delved into important considerations such as where we will source carbon from in the future and what barriers we may face in utilizing it. With their minds buzzing with insight and curiosity, the group left the breakout session pondering the priority topics to tackle in the roll-out of CCU value chain by 2035 in the Netherlands and EU.

Once again we would like to thank our keynote speakers: Arij van Berkel (Lux Research), Paul Iske, Mareike Beckers (Ørsted), Eugene McKenna (Johnson Matthey) Markus Oles (Thyssenkrupp). We also want to thank all participants for their contribution making the VoltaChem Annual Event a big success and a testament to the growing interest in the electrification of industry.

Click here to see all images of the event.

Click here for our technology posters.

Download here the presentation of Arij van Berkel.

Download here the presentation of Mareike Beckers.

Download here the presentation of Eugene McKenna.

Download here the presentation of Markus Oles.

 

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