In addition to sessions which dealt with electricity and gas markets in Greece and SE Europe as well as hydrocarbon exploration and production in the East Mediterranean, this year the conference covered a number of new areas which are considered key for the further development of the energy sector and are already attracting syrong interest and funding worldwide.
Hence, of prime interest was the session which dealt with Artificial Intelligence, digitalisation and energy transition. Moderated by Costas Theofylactos, an energy engineer and Secretary General of IENE, the session included presentations by Professor George Baltas, Director of the Marketing Research Laboratory at the Athens University of Economics and Business and by Prof.Nancy Alonistioti, of the Department of Informatics & Telecommunications at the University of Athens. Mr.Tasos Tossios, an independent energy consultant and head of IENE’s “Innovation in Energy” programme, contributed to the lively discussion which followed the above presentations. The session examined the range of AI uses in industry and energy while specific examples from RES applications were showcased.
Professor Pandelis Biskas, from the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering of Aristotle University of Thessaloniki raised the issue of Small Modular Nuclear Reactors ( SMR’s) and how, under certain conditions,they could be used in Greece in order to provide much needed base load electricity as higher RES penetration to the electricity grid is anticipated in the years ahead. The modular nature of SMR’s, their relatively small installed capacity and the considerable opportunities they offer for local added value in their supply chain make them a viable proposition for a country like Greece, he noted.
The subject of offshore wind was also discussed at length by a panel of experts which included Mikelis Chatzigakis CEO of Hexicon Power,Dr. Alexandros Kariotakis, head of Strategy for New Energy Ventures at Terna Energy, a wind pioneer in Greece, Iakovos Koulouris,senior associate at KG Law firm which specialises in energy sector projects and Ms.Flora Kararathanasi from HEREMA, the offshore licensing authority. Apart from the critical spatial planning and licensing issues, which are a priority as Greece is trying to develop this part of wind applications, the panel discussed the difficulties involved in the development of the supply chain. It was generally agreed that there is certain urgency involved if Greece is to manage to mount the first offshore wind installations by the target date of 2030
Last but not least the conference explored the scene in the area of CCUS where a number of projects,all of them supported by EU funding, are in various stages of implementation in Greece. The most advanced such projects include the development of a complete Carbon Capture and liquefaction facility by the Titan Cement Group and the conversion of depleted oil deposits at the Prinos field in northern Greece by Energean, the operating company. As Dr. Nikos Koukouzas, Director of Research at EKETA and Visiting Research Fellow at IENE pointed out, the Institute is now in the process of carrying out a detailed cost benefit analysis of a typical CCUS hub in Greece, following a previous road map study which it completed last year.
In the closing session of the conference, which was expertly moderated by the Deputy Chairman of IENE, Mr. Christos Dimas, the forthcoming COP 29 event in Baku, Azerbaijan was discussed with the contribution of the Azeri Ambassador to Greece, HE Mr. Arif Mammadov. The other panel members included Ambassador (a.h) Michael Christides, Diplomatic Councillor of IENE and Mr.Antonis Mountouris, Group HSE & Sustainable Development Division Manager at Helleniq Energy.
Before the close of the conference by the Chairman of IENE Mr.Costis Stambolis, Mr.Nikos Sofianos, Member of the Institute’s Executive Committee and Head of the RES committee, presented the conclusions of the two day conference. As he noted the detailed conclusions as well as all the proceedings of the conference, in written and visual form,will be shortly available through the Institute’s web site and an announcement to that effect will be made in due course.
