The CEO Corner

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The CEO Corner

François Jackow

Chief Executive Officer, Air Liquide

Low-carbon electricity, which can be generated through both renewable and nuclear sources, will play a key role in the energy transition. This will be a principal contributor to our line of low-carbon-content products, as well as shrinking our customers’ carbon footprints.”

François Jackow Chief Executive Officer, Air Liquide

Aiman Ezzat

Chief Executive Officer, Capgemini

Transitioning to renewable energy or relying on climate tech will not be enough. We need to rethink our design and production methods to do business in new and better ways.”

Aiman Ezzat Chief Executive Officer, Capgemini

Which climate technologies will play important roles in the energy transition?

François Jackow in discussion with Aiman Ezzat

François Jackow: One area that stands out is low-carbon electricity, which can be generated through both renewable and nuclear sources.

This will be a principal contributor to our line of low-carbon-content products, as well as shrinking our customers’ carbon footprints. I also think that carbon capture, utilization, and sequestration (CCUS) is going to be very significant, particularly since all the technological bricks required (be it capture, transportation or storage) have now been proven safe and economical.

These technologies can be applied as of now to very large quantities, and could, therefore have a huge impact across the spectrum of carbon emissions, notably in the hard- to-abate industries where no alternative exists.

It is, however, important to keep in mind that, while CCUS will help us meet our short-term objectives, it should not be used as an excuse to halt the development of other technologies. We need to continue the structural transition to renewable and circular processes.

Aiman Ezzat: The success of the shift to a low-carbon economy will depend heavily on technological innovations such as green hydrogen and CCUS, as well as the evolution of batteries.

I believe there will also be an important contribution from alternative fuels and remain confident that nuclear will play a critical role in the energy transition.

Solar is an underexplored arena; with advances in the efficiency of solar panels, solar energy could prove a key transition technology in many geographies.

However, as François highlighted, it is important to note that transitioning to renewable energy or relying on climate tech will not be enough.

We need to rethink our design and production methods to do business in new and better ways.

Read the full interview