Christer Björkqvist

Christer Björkqvist is the Managing Director and founder of ETN Global, a network bringing together gas turbine users, OEMs, suppliers, service companies, and the R&D community. ETN’s mission is to accelerate research, development, and demonstration of safe, secure, affordable, and dispatchable carbon-neutral energy solutions by 2030, implemented globally by 2050.

Prior to the foundation of ETN in 2005, Christer Björkqvist was the General Manager of the association of European Manufacturers of Gas Turbines for five years. In his current position, he has successfully coordinated several research projects and established a platform for technology advancement, knowledge sharing, development of best practices and standards, and influencing the policy and legislative framework. Christer Björkqvist is also an elected member of the international Electric Power Committee and the Executive Chair of the ASME Turbo Expo 2022.

Panel 1: A regional approach to energy decarbonization

Wednesday, January 17th
11:30 – 13:00   HG F 30 | Audi Max

Panelists: Christer Björkqvist (ETN Global), Torsten Buddenberg (Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA Ltd), Fayette Collier (USG), Xuan Lv (SPIC, State Power Investment Company), John Gülen (Bechtel)
Chair: Zuozhi Zhao (Siemens Energy)

Panel Abstract

20 years ago, the perspective on key technologies for energy decarbonization, e.g. Solar PV, Wind Turbines, Batteries and eCar, was quite different than today’s view. Following the same logic, around year 2050 by when most countries are targeting to achieve carbon neutral, the view on key technologies which would enable the energy decarbonization would be quite different than today’s snapshot.

In this panel, we have five panelists from Europe, US, China and Japan. During the first 45 minutes, each panelist will share the overview of energy transition status and plans to achieve energy decarbonization from that region/country or industry (e.g. Aviation), followed by the status check on the key technologies and the focus for future enabling technologies. Then each panelist will share the individual efforts from his organization/company to help mature the technology readiness level as well as the cost position of the key technologies.

During the 2nd half of the panel, the panelists would discuss on how industries and institutes could work together to help address this global issue, given today’s geo-politics and macro-economic situation.

Panel 2: Technological, regulatory and economical challenges in the hydrogen value chain

Wednesday, January 17th
15:40 – 17:00   HG F 30 | Audi Max

Panelists: Christer Björkqvist (ETN Global), John Gulen (Bechtel), Francis Bainier (GTRgaz), Oscar Mene Castiñeiras (Linde)
Chair: Renaud Le Pierres (Meggitt)

Panel Abstract:

Hydrogen is one of the most spoken topic of late when considering Net Zero and how to decarbonize existing and future energy systems and propulsion: only in 2023 tens of events directly related to Hydrogen took place around the worlds between workshops, conferences and exhibitions covering these topics.

However Hydrogen use is not new given Jules Verne described it as an inexhaustible source of fuel in his 1894 novel “Mysterious Island”, or more recently when John Bockris first coined the term “Hydrogen Economy” in 1972 to describe a future in which we use hydrogen as an alternative to fossil fuel and to date these visions did not fully realise.

This panel will cover many challenges be it technical, regulatory and economical that need to be addressed to properly deploy a hydrogen economy as an ultimate replacement for the current fossil fuel energy model which we know is incompatible with the global warming threat while fuelling geopolitical and associated economical instabilities.