The issue of energy was once again on the agenda of another congress promoted by the Portuguese Association for the Development of Communications (APDC), the first following the outbreak of the pandemic. Reinventing with Technology was the slogan of the 30th Digital Business Congress, which was also reinvented after a year of interruption due to the constraints imposed on the organisation of major events, held in a hybrid in-person (in Lisbon) and online format.
“We need to act quickly”
Susana Quintana-Plaza was one of the guests at the APDC Digital Business Congress. In an edition dedicated to the reinvention of technology, the Galp executive in charge of the organisation's areas of Renewable Energy and New Business highlights the company's technological solutions and once again stresses the need to speed up the energy transition process
The Chief Operating Officer at Galp, Susana Quintana-Plaza, was a member of the panel that addressed the future of energy and spoke to Energiser during a break in the proceedings, highlighting three fundamental factors with regard to meeting the carbon neutrality goals set for 2050: “I see the future of energy in 3D: decarbonisation, digitalisation and democratisation”, she declared, adding that “digital tools are essential in the supply-consumption binomial. Today, the Internet of Things (IoT) provides us with a whole series of solutions to manage the energy system in an efficient manner, both at the business level and with regard to consumers, for whom the savings are significant as they will be able to produce what they consume”.
Within this producer-consumer scope, the executive underlines the role of Galp's most recent company, Energia Independente (EI), which provides the necessary technology to analyse and identify individual situations for the customised and optimised installation of solar panels in houses in line with the specific needs of their occupants.
SPEEDING UP THE CHANGE
The coronavirus crisis has forced the world into a “new normal” that has not been exempt from delays in the ongoing decarbonisation project. “We need to act quickly” was, therefore, one of the most repeated phrases at the APDC congress when addressing the future of energy. Susana Quintana-Plaza is in no doubt that the planet won´t wait and that Galp has a key role to play in this change, speeding up the rate of energy transition. The company´s high-technology green energy solutions have gained considerable prominence in just two years. In addition to the newly created EI, focused on solar (photovoltaic) self-consumption, the year 2019 marked the emergence of Flow, an entity geared largely to mobility and efficient fleet management. “Galp has generated vast momentum in this direction and today is far more than an oil & gas company. I am very proud of all we have achieved towards speeding up the transition process”, she concludes.
The challenge of the battery value chain
The success of electric mobility depends on the battery value chain, a current topic that faces several challenges. The most important thing, according to Susana Quintana-Plaza, is to make the chain sustainable, reviewing the entire creation and transport process: “If we want to have sustainable vehicles, then the entire production process needs to be ‘clean', reason for which it is essential that the battery value chain is located here, in southern Europe, and developed in accordance with European sustainability standards”.
Investing in solar
Last year Galp went from owning a residual 16 MW of renewables assets in Iberia to becoming the largest solar PV producer in Iberia. In parallel, the energy company has been building a world class renewables team with international experience that has continued to bring and develop top projects in Iberia with a pipeline adding up to 4.2 GW.