POWERING, PRICING, PROVING: The innovation stack of the energy transition

Europe’s toughest Summer is a wake-up call. The energy transition is no longer an option; it’s our path to a more resilient and sustainable future. Clean power, carbon removal, and proof: The transition needs all three. Europe intends to buy carbon removals at scale from 2031, yet the capacity to supply them has to be built and financed now. The seminar will feature three panels, three strategic discussions on where innovation is actually happening across ocean energy, carbon markets and climate data. For founders, investors, industry and policy. Join us for the conversation - and stay for an authentic taste of Italy, with a selection of genuine culinary treats!PROGRAMPanel 1  |  Powering: the ocean’s next energy Norway built world-class capability offshore for oil and gas. The question is how much of it transfers, how fast, and what new ocean energy technology needs in order to reach baseload. Two innovation leaders on the same stage. Hilde Røed, SVP Climate and Sustainability, Equinor. How a major energy company reallocates capital and capability toward renewables without losing security of supply, and why affordability and reliable supply have to sit alongside decarbonisation rather than behind it. Thomas Due, Hydrakraft. Wave energy from prototype toward reliable baseload, what it takes to scale hard technology in Norwegian energy, and, as a venture investor and co-founder of Oslo Innovation Week, where capital is actually going. Panel 2  |  Pricing: market infrastructure for carbon Carbon is still largely bought bilaterally, through brokers and requests for proposal, at prices nobody else can see. The clock is the problem. The Commission has proposed that the EU purchase in the order of 250 million tonnes of permanent removals between 2031 and 2040, and removal capacity is not built in a year: plants have to be permitted, financed, constructed and certified. If the procurement infrastructure and the price signal only arrive in 2031, Europe reaches its own deadline with too little supply to buy. This panel asks what has to exist now, technically and legally, for that capacity to be financed today and deliverable then. Sean Cappone, CEO, ForestSync / Carbonomex. Why the carbon procurement market has to be started now rather than in 2031, and what changes when procurement moves from fragmented over-the-counter deals to a centralised public exchange: continuous price discovery, an open order book, and settlement that closes the gap between payment and delivery. Per Richard Olsen, CFO, Removr. Scaling direct air capture in Norway, the lead time between a signed offtake and a delivered tonne, and what it takes on the balance sheet to finance capacity years before the demand lands. Rebecka Kalnes, Carbon Centric. Capturing CO2 from waste-to-energy and industrial combustion with high biogenic content, from the plant already operating at Rakkestad to projects beyond Norway, and what still blocks industrial capture from reaching final investment decision while the largest announced buyer in Europe is five years out. June Snemyr, Partner, Advokatfirmaet Thommessen. The legal architecture a centralised carbon venue requires, transparency, accountability and compliance, and what energy and infrastructure project law brings to the design of a new market. Panel 3  |  Proving: what this summer changed Europe has just come through a summer that will shape policy for years. This panel takes stock of what actually happened, what the science can and cannot attribute, and what measurement and public understanding now have to deliver. Prof. Riccardo Valentini, University of Tuscia, CMCC, founder of Nature 4.0. What Italy and the rest of Europe experienced this summer and what attribution science says about it, how impact data turns into policy, and what it takes to build a technology company out of climate research. Timothy Lucie-Smith, Board member, Fondazione Sorella Natura. Turning a summer like this into public understanding rather than fatigue, and the role of environmental education and civil society in making climate claims trusted.