WEC 2024

Energy on centre stage

30 Apr 2024 - Sabina Griffith

The global players in the energy sector convened in Rotterdam last week for the 26th edition of the World Energy Congress (WEC).

Although ITER was not on stage itself, the project and the potential of fusion energy was part of the discussion at WEC 2024. One example was the panel about "Realising the full potential of nuclear" (photo) with moderator John Gorman, President of the Canadian Nuclear Association; Laurence Piketty, Deputy Director General of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission CEA; Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency; Naomi Hirose, Vice Chair of the World Energy Council; and Yu Jianfeng, Chairman of the China National Nuclear Corporation (CNNC).

The venue was well chosen, with Rotterdam being the largest seaport in Europe, its massive refineries, giant cranes and windmills shaping a spectacular skyline. With more than 100 million tonnes of crude oil transiting per year through Rotterdam, the city is also by far the largest petroleum trading place in Europe; it is also an important hub for natural gas.

Fossil fuels certainly still played a dominant role at this "big show," as John Gorman, President and CEO of the Canadian Nuclear Association, put it. But times are changing. And so while big oil- and gas-producing countries still dominated the scene in the exhibition hall of Rotterdam's congress centre, the talks on the various stages were clearly oriented towards transformative technologies, new clean fuels, the potential of artificial intelligence and the role of nuclear energy in the future energy mix.

The ITER exhibition booth at the 26th edition of the World Energy Congress in Rotterdam.

"I think I can say we have consensus that we need to accelerate the deployment of nuclear," said Rafael Grossi, Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency. A statement that was supported by the Deputy Director General of the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission CEA, Laurence Piketty. "But for that we have to build up a workforce," Piketty said. At the moment, CEA is training 3,000 young people per year. "In order to comply with the need, we will have to increase this number to 10.000 per year," she stressed.

ITER itself did not have a speaking role at this edition of WEC, but fusion is definitely appearing on the radar of the energy sector. Not only was fusion's vast potential and the important role of the ITER Project for the development of the technology brought up by panelists in several sessions, the interest in the project was also very tangible at the ITER exhibition booth.

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