Simon Flowers

Simon Flowers was appointed Chairman, Energy for Wood Mackenzie in April 2016. He has led the commodities, global trends and corporate analysis research over the last few years and has been Chief Analyst since July 2015. He writes ‘The Edge’, Wood Mackenzie’s weekly thought-leadership insight on oil and gas. Simon re-joined Wood Mackenzie in 2010, and has over 20 years of experience in the oil, gas, utilities and mining sectors, working with the boards of many energy companies on strategic issues. His views on major industry issues are regularly sought by the media in Europe, the US and Asia. Simon was MD and Head of Pan European Utilities Research with BAML from 1998, covering the major European utilities. The team was Top 3 ranked in the sector for over a decade and Simon was involved in most of the major European privatisations in the sector during this period, including Enel, EdF and GdF. Simon was a No.1 ranked oil analyst with NatWest Markets 1992-98. Prior to joining NatWest, he had worked for Ord Minnett Securities in Sydney as an energy and mining analyst in the Australian market. Simon graduated in geology from the University of Edinburgh, and worked for two years as a geologist in the oil industry working in the Netherlands and offshore Egypt. Simon originally joined Wood Mackenzie in 1983 as an analyst in the North Sea and NW Europe Services.

Session Overview

Tuesday, 5 November

All Sessions

10:20

Strategic Conference Conference Room B 10:20 - 11:05

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Scalability: the technology path to energy transition

Many of the climate technologies needed to deliver decarbonisation targets already exist, but the path to scalability faces bottlenecks on multiple fronts including critical minerals supply, manufacturing capacity, skills and infrastructure. In addition to incentivising policy measures, like those included in the European Green Deal and the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act, energy companies have opportunities to accelerate scalability and the commercial viability across renewables, nuclear, and storage to meet energy transition targets.

In this Action Session, we will examine the scalability of technologies needed to drive the energy transition. We will hear from industry experts on what the best innovative solutions are and what investment and capital is needed to scale them.

Wednesday, 6 November

10:45

Hydrogen Conference ICC Hall B 10:45 - 11:45

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Green hydrogen: project developer perspective

High initial costs, scaling complexities, and fluctuating policy support make the financial landscape for green hydrogen projects challenging. For project developers, managing these factors involves not only innovative approaches to reduce production costs but also active engagement with governments to secure consistent and supportive policy frameworks. Additionally, securing early and reliable off-takers through strategic partnerships is crucial to justify the heavy upfront investments, ensuring that projects can transition from ambitious blueprints to operational realities. This pragmatic approach is essential for harnessing hydrogen's potential as a cornerstone of a low-carbon future.

Attendee insights:

Understand the challenges and opportunities of scaling green hydrogen projects from the developer’s perspective.