Working for a smooth transition

Siemens Energy is the first company worldwide to receive the certification from TÜV SÜD for the “H2-Ready” power plant concept.

– Targeting to meet ambitious climate goals. This will contribute to a reliable and affordable power supply in the long term, says Jonas Tavares, Key Account Manager at Siemens Energy, Subsea.

1. What are you doing right now?

There any many interesting activities running in parallel in the industry and at a swift pace.
Amongst those, I can see myself involved in listening carefully to our customer’s needs and working together with them towards a smooth transition into a net zero decarbonization for offshore electrification. Of course, we have some challenges ahead of us for this to happen, which means understanding the regulations, going through previous lessons learned and optimizing solutions where possible, and then looking into sustainable growth.

2. What are the biggest challenges and opportunities in the future?

I truly believe that some technologies involving offshore electrification and connection with renewable energy will have to continue to evolve at a fast pace in order to achieve some of the expected decarbonization targets by 2030.

The “side effects” of Covid into the industry, including the supply chain, still represents a real challenge to everyone. Digitalization, decentralized energy, and processes migrating to subsea have disrupted the market by promoting accelerated technology adoption and we can see the positive effects already.

In terms of opportunities, I believe that this is the right moment to move from a theory-driven approach to a more data-driven approach. This involves a further step into digitalization via collaborative platforms using metadata and digital twins which will collect data, analyze it, check how potential changes would affect related areas, and then move into execution.

3. How is Siemens Energy working to achieve net zero emissions by 2050?

The possibility of having a centralized offshore power hub, running on gas turbines that are already migrating into alternative sources of energy (carbon zero targets) is already a reality at Siemens Energy. We are also supporting power from shore solutions where subsea transformers and switchgear can be used to power offshore structures. Moving forward, the potential interconnection with Floating Offshore and Solar Energy is also part of the technology “toolbox” that is taking shape within the market. Siemens Energy is the first company worldwide to receive the certification from TÜV SÜD for the “H2-Ready” power plant concept and this will contribute to a reliable and affordable power supply in the long term.

Subsea Connectors, providing power & controls for subsea applications. Cutting edge technology enabling electrification for subsea processing. Illustration: Siemens Energy.

4. What keeps you awake at night with regards to the energy transition?

I can see a fast migration into new sources of energy and technologies, and I trust that in the next two years the industry will make more progress than we did in the last ten years! Having said that, I always remind myself that these technologies have to be competitive in a way that helps our customers and the population of other regions to have an affordable and clean source of energy.

Not only that, but it shall also promote education and new opportunities for those who are eager to be part of this process so, although we have a long path ahead of us to cover in a short time, it is possible as we have already taken the first steps.

5. What do you think will be the most valuable thing about being a member of Energy Valley?

I have participated in previous workshops and the interaction between the participants is fantastic. The sense of collaboration and purpose to what we are building together is clear and experiences gained from the last meetings are second to none.
I would strongly recommend academia and other industries to join the events and interact with our colleagues.

6. Is there any book that has inspired you in the way you lead?

Homo Deus: a brief story of tomorrow by Yuval Noah Harari. This is a very interesting book that explores science, artificial intelligence, and other related topics.

But I have to say that my biggest inspiration is my father who was a very wise man in his simplicity. We tend to overcomplicate things a lot, both in our personal lives and also in some of our daily routines, and I think simplicity is the key to everything that we do. Both in the industry and in personal relationships.

7. Which Energy Valley member do you want to pass the baton on to? 

Maria Peralta, Executive Vice President Subsea at Aker Solutions.

Thank you, Jonas!