FRANCE – The expected growth of decentralized energy production was one of the topics discussed in Lyon by Gérard Mestrallet during the signing of a partnership agreement between GDF SUEZ of which he is the CEO and the Université Lyon I. Gérard Mestrallet took the opportunity to defend the law relating to energy transition.

As CEO of one of the worldwide leaders in energy production, producing 17.8 GW of renewable energy, with 80,000 employees and nearly €100 billion in turnover, the opinion of Mr Gérard Mestrallet has to be taken into account. For professionals in the HVAC industry, his very relevant and very articulate words on the impact that the energy transition will have on the HVAC industry should be respected.

The strong emergence of renewable energy, the growing importance of energy efficiency, the volatility of energy prices and new self-production solutions will revolutionise the role of traditional utilities. The field of energy will be increasingly interconnected and digital. One of the important consequences for the HVAC sector will be that self-generation and distributed energy will grow.

His presence in the Rhône-Alpes was an opportunity for Mr. Mestrallet to highlight the issue of innovation in the energy transition and cite the Rhône-Alpes region by example.

Rhône-Alpes is indeed a privileged territory in France and Europe for the development of energy innovations. There are “institutional” innovations such as CNR or the Savoy power plants, but also numerous technical innovations. Mestrallet mentioned many ongoing programs in solar, waste recovery, heating networks, electrical vehicle charging and biogas from agricultural waste.

He also touched upon the energy efficiency projects in which GDF SUEZ are involved such as in Roanne, the military camp of Valbonne and at Volvo Trucks. The company also works with GreenLys, an innovative smart grid project made possible by the miniaturization of equipment and progress of digitalisation. These projects illustrate the abundance of opportunities and constraints that energy transition generates.