Registration is required to participate in the technical visits. It is also possible to collect badges for the
conference at Finlandia Hall on 14-15 November.

Neste Porvoo refinery

Neste’s Porvoo refinery operations are located in the Kilpilahti industrial area, about 40 km northeast from Helsinki. Over the past ten years, Neste has transformed from a regional oil refining company into a global leader in renewable fuels and one of the most sustainable companies in the world. Neste is searching for new ways to reduce the amount of carbon released into the atmosphere, and to innovate circular solutions to reuse carbon again and again. The company helps transport and cities, as well as customers in the aviation, polymers and chemicals sectors make their business more sustainable. Neste wants to challenge the oil refining industry by offering increasingly clean fuel solutions and applications based on renewable raw materials. Therefore Porvoo also has two units producing renewable diesel. Production is highly automated and modern – the plants are among the most advanced in Europe.

The group will visit the area by bus and hear an innovation centric company presentation with refreshments.

SmartOtaniemi

Smart Otaniemi in Finland is an innovation ecosystem that connects experts, organisations, technologies and pilot projects. It brings the building blocks of a smart energy future together. The testing platform deploys digitalization and IoT in energy sector utilising the latest technology like 5G network. Smart Otaniemi is a place for innovating new business models for energy efficiency, renewable energy, smart grids, system flexibility and customer interface.

Smart Otaniemi show room, located in VTT premises in Espoo, gives possibility to deep-dive closely to Smart Otaniemi activities and pilot projects. The show room includes interesting and concrete demos from the piloting partners and gives an good insight of what’s going on in the smart energy field.

St1 Deep Geothermal  

The emission-free energy form of the future is found underground. St1 is drilling to a depth of around 6.5 kilometres in the bedrock under Espoo, deeper than ever before in Finland. The goal of the St1 Deep Heat pilot project is to build the first industrial-scale geothermal heat plant in Finland at Fortum’s heat plant in Otaniemi.  
Have a look how a geothermal heat plant is constructed. 

Helen

Visit to Helen’s (Helsinki Energy Company) Suvilahti Solar Power Plant with an introduction to Helen’s way towards carbon neutral future. The solar power plant is located in the Suvilahti district of Helsinki. The first solar power plant in Suvilahti operating according to the designated panel concept was commissioned in 2015 and was extended in April 2018.

The opening session will consist of introductory speeches given by high-level participants. This welcome session will be followed by a panel discussion on the policy context of the SET-Plan. The EU’s energy policy evolves under the umbrella of the Energy Union. The SET-Plan provides an important framework for promoting the Energy Union’s goals in the area of drive Research and Innovation (R&I).  Horizon Europe will drive R&I in order to support the clean energy transition while keeping our industry competitive and making sure that citizens are involved. Various speakers will address these issues from different perspectives, also with a view to their international dimension.

Advancing the development of renewable energy solutions is crucial for achieving the ambitious goals for emissions reductions under the Paris Agreement. Swift adoption of renewable energy solutions is key in developing comprehensive sustainable energy systems. Europe aims to be the world leader in developing the next generation of renewable energy technologies. The session will explore a wide range of renewable energy technologies.  The mix of renewables will be discussed in the context of the search for new approaches to strategic investment in R&I aiming to create competitive high quality value chains for new energy technologies to deploy in the global market.

Nuclear Innovations can enable the development of safe and sustainable nuclear energy solutions to meet the climate objectives for 2030 and beyond. Small Modular Reactors (SMRs) are gradually being developed towards demo versions in several countries. The main question today concerns licensing and how to integrate SMRs into energy systems. In addition to the conventional generation of electricity, SMRs can provide a climate-friendly solution for isolated energy systems, desalination and heat generation. Public acceptance of nuclear power is a crucial factor. Further development of SMRs requires emphasising new safety features related to siting, and global harmonisation of standards. The session will focus broadly on nuclear innovations, with some specific discussion of SMRs.

Electrification is the main trend shaping the future EU energy system, stemming from the need to decarbonise society and meeting climate policy targets. Clean electricity is also key to smart sector integration of the electricity, heating, transport and industry sectors, enabling deployment of clean energy solutions across the economy. Smart grids support the increase of intermittent energy in the system and make sustainable energy projects possible. They are also the cornerstone of the future system, along with demand-side flexibility solutions that provide stability to the system. Smart grids require secure networks, and cybersecurity thus plays an important role. This session will focus on innovations striving for electrification and smart sector integration.

The number of jobs in the renewable energy sector is growing fast: by 2030 it could rise to 24 million jobs worldwide. As regards energy and climate change, very important questions remain unsolved. Consequently, these millions of new jobs need to be filled with talented women and men. From the labour markets’ point of view, it is important to recognize the risks clean technology industries may face because of possible skills gaps and shortages. New jobs in non-fossil based energy industries require new skills and training. R&D&I work in the energy sector is also increasingly focusing on clean energy. To be successful in clean energy innovations, the best talents, women and men, are needed. The session will focus on questions about how to educate, empower and recruit the best clean energy talents.

The transition towards climate neutrality and the need to improve competitiveness are the key challenges faced by the European industries. Research and development can find cost-efficient solutions to achieving both of these objectives. There is a need to develop a diverse set of low-carbon technologies while ensuring that only climate-friendly and sustainable products are manufactured in the future. Cost-efficient clean energy solutions for industry are essential to avoid carbon leakage, to meet the objectives of a circular economy and to create new jobs in Europe. This session will present European industry examples of new technologies being deployed, leading to major advances in  mitigating climate change and improving competitiveness in a clean, safe, sustainable and affordable way.

If citizens would be empowered to use and create decarbonised and circular solutions, what would the world look like? What do we know about empowering citizens and how can we encourage everyone to take part in de-carbonizing our societies? This participatory session focuses on the point of view of citizens on the journey towards climate neutrality. The session is about exploring possibilities, seeing the bigger picture and identifying the gaps between reality and the desired future.

18.00 Busses depart from Finlandia Hall to the City Hall starting from 18.00

18.30-19.30 Welcome reception hosted by the City of Helsinki

• Helsinki City Hall, Pohjoisesplanadi 11-13, 00170 Helsinki

19.30 Short walk from City Hall to the dinner venue Restaurant Pörssi

20.00-22.30 Dinner at Restaurant Pörssi

• Restaurant Pörssi, Fabianinkatu 14, 00100 Helsinki

22.30 Busses from Pörssitalo to Clarion Hotel and Crowne Plaza

Private funding is key to solving energy technology development and deployment challenges. Public funding, including EU, national and even subnational funding play crucial complementing roles in enabling a smooth innovation chain, from basic research to commercialisation. The funding for European energy research and innovation is currently being reorganised, as Horizon Europe, for example, is preparing to take a major step forward. The Innovation Fund will give a massive boost to demonstrations of new clean technologies in Europe. In addition, these instruments can provide successful results only when combined with private and public national and subnational instruments. The session will discuss how to finance the transition towards net-zero emissions and a circular economy.

How would a climate neutral energy future look like? What kind of technologies, energy systems, finance and policies do we need to create it? In this session, participants with different kinds of backgrounds will gather in small groups to create visions for climate neutral and sustainable energy futures.  Participants will also identify possible paths to reach their vision focusing especially on the opportunities created by different energy technologies.

Liquid and gaseous fuels will continue to play a key role in the future. Advanced biofuels and hydrogen are crucial for meeting our climate objectives in non-ETS sectors such as transport. Heavy-duty vehicles, ships and airplanes, in particular, will still rely on liquid and gaseous fuels in the future. Advanced biofuels are already in common use in road transport, and they are also being tested on certain routes in air transport. In future, the so-called e-fuels could also become an interesting option. This session focuses on how to build up the industrial base and infrastructure for producing the fuels (and feedstock) of the future.

During this session, we welcome participants to have 30 minute 1:1 meetings.

This session will sum up the Conference outcomes and chart steps for the future. To conclude, Finland will hand over responsibility for organising the next SET-Plan Conference to Germany.