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TARGETING A CARBON-NEUTRAL FUTURE
NINA DUSPER SUŠIĆ, President of the Board of Hitachi Energy Balkans Cluster
Targeting A Carbon-Neutral Future
Headquartered in Switzerland, Hitachi Energy is present in the region through its Balkans Cluster, which encompasses Serbia, Croatia, Kosovo, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Albania
The region is certainly well on its way to becoming greener and we are looking forward to driving and supporting the energy transition in these dynamic times - assesses Hitachi Energy’s Nina Dusper Sušić.
Hitachi Energy has proven results in more than 140 countries and a wide range of smart solutions. What forms the basis of these solutions?
Hitachi Energy was established through Hitachi’s acquisition of 80% of the Power Grids Division of ABB in 2020. Headquartered in Switzerland, its employs around 38,000 people in 90 countries and generates business volumes of approximately $10 billion. Our smart and innovative solutions are based on over 230 years of combined experience and continuous investment in research & development, where over 3000 engineers work on a daily basis.
We have already broadened our energy market reach and portfolio into new growth areas beyond the grid, and we’re energised and motivated by our shared goal of accelerating a carbon-neutral future – in which electricity will form the backbone of the entire energy system.
Over the past year we’ve come to realise how much inclement weather, earthquakes, pandemics etc., can have a negative impact on the availability of electricity. Do you have a solution to that?
Hitachi Energy has solutions for both short-term and longer-term crisis management. Our solutions for mobile and modular substations offer an immediate solution for power transmission in areas that have sustained damage – they can be
The main challenges facing all countries are the predictability of the supply of power from renewables and the stability of the grid, given this underlying predictability
trailer-mounted, fully mobile, supply all voltage levels, can be connected to bridge damaged infrastructure and ensure power supply continuity for affected areas. Our battery energy storage system (BESS) is a longer-term solution that strengthens grid resilience, reduces energy costs and represents a large backup power source, while improving the efficiency, reliability and user availability of the power system.
Around a dozen years ago, renewables accounted for just 9.5% of all electricity generated in Japan. A decade later, they’d doubled, while the goal is for solar, wind, geothermal, hydro and biomass energy to become the country’s main sources of electricity. Could our region take that same road?
Our region has already started developing in this direction and, given the recent establishment of the legislative framework for renewable energy sources, we are expecting implementation to accelerate. The legislative framework, however, as much as it is a condition sine-qua-non, is not sufficient in itself for the green transition to succeed: we need to take into account the functioning of the ensemble of interested parties: producers, consumers, transmission grids and energy trading markets. The main challenges facing all countries are the predictability of the supply of power from renewables and the stability of the grid, given this underlying predictability. Both producers and transmission companies have an interest in power being supplied, and the responsibility to ensure that it is, which implies a well-balanced grid. There are various solutions to ensure the achieving of both of these factors, such as a structured asset enterprise management system and digital software solutions. At Hitachi Energy we’ve developed several layers of solutions through our Lumada platform, each of which is adaptable and provides stakeholders with everything they need to optimise investments for the sake of higher reliability and improved performances of their managed assets, as well as ensuring grid stability for transmission and distribution companies.
