• CERAWEEK 2025 | March 10-14, 2025
  • CERAWEEK
  • March 10 - 14, 2025

Emmanouil Kakaras

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA

Executive Vice President, NEXT Energy Business

Professor Dr. Emmanouil Kakaras has been Executive Vice President NEXT Energy Business at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries EMEA since 1 April 2021. Prior to this role, he was Senior Vice President for New Products and Energy Solutions at MHI Group company Mitsubishi Power Europe since January 2018. Up until then he served as Vice President and Head of Research & Development at Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Europe since September 2012. His R&D activities mainly focus on flexible operation of thermal plants, on fuel cells and electrolyzers, the development of large-scale energy storage and the utilization of CO2. He is a member of the Board of Directors of EU Turbines. Professor Kakaras’ academic background is on clean energy generation technologies and since December 1991 he has been a Professor at the National Technical University of Athens, Greece. He has also been guest lecturer at the Universities of Warsaw and Tokyo. He participates as an external member in various working groups organized by the European Commission (CAG, Energy Committee), the Advisory Council of the Technology Platforms on Zero Emission Power Plants and on Smart Networks for Energy Transition as well as the Scientific Board of Industrial Associations (VGB, Rhein Ruhr Power, BDI). Professor Kakaras is also a member of several advisory committees of academic institutions (EASAC, Academy of Athens, EASE).

Sessions With Emmanouil Kakaras

Wednesday, 20 March

  • 08:30am - 09:00am (CST) / 20/mar/2024 01:30 pm - 20/mar/2024 02:00 pm

    Business Unearthed: The trillion-dollar frontier in solving climate challenges
    Climate & Sustainability

    This session ventures into the trillion-dollar frontier of addressing climate challenges through innovative business solutions. As climate change continues to escalate, the urgency to develop sustainable strategies has never been more pressing. In this session, we will delve into the dynamic intersection of business, innovation, and climate action, exploring groundbreaking approaches to tackle climate challenges while unlocking unprecedented economic opportunities.

Thursday, 21 March

  • 07:15am - 08:20am (CST) / 21/mar/2024 12:15 pm - 21/mar/2024 01:20 pm

    Hydrogen Hubs and Spokes: What will be the impact?
    Hydrogen

    Low-carbon energy hubs, including hydrogen and associated products, in conjunction with CCUS, have become a principal opportunity for scaling of hydrogen markets across the U.S., Europe and Asia (Japan, South Korea). How much can hubs be the main driver of hydrogen market growth globally?  Should scale be the main target in the short term? How does the linkage between hydrogen and CCUS in these hubs impact the scope for hydrogen market growth? 

  • 12:30pm - 01:00pm (CST) / 21/mar/2024 05:30 pm - 21/mar/2024 06:00 pm

    Unveiling the Latest Breakthroughs in Climate Change Mitigation
    Policy & Regulatory

    Although billions of dollars are being invested in new technologies, global GHG emissions continue to increase because growth in emissions from developing countries still exceeds the decline in emissions from OECD countries. The importance and need of technologies—existing as well as those on the horizon—is highlighted in every energy transition conversation. Wind, solar PV and batteries have made significant improvements in performance and cost over the last two decades. However, hydrocarbons still account for 80% of primary energy supply—just as was the case 30 years back. What are the most promising technological breakthroughs in climate change mitigation? What has been the impact of IRA and IIJA so far? What are the biggest barriers to scale-up? How is Gen AI transforming energy industry?