The Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs and the British Office Taipei co-hosted a series of “UK-Taiwan Energy Innovation Workshops” focusing on floating offshore wind, hydrogen and carbon capture, utilization and storage (CCUS) technologies from January 17th to 19th, 2022. Cheng-Wei Yu, Director General of Bureau of Energy, MOEA and John Dennis, Representative of the British Office Taipei gave opening remarks on the first day (17th) of the workshops. Governmental, academic and industrial representatives from both sides exchanged their views on the development and key issues of innovative technologies in the energy sector.
Reaching net-zero emissions by 2050 has become a common goal of most countries worldwide in response to climate change. The 26th UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) hosted by the UK in November 2021, featured several significant deals signed by world leaders, including the Global Methane Pledge. In response to the global trend towards net-zero, Taiwan has been actively driving the transition to a clean energy system and economy by introducing the Phase 3 of Offshore Wind and establishing Hydrogen Energy Promotion Alliance, etc.
“I am glad that these workshops proposed in the 3rd UK-Taiwan Energy Dialogue last July are held as planned and build a platform for strengthening our partnership with the UK. Countries worldwide are putting efforts to energy and net-zero transitions, and Taiwan is no exception. Taiwan government has been assessing the development of all kinds of innovative energy technologies. Floating offshore wind, for example, presents great opportunities for the wind power sector as the government plans to develop deep waters (over 50 meters water depth) after 2026. Many developers have started investing in floating wind projects, and I believe there are more opportunities for cooperation between Taiwan and the UK to jointly penetrate the Asia-Pacific wind power market in the future,” said Cheng-Wei Yu, Director General of Bureau of Energy.
“Energy innovation is hugely important as we transit to a net zero global economy, helping us to reduce the costs of decarbonisation, while bringing new opportunities to develop world-leading industries and create new green jobs. These workshops are an exciting chance for experts from the UK and Taiwan to share their ideas and experience and to build new partnerships for future collaboration,” said John Dennis, Representative of British Office Taipei.
The first workshop, which focused on the key issues of floating offshore wind like policy landscapes and foundation and subsea engineering, was held in hybrid style on January17th, with participation of both Taiwan and UK scholars and experts, including Professor Mao-Hsiung Chiang from National Taiwan University, and Professor Lien-Kwei Chien from National Taiwan Ocean University, as well as participants from the Bureau of Energy, Taipei Representative Office in the UK, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), Ship and Ocean Industries R&D Center (SOIC), CSBC Corporation Taiwan, CECI Engineering Consultants, Sinotech Engineering Consultants, ORE Catapult, Carbon Trust, Renewables Consulting Group, Offshore Wind Consultants, Flotation Energy, JDR Cables, University of Strathclyde, Offshore Solutions Group, First Subsea, etc.
The second workshop on hydrogen was held virtually on January18th, which focused on key topics such as production and infrastructures, industrial utilization and transport solutions, and associated infrastructures. The CCUS workshop was held virtually on the third day on January 19th, which covered issues of application in natural gas processing and power stations, as well as long-term business models. Experts from both sides presented and joined panel discussions to share their views and experiences.
Sources:The Ministry of Economic Affairs