ENERGY MEETS INDUSTRIES 2025

SUCCESSFULLY TRANSFORMING THE ECONOMY AND SOCIETY AS ONE

“There are no participants here, only contributors” – this is how Drees & Sommer CEO Dierk Mutschler summarized the agenda of the third Energy meets Industries event at the outset.

The focus on 'doing' was intentional: Europe and the world's democracies are facing a mammoth double task: they must compete globally while managing the ecological transformation without abandoning democratic values.

On 22 and 23 October 2025, high-calibre experts and decision-makers from various industries and the public sector came together for the third time. And, for the first time, the next generation also had a voice! Once again, the focus was not only on current issues relating to the decarbonization of the economy and society. As in previous years, the main aim was to initiate tangible solutions.

Once again, panel discussions featuring interesting speakers, stimulating ideas, pertinent questions and concrete solutions demonstrated the will to move forward in challenging times in 2025. Many contributions this year showed that a functioning economy, an intact ecology and a vibrant democracy go hand in hand!

On the afternoon of 22 November, interested participants could choose to visit the Green Hydrogen Hub Hamburg (GHHH) project or take a tour of the Center for Applied Aviation Research (ZAL) to gain insight into its laboratories and research topics.

Following welcome remarks from Dierk Mutschler and Lorena Lüdorf, manager at Drees & Sommer, the evening lectures and discussions explored the technical aspects of the German and European energy transition in more detail.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Stefanie von Berg, State Councillor for the Environment, Climate, Energy and Agriculture, emphasized Germany's importance as an industrial location and Hamburg's pioneering role in climate protection. In view of climate change and other global challenges, such as fragile supply chains and political conflicts, rapid transformation is essential. In Hamburg, these issues are being tackled courageously and resolutely, as evidenced by the outcome of the recent referendum on even more ambitious climate protection targets. The important message is to take targeted action without falling into blind activism.

“What does the Hamburg industry need in terms of challenges, requirements and solutions?” This was the question posed by Jan-Oliver Siebrand, Managing Director Hamburg Chamber of Commerce's, in his keynote speech. He provided in-depth insights into the challenges and requirements of local and regional companies that are nevertheless interconnected on a global scale. A key finding was that: Climate protection and competitiveness are interdependent. A rapid and consistent transition to a climate-neutral economy enables earlier and higher payoffs. It also reduces the risk of bad investments and stranded assets.

After the joint dinner, concrete examples and possible solutions were also discussed. During the panel discussion, which was moderated by Drees & Sommer experts, Matthias Benz, CEO of the Zeppelin Group, Dr. Sebastian Bross, Chairman of the Executive Board Salzgitter Mannesmann Handel GmbH and Sabine Nallinger, Member of the Board of Directors of the Stiftung KlimaWirtschaft reported on progress in the transformation, as well as the obstacles and barriers that still exist.

Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Director General of the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, emphasized the need to develop a positive narrative — namely, the successful repair of our climate system through a combination of short- and long-term strategies and measures.

Emilia Zappe, representing the next generation, agreed with this view. She sent a clear message to the participants, expressing her desire for us to work together to achieve a sustainable economy well before the middle of the century. This includes not linking happiness and prosperity solely to the accumulation of material possessions!

The subsequent panel discussion on 'Best Practice in Industry Transformation' showcased successful real-life project examples. Participants used current construction projects to demonstrate how energy transition can be achieved and the current challenges overcome. The participants were Alexandra Decker, Member of the Board of Directors at Cemex and chairwoman of the CMA; Martin Stiegler, Vice President Siemens Energy Global GmbH & Co. KG and Martin Zappe, Program Manager at SALCOS Salzgitter Flachstahl GmbH.

The role of storage technologies in the energy transition is undisputed. But what about battery electric storage? This question was explored by the panel “BESS – The missing key to transforming the energy system or just a short-lived trend?”. Dr. Christian Bauer, Partner at Watson Farley & Williams, Markus Korsten, CEO and Co-Founder of Megalion Europe GmbH and Marianne Weitzel, Investment Manager at Voltwiese Power Holdings Limited provided insightful statements on the current rapid development and expansion of BESS, as well as possible scenarios for the coming years.

As the host city for this year's event, Hamburg has long been known as Germany's 'gateway to the world'. Consequently, the third panel focused on important port infrastructure, specifically in relation to energy generation and transportation. Ports and long-distance energy networks are both involved in the complex interplay of the ramp-up of the hydrogen economy. Under the title “Ports, Infrastructure, Hydrogen and CO₂”, Ralph Bahke, Managing Director of ONTRAS Gastransport GmbH, Jannes L. Elfgen, Head of Port Energy Solutions and MD of Renewable Port Energy Hamburg, Yannis Fischer, Head of Energy Hub Office at Wirtschaftsförderungsgesellschaft Wilhelmshaven mbH and Randolf Weterings, Program Manager Electrification & Hydrogen, Port of Rotterdam discussed the challenges and opportunities of this combination.

The panel discussion, “Municipal Transformation”, focused on the fact that municipalities play a key role in the energy transition. The panelists were Kirsten Fust, Technical Manager at Hamburger Energiewerke GmbH, Martin Graf, Executive Director at Energie Steiermark and Alexander Scholz, Head of District Heating at Mainova AG. The discussion covered the challenges faced in densely populated urban areas, the necessity of collaborative planning between industry and energy suppliers, and the importance of involving citizens from an early stage.

The concluding panel discussion focused on “Financing the Transformation”. Lars Bollensen, Partner at Luther Rechtsanwaltsgesellschaft mbH, Michael Henn, Global Head of Green Deal Infrastructure of Commerz Real AG, Dr. Alexander Hildner, Division Manager at DZ Bank AG and Gudrun Lindemann, Head of Nordics Energy and Infrastructure at Horváth examined financial and financial law issues.

During the afternoon, participants in the Energy meets Industries program had the opportunity to witness the progress of the energy transition first-hand on a tour of the Port of Hamburg. This experience was complemented by a keynote speech on the topic of “Overshoot Management” by Prof. Dr. Dr. h.c. mult. Hans Joachim Schellnhuber. The core idea is to extract CO₂ from the atmosphere by planting more trees. This CO₂ is then stored in our built environment, with wood replacing mineral building materials as the preferred construction material. In this way, our cities would effectively become gigantic CO₂ storage facilities.

Jens Fabrowsky, COO of NEURA Robotics, shared some exciting insights into the latest innovations in cognitive robotics and open ecosystems. The Neuraverse platform functions as a kind of “app store for robotics” and connects various components and players in the industry on a global scale. In addition, Lena Voß from Lumera Energy and Jörg Spitzner from DACMA GmbH presented their start-up concepts. Lumera is dedicated to optimizing the economics of battery storage, while DACMA is developing innovative systems for the direct air capture (DAC) of CO₂.

Drees & Sommer
Lorena Lüdorf
lorena.luedorf(at)dreso.com
+49 711 1317 1552