scalable solutions take center stage at energy conference

Our lower carbon future depends on new technologies and deploying those innovations widely across industries and geographies.

That was the key message from Jim Gable, president of Chevron Technology Ventures (CTV), at this year’s Future of Global Energy conference in Houston, Texas.

While speaking about the challenges and opportunities amid the energy transition, Gable stressed the need for investments in scalable technologies.

Gable cited the International Renewable Energy Agency’s claim that $131 trillion worth of investments will be needed to achieve net zero goals by 2050 as well as global consulting firm McKinsey and Company’s assertion that an additional $3.5 trillion is needed in annual spending.

“That’s an amazing amount to get to net zero,” Gable said. “That is where innovation can be particularly helpful. … How we scale technology and how we can take technology from the laboratory to the field is really a focus for companies like Chevron.”

CTV was launched in 1999 to identify and integrate externally developed technologies and new business solutions. It works with a range of early-stage companies and their investors to access important new technologies for Chevron.

Large-scale deployment is always top of mind at CTV and Gable urged others to follow suit.

“To scale efficiently, early on you need to be thinking beyond the pilot, about how you’re going to jump to full deployment should the pilot succeed,” he said. “You need to design the pilot well and with the long-term in mind. What questions do you need to answer in the pilot, both technically and commercially, to address the potential concerns that the deployment decision maker will have?”

This year marked the third annual Future of Global Energy conference and the third for which Chevron has been the title sponsor. The three-day event offered opportunities for community engagement, discussions on innovation and technology and how to fund the energy transition.