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session 2

Corporations pioneering resilient decarbonization

Setting the Scenery

ABB and Fortum will share their experiences of balancing the conflicting interests facing global companies in the present state of radical uncertainty. Their reflections will be commented on by professors from Aalto University and LUT University.

on stage

moderator

Sanna Syri

Professor at Aalto University, Department of Mechanical Engineering – Sanna Syri’s research focuses on efficient mitigation of climate change in large-scale energy systems, especially regarding international electricity markets and sustainable future district heat systems. She carries out research projects in national and European research programs.

panelist

Simo Säynevirta

Director, ABB – Simo Säynevirta has been awarded as CTO of the Year 2022 by Technology Industries of Finland, Business Finland, and innovation consulting company Spinverse. Säynevirta is leading the ecosystem collaboration for the ABB Veturi program Green Electrification 2035. Throughout his career, Simo Säynevirta has worked at ABB in several leadership- and project management roles in digitalization, product management, and product development, both globally and locally. He has also been an active member in the Finnish Hydrogen Cluster and led the sub-workgroup of the cluster where the hydrogen economy was visioned to become a new pillar for the Finnish exports and economy. Säynevirta is an active influencer in local and Europe-level forums addressing digital solutions.

panelist

Jero Ahola

Head of the Department of Electrical Engineering, LUT University – Jero Ahola is leading at LUT a multidisciplinary GREENRENEW research platform (Green hydrogen and CO2 for industry renewal). His research group demonstrated first in the world, in collaboration with VTT Finland, “Fuel from air” with SOLETAIR pilot in 2017 and “Food from electricity” with Neo-Carbon Food pilot in 2019. His current research interests include power-to-x processes, water electrolysis, solar PV applications, and energy efficiency electrical motor-driven systems. Jero Ahola is a member of the board of Finnish gas grid TSO Gasgrid Finland Oy.

panelist

Pasi Mikkonen

Vice President, Investments, Fortum – Alongside his role as Vice President of Investments at Fortum, Mikkonen has served as the Chairman of the Alliance’s Board since 2019.

panelist

Peter Lindgren

Vice President, System Drives, ABB – A Vice President in the System Drives division at ABB, Lindgren also serves as the Vice-Chairman of the Alliance’s Board, a position to which he was appointed in 2020.