Around 20 alumni and guests gathered at IG Bank in Geneva on 29 February for an exclusive lunchtime energy debate with Michelle Robson, Senior Investment Manager with AP Ventures, one of the earliest and largest venture investors specialized in the hydrogen value chain.
A hydrogen investing expert, Michelle Robson serves as a director on the boards of Starfire Energy, HP Now, and Immaterial, and is board observer with Amogy and Hydrogenious LOHC Technologies.
She shared several key insights on the current state and future outlook for the hydrogen supply chain, including:
- The hype around hydrogen investing is over.
- Project implementation is lagging behind; less than 4% of the 440GW of announced capacity has reached final investment stage (FID).
- Advances in technology are required to debottleneck the hydrogen value chain.
- The supply chain must develop in parallel with supply and demand capacity.
- The two main drivers for the success of the hydrogen economy will be economics, where public subsidies play a major role, and regulation, which supports decarbonization.
- Regional and global differences in pricing and policies will open up opportunities for arbitrage, but also foster industrial protectionism.
The presentation was followed by a standup lunch during which attendees engaged in a lively discussion of the issues raised by Michelle’s presentation.
Speaker
Michelle Robson, Senior Investment Manager, AP Ventures
Organizer
Marco Montefiori, MBA’05J, INSEAD Energy Club Switzerland President