Total Energy Xu Zhonghua: Energy transition should be gradual and energy security should not be ignored

　　China News Service, September 13 (China-Singapore Finance and Economics Gong Hongyu) Helps to reduce low-carbon emissions and achieve the "double carbon" goal.

What role do energy companies play in the wave of global society's active transition to low carbon?

What challenges and opportunities do you face?

　　On September 7, the "Haichuang Forum 2022", co-sponsored by the Zhigong Party Central Committee and the Beijing Political Consultative Conference and undertaken by China News Network, opened in Beijing.

After the meeting, Xu Zhonghua, Vice President of Total Energy Asia R&D and Chairman of the Energy Working Group of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, accepted an interview with Chinanews.com.

Xu Zhonghua, Vice President of Total New Energy Asia R&D and Chairman of the Energy Working Group of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, was interviewed.

Photo by Li Peiyun

The interview transcript is as follows:

Chinanews.com: The theme of this year's Haichuang Forum is "Practicing the 'Double Carbon' Strategy to Gather Green Momentum".

How do you understand the two-carbon goal and green momentum?

Xu Zhonghua:

This theme is very in line with the current trend of energy development.

Energy companies are currently focusing on two directions.

One is energy security, that is, how to provide more and more enterprises and people with economical, green and low-carbon energy products and solutions; the other is to actively respond to climate change.

　　At present, the core business of Total Energy is still oil and natural gas, and at the same time, it is actively developing low-carbon new energy business.

We are still a "big emitter" of greenhouse gases for the time being, with nearly 40 million tons per year.

The "dual carbon" goal means that energy companies need to take active steps to combat climate change.

Total Energy has also set a detailed emission reduction roadmap, aiming to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050.

China News Service: Total has announced that it will achieve a goal of producing 1 million tons of green hydrogen per year by 2030, as well as about 30 gigawatts of renewable energy generation capacity.

In your opinion, what challenges do companies face in their energy transition?

how to respond?

Xu Zhonghua: A

few years ago, Total Energy was positioned as an international oil and gas company.

In the oil and gas industry, companies only need to focus on building advanced technologies for oil and gas exploration, development and utilization, as well as management capabilities for complex projects.

At the same time, oil and gas, as a bulk consumable, has a relatively balanced market supply and demand.

　　At present, the company is committed to transforming into an international comprehensive energy company.

Different from the oil and gas industry, the competition in the new energy industry is more intense, the technological progress and iteration are very rapid, the differences between enterprises are small, and the technical threshold is low.

Therefore, it is a new challenge for oil and gas companies in transition to re-establish their technological competitiveness and provide unique, mature, economical and reliable products and solutions.

　　In addition, from an overall perspective, the

Extreme weather in parts of this year has made people aware of the urgency of a low-carbon transition.

However, the transition should be gradual, and energy security cannot be ignored in the process.

For example, affected by geopolitical factors, Europe is facing a shortage of natural gas, and some countries have decided to restart domestic coal-fired power plants.

Chinanews.com: For Total, what is the status of the Chinese market?

How do you view Total's development in China over the years and the business environment in China?

Xu Zhonghua:

As a foreign company, Total Energy has entered the Chinese market for more than 40 years.

There is no doubt that in recent years, China has made great achievements in reform and opening up, and Total Energy's business in China has also experienced a period of rapid development.

So far, the group has invested in more than 30 companies in China, and has a wide range of business lines in the fields of oil and gas exploration and development, solar energy, lubricating oil and gas stations, charging piles, energy storage, and auto parts.

　　Reform and opening up is not only beneficial to China, but also provides broad opportunities for multinational companies to invest in China.

Multinational companies have also brought advanced technology, ideas and management experience to China.

As China's level of opening up continues to improve, the cooperation between multinational companies and China will continue to expand and deepen.

Chinanews.com: The realization of the "dual carbon" goal is inseparable from international cooperation and policy support.

What new progress is there in China-EU energy cooperation?

What are the new developments of Total's low-carbon innovation projects in China?

Xu Zhonghua:

Low carbon is the company's key investment direction in China.

From solar energy, wind energy, energy storage, and even charging piles, Total Energy is actively looking for suitable commercial projects and business partners in China, hoping to strengthen investment and cooperation in the field of new energy.

　　It is worth mentioning that Total Energy not only produces in China, but also innovates in China.

We are participating in the construction of the world's largest chemical chain combustion (CLC) technology industrial pilot plant in Chengdu, which can capture high-purity carbon dioxide while producing steam, greatly reducing the energy consumption and cost of carbon dioxide capture.

In the future, it can be widely used in various fields such as refining, power generation, thermal power, gasification, etc., to help low-cost large-scale emission reduction.

　　The project belongs to the China-EU Research Program on Pollutant Emission Reduction Technology, and is jointly funded by the Ministry of Science and Technology of China and the European Commission.

In addition to Total Energy, project participants include Tsinghua University, Dongfang Electric Group Dongfang Boiler Co., Ltd., Zhejiang University, Norwegian Institute of Technology and Industry (SINTEF), French Petroleum Institute, etc.

　　These innovative projects landed in China, but their results will serve the world's double-carbon experiments and benefit all mankind.

Chinanews.com: Where do you think the focus will be on the future direction of the transformation of energy companies?

Xu Zhonghua:

In the process of energy transformation and the implementation of the "dual carbon" strategy, the most important thing is to promote the implementation of a large number of high-quality carbon neutral projects.

　　In this process, there are two key points.

The first is to establish an open international cooperation ecosystem, involving talents from various fields including governments, enterprises, R&D institutions, think tanks, etc., to promote efficient energy transformation, and to pay attention to the downstream markets of specific industries to expand application scenarios.

For example, hydrogen energy is very hot in China, but before large-scale application, it is necessary not only to pay attention to the production and transportation of clean hydrogen, but also to the diversification of the application terminals of clean hydrogen. Everyone should work together to promote the incubation and growth of new industrial value chains. , it is very important to establish an international industrial chain ecosystem.

　　The second is to promote innovation.

This innovation is not only technological innovation, but also innovation in business models, policies and financial instruments.

Last year, the Energy Working Group of the European Union Chamber of Commerce in China, together with the China Electric Power Planning and Design Institute, established the China-EU Energy Innovation Platform, dedicated to promoting China-EU energy innovation and industrial cooperation, especially in the field of low-carbon new energy, including hydrogen energy, wind energy, and energy storage. and smart energy.

We should maintain an open and cooperative attitude, promote efficient energy transformation in innovative forms, and implement the "dual carbon" strategy.

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