Key industry players and thought leaders gather at the Energy Korea Forum 2015

Tesla’s JB Straubel and IEA’s Samuel Thomas were among the speakers.

The Energy Korea Forum 2015 was held today at the Korea International Exhibition Center (KINTEX). The event was hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), and was organised by the Korea Energy Agency (KEA) as part of the 35th Korea Energy Show. The keynote speeches and panel discussions discussed various topics with the theme “Future to be Shaped by New Energy Industry.”

KEA president Byun Jong-rip opened the ceremony and said that while climate change remains to be one of the biggest challenges that the energy industry has to face, it also promotes a growing momentum for change. He noted that the Korean government has been implementing some changes in order to overcome the various market challenges. “In Korea, we promote innovation as well as private industry-led market mechanisms for the energy industry,” he added.

Among the speakers at the forum were JB Straubel, chief technical officer and co-founder of Tesla Motors; Samuel Thomas, senior program manager of the Energy Efficiency Division of the International Energy Agency; Guihyun Lee, director of new industry promotion division at MOTIE; Ha Tae Seok, vice president of LG CNS hi-tech business division innovative energy business unit; Park Junseok, CEO of Begins; and many more.

One of the highlights was the keynote speech by Tesla’s JB Strabuel, where he discussed about the trends in the electric vehicle (EV) industry. He noted that the industry is currently showing increased interest in the EV industry because of technological improvements and declining costs.

Straubel also said the lines are beginning to blur between infrastructure and products. The energy industry also needs to be prepared as the EV industry gains traction in the market. “Today, there are around 70,000 EVs that represents almost 5GWh of stored energy connected to the grid. But it does not take much imagination to look into the future, where there are one million EVs and 70GWh of batteries. This is a huge opportunity just waiting to be addressed.”

After the keynote speeches by Straubel and Thomas, the forum was divided into two tracks. The first one tackled “Strategies to Create Future Energy Business Models” while the second track was about “Direction of Policy and Technology Development Powered b Changes in Energy Paradigm.”

The Energy Korea Forum was held concurrently with the Korea Energy Show’s exhibition, where thousands of booths were set up and several exhibitors showcased their products and solutions. During the exhibit, various companies signed MoU’s to formally launch their partnerships. There was also a “Biz Matching” zone, where buyers held meetings with the exhibitor of their choice.

The exhibit will be open until November 20.