The nightingales are long and the grass is green everywhere. Farewell to the winter in Shanghai, seems to have ushered in a warm and comfortable spring time. It is in this season that the global executive teams of Frederic Godemel and Schneider Electric have embarked on their first trip to China this year.

As the global executive vice president of Schneider Electric’s systems and services business, Goofy came with a clear goal – for the energy transformation that is in a great transformation, he hopes to observe closely through field visits and localized exchanges to understand the new pattern reshaped by the global energy transformation, especially the application status of China’s electric vehicle charging and energy storage technology.

1784-CF128 Recently, Goofy accepted an exclusive interview with First Finance and Economics, sharing his views on the energy revolution, the current challenges facing energy development and opportunities in China, as well as the emerging circular economy.

The global energy transition is in its second phase

The deep integration of digital and electrification technologies is the key to winning the battle

Goofy has a clear timeline in mind for the global energy transition process.

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He believes that the global energy transition can be divided into three stages: the first stage is a significant increase in the level of awareness, that is, the use of renewable energy to replace traditional energy stage; The second stage is the practical stage of applying new energy and large-scale electrification. The third stage, ten years later, will focus more on systematic and balanced development. The global energy transition has now entered the second stage to achieve the goal of improving quality and efficiency.

In Goofy’s view, the biggest feature of the second stage of energy transformation is that it touches the demand side and reconstructs the relationship between power supply and consumers by changing the original energy supply model. The grid architecture, originally designed for fossil fuels, will be transformed by various electrification and digital solutions to better meet the needs of new energy generation, creating a new market for highly flexible matching between energy supply and demand.

1784-CF128 Goofy emphasized that the second phase is the beginning of a true transformation of processes and demand-side electrification. Within Schneider Electric, a consensus has been formed that digging into the potential of demand-side regulation and continuing to promote the deep integration of digital and electrification technologies are the key to winning the battle of energy transition. The construction of a new power system is an important power source and guarantee to help China’s energy transformation and achieve the goal of “double carbon”. As an expert in the field of energy management, Schneider Electric believes that taking the energy demand side as the starting point can not only better serve the structural reform of the supply side, but also provide more adequate and flexible resources and power for promoting the energy transition because of the wide range of industries involved and the high degree of marketization.

As for the third phase of the energy transition, Goofy expects it to come in about 10 years. Compared to the second phase, the third phase will focus more on the balance of the whole system. “That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t start thinking about balanced and flexible grid systems now, but large-scale electrification first.”