| | JUNE 20208Do you want to change the world? I just want to keep it as it is meant to be. Global warming would reach 6 degrees before the end of the century if no action were taken today by energy players and industrials, well beyond the fateful threshold of 2 degrees with devastating and irreversible consequences on ecosystems and human societies.While the first wave of the energy transition was pushed by central government, a second wave is emerging today, pulled by industries and local authorities as customers and citizens are raising the pressure. Decarbonization and digitization are continuing, while decentralization is accelerating. Territories and companies must now respond to climate change and the zero-carbon imperative. It is a complex challenge requiring cost-efficient, proactive investment to improve stakeholder quality of life, driving new demands on energy industry players to enable these transitions. In response to the urgency of climate change, the energy transition of yesterday turns today into a zero-carbon transition "as a service" in a growing market for integrated zero-carbon solutions and transition roadmaps which require a sophisticated integration of strategy, design, engineering, energy-efficient asset construction, digital platforms, operations management, financing syndication, outcome assurance, disruptive and innovative technologies.Energy as a service (EaaS) can be summarized as the provision of technical and intellectual capacity towards energy-based end-solutions such as heating, lighting, and mobility. It provides a verifiable outcome and contributes to taking the client into an ever-deeper comfort zone while removing the need to manage the practical considerations of getting there. In this configuration, energy is not a product we sell, it is a solution component. EaaS is a complex and integrated solution comparable to a black box which provides the desired end-result for a client in terms of energy/cost reduction at comfort levels comparable to existing ones. Energy costs, advisory services, technical skills and investment into dedicated assets are mixed into a cocktail which leads to a reduction of total energy use. These new solutions when properly executed will deepen the relationship with the client due to having provided upstream design input, backed up by technical skills and financial strength to bring lower costs and lower environmental impact.Research and development (R&D) within ENGIE is considered as one of the key levers to reverse the trend and overtake the new challenges of this energy world not to say the new challenges of our society. On the long run, changes are enabled by technological breakthroughs that energy players must master or create, thus transforming themselves at the same time as the energy system transforms. On the shorter term, R&D and innovation play more and more a key role to move onto the next generation of complex offers requiring a high level of expertise, improving operational efficiency and competitiveness.ENGIE Lab Singapore is the Research Center hub of ENGIE in Asia-Pacific region since 2016 and is part of ENGIE Labs network driven by ENGIE Research, working actively with the different internal and external stakeholders to prepare this zero-carbon transition as a service adapted to the local context mixing urban developed areas, emerging countries and remote areas (more than 17,000 islands in Indonesia). Based on SUPPORTING THE ZERO-CARBON TRANSITION AS A SERVICE By Loic VILLOCEL, Director, ENGIE Lab Singapore [Euronext: ENGI] IN MY OPINION
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