The Hydrogen Conference began with a high-level, interdisciplinary dialogue that set the stage for visionary thinking around the role of hydrogen in the global energy transition.
Prof. Vassilis Vasdekis, Rector of AUEB, opened the conference by emphasizing the university’s strategic role in advancing research and innovation in green energy.
Prof. Ioannis Emiris, President of the Athena Research Center, highlighted the critical need for deeper integration between scientific research and technological development to accelerate the green transition.
Massamba Thioye, UNFCCC Innovation Hub, underlined that “hydrogen must be embedded in a broader ecosystem of green technologies” to truly catalyze systemic transformation.
The opening keynote by Prof. Dr. Phoebe Koundouri (AUEB, DTU, SDSN) showcased the systems modeling work of the UN SDSN Global Climate Hub. She emphasized the importance of data-driven, interdisciplinary strategies to reach climate neutrality and the pivotal role of knowledge-sharing platforms in shaping effective policy.
The main keynote was delivered by Dr. Abdullah Belhaif Al Nuaimi (Chairman of Sharjah Consultative Council), former UAE Minister of Climate Change and Environment and current Chair of the Sharjah Consultative Council. In his talk titled “Hydrogen: The Last Meter of Decarbonization,” he presented hydrogen as the final, crucial step in achieving complete decarbonization of energy systems. He drew on strategic examples from the Gulf region and urged Europe to invest in bilateral agreements and interconnection infrastructure to enable the industrial-scale adoption of green hydrogen.
Insightful contributions also followed from leading experts:
María Cortés Puch, Vice President of the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN), underscored that hydrogen can act as a catalyst for achieving many of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals—particularly those related to climate action, industry and innovation, and clean energy.
Prof. Yannis Ioannidis, President of the Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) and Professor of Informatics at the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, stressed the crucial role of digital technologies and computational science in developing advanced modeling tools that support informed decision-making in energy policy.
Prof. George Karydis, Director of the MSc program “Law and Economics in Energy Markets” at AUEB, analyzed the importance of the regulatory framework and legal instruments in promoting investments in hydrogen technologies.
