The evening concluded with a panel discussion titled Perspectives on a Low Carbon Future, moderated by Prof Yan Ning, Director of NUS CHCI. Joining him were Prof Thomas Jaramillo from Stanford University, Dr David Danielson from Breakthrough Energy, and Mr Bernd Heid from McKinsey & Company, who brought perspectives from academia, venture investment and industry to an engaging discussion on the evolving decarbonisation landscape.

The panellists explored how emerging trends — including AI-driven electricity demand, shifting investment priorities and evolving policy environments — are reshaping the global energy transition. They also discussed the challenges of scaling emerging technologies from laboratory research to commercial deployment, emphasising the importance of supportive policy frameworks, patient capital, cross-sector collaboration and sustained industry engagement in bringing innovative low-carbon solutions to market.

The discussion concluded with an interactive audience Q&A session, where participants raised thought-provoking questions on topics including the implications of AI for future energy demand, regional approaches to decarbonisation, the role of biomass in the low-carbon transition, and how emerging technologies can be successfully commercialised and adopted at scale. The lively exchange reflected the shared commitment of academia, industry and government to tackling real-world decarbonisation challenges through open dialogue and collaboration.

Drawing on experiences from around the world, the panel reinforced that achieving meaningful decarbonisation will require not only scientific breakthroughs, but also strong partnerships across the research, industry and policy communities to accelerate innovation and deployment at scale.