Laurence Mathieu, CEO of KEYES and host of the conference, recalled that without energy sovereignty there can be no digital sovereignty, with her own data centres at the heart of this challenge.
Panel 1: Energy policy in Europe, a failure?
This first panel, moderated by Amid Faljaoui, editor-in-chief of Trends-Tendances, delivered the harshest diagnosis of the day. Philippe Charlez, engineer and energy expert, showed with figures that European decarbonisation has mainly happened through deindustrialisation, with fossil fuels still representing 87% of the world energy mix in 2024 despite 45 years of efforts. Cécile Maisonneuve, chair of Decysive and Senior Fellow at the Institut Montaigne, analysed the Green Deal as a policy designed for a world at peace and with easy globalisation, rendered obsolete from 2020 onwards by Covid, the war in Ukraine and the geopolitical shift. Nicolas Brahy, Chief Legal Officer at Hy24, denounced the failure of regulatory implementation: despite goals he considers relevant, the transposition of the RED 3 directive is still not complete seven years after its adoption, blocking investments ready to be deployed in green hydrogen. Maxence Cordiez, Head of Nuclear Fuel Cycle at Hexana and Fellow at the Institut Montaigne, argued for abandoning the sterile opposition between nuclear and renewables, stressing that China is deploying both without hesitation and at an incomparable pace.
Panel 2: Rethinking the energy transition in the age of empires
Moderated by Rémy Leboutte, adviser at the Centre Jean Gol, this panel addressed the transition in light of the new geopolitical context. Christian Gollier, professor of economics and former director of the Toulouse School of Economics (speaking via videoconference), warned of the wall of costs looming for the next stages of decarbonisation in steel, aviation or cement, and of the inevitable political backlash when citizens realise the transition is not painless. Cécile Neven, Walloon Minister for Energy and Climate, stressed the need for an integrated approach beyond the ideological opposition between sectors, and the urgency of resolving the grid infrastructure crisis in Wallonia, where 900 projects are waiting for access to electrical capacity. Audrey Henry, Secretary of State for Energy of the Brussels-Capital Region, argued for a radical simplification of European sub-targets in favour of a single CO2 emissions reduction target, leaving states free choice of means. Fawaz Al Bittar, CEO of Edora, defended the development of floating offshore wind as a pillar of European energy independence, stressing the urgency of accelerating the Princess Elisabeth Island in Belgium. Thierry Bros, PhD in chemical engineering and professor at Sciences Po, traced the history of energy empires, from British coal to American LNG, and argued for severe deregulation instead of the pile-up of sectoral strategies paralysing Europe.
Panel 3: How to finance energy reindustrialisation?
Moderated by Nicolas de Callataÿ, Country Officer of Citigroup Belgium, this panel brought together the financial world around investment challenges. Wim Vermeir, CIO of AG Insurance, recalled that the energy transition represents an exciting investment opportunity, while stressing that technological neutrality without targeted political choices is not enough, as shown by the example of diesel, a dead end after 15 years of investment. Pascal Emsens, CEO of Aukera Energy, defended the competitiveness of certain renewable sectors independently of public support, provided the regulatory framework is stable and predictable. Eric Viet, Senior Advisor at Blackstone, warned against the devaluation of public commitments: when the EU backtracks on its targets, investors who played by the rules end up penalised, creating lasting distrust with knock-on effects. Axel Gautier, professor of economics at HEC-ULiège and UCLouvain, argued for a methodical approach distinguishing goals from means, with reliable and lasting price signals rather than perpetual subsidies.
Panel 4: The renaissance of nuclear power in Belgium and Europe
This panel, presented as one of the most eagerly awaited of the day, was moderated by Rémy Leboutte. Mathieu Bihet, federal Minister of Energy, traced the path that led to the creation of Aurora, the structure taking over Engie's nuclear segment, and stressed the need to build new capacity to anchor nuclear power over the long term, well beyond a single legislature. Serge Dauby, CEO of the Belgium Nuclear Forum, welcomed the turnaround in Belgium, noting that the country has once again become an attractive destination for the global nuclear sector, with renewed interest from companies and talent. Denis Dumont, Chief Global Nuclear Officer at Tractebel, presented the sector's three major challenges: long-term visibility, the coherence of the transition, and the ability to deliver on time and on budget, drawing on the series effect as seen with the Canadians' Darlington project. Peter Baeten, Director-General of SCK CEN, detailed his centre's role in extending reactor vessel lifespans to 80 years, training a new generation of nuclear engineers, and developing innovative fast neutron reactors through the LÉANDRE project. Maxence Cordiez argued for an integrated Franco-Belgian sector around fast neutron reactors and the closed MOX fuel cycle, Belgium and France being the only two Western European countries mastering these technologies.
Panel 5: Fossil resources and energy geostrategy
Moderated by Corentin de Salle, scientific director of the Centre Jean Gol, this panel unashamedly restored the reality of fossil fuels in the global energy equation. David Clarinval, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Employment and Economy, pointed to the hypocrisy of a Europe that claims to be decarbonising while importing 25% of its fertilisers from Russia, and argued for openly assumed strategic relations with producer countries. Carl-Antoine Saverys, CEO of Exmar, criticised paralysing European banking regulation, illustrated by the example of a Venezuelan cargo for which American banks responded within 36 hours while European banks had still not decided after two months. Anne-Sophie Corbeau, researcher at Columbia University and gas expert, identified her three priorities: preserving European nuclear power, exploring domestic gas production including the Groningen reserves, and intensifying the insulation of residential housing stock. Christophe Poinssot, deputy director-general of BRGM, stressed the need for long-term supply contracts with price visibility to enable industrial investment. Nicolas Meilhan, expert in mobility and industrial policy, defended a supply strategy based on lasting strategic partnerships with reliable third countries and sectoral deregulation truly able to unlock opportunities.
Panel 6: Rethinking energy grids in the age of reindustrialisation
Moderated by Rémy Leboutte, this technical panel highlighted the concrete challenges of adapting infrastructure. Damien Ernst, professor at ULiège and grid expert, called for thinking in terms of public interest rather than sectoral interests, denouncing the pressure exerted on policymakers by private actors wielding sovereignty arguments to serve their own interests. Pascal De Buck, CEO of Fluxys (speaking remotely), highlighted the potential of the Princess Elisabeth Island as a regional electricity hub, comparable to what Distrigaz achieved for gas from Zeebrugge. Frédéric Dunon, CEO of Elia, stressed the urgency of resolving the geographical imbalance between production concentrated in Liège and consumption concentrated in Antwerp, which requires massive investment in transmission grids. Fernand Grifnée, CEO of ORES, and Luc Warichet, deputy director-general of RESA, both stressed the need to factor real grid costs into transition calculations, as these weigh directly on the bills of households and businesses.
Panel 7: Energy facing the challenge of AI and data centres
The last panel of the day, moderated by Rémy Leboutte. In the absence of Adrien Dolimont, Walloon Minister-President held up by a diplomatic meeting, his special adviser recalled Wallonia's ambition to double the available electrical capacity to accommodate new digital industries, and the need to avoid separately reinventing the wheel in each region. Laurence Mathieu, CEO of KEYES, gave a concrete illustration of the link between digital sovereignty and energy sovereignty: without dispatchable and sovereign energy, critical sectors such as hospitals, finance and European institutions cannot function. Frédéric Descamps, Regional Director for Europe, the Middle East and Africa for data centre operations at Google, described the explosion in energy needs linked to AI and argued for intelligent co-location between production and consumption, notably by bringing data centres closer to future nuclear plants, following the model already used in the United States with SMRs.
Conclusions: Georges-Louis Bouchez
To close this packed day, Georges-Louis Bouchez returned to the essential point. "It is not by hiding behind illusions that we improve people's lives, but rather by confronting them with reality." He reaffirmed the Mouvement Réformateur's opposition to the entry into force on 1 January 2028 of ETS2, REC3 and PEB4, the consequences of which for purchasing power and industrial competitiveness would, in his view, be dramatic. He announced the upcoming publication of a compendium of the speeches and an operationally-oriented policy document, free of rights so that it can be taken up as widely as possible. And he set a date for next quarter for the next major Centre Jean Gol conference, this time devoted to China, in all its dimensions: energy, industrial, security and sovereignty.