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ICES Webinar | Electrostates vs Petrostates: The New Carbon Chasm

Hosted by the Institute for China-Europe Studies (ICES)

roundtable

Date:Wednesday, December 17, 2025
Time: 16:30 -17:30 CET

ICES was pleased to welcome:

  • Thierry LEPERCQ, renewable energy entrepreneur and former Engie Executive Committee member
  • Mikaa BLUGEON-MERED, Senior Researcher on Hydrogen Geopolitics, Global Markets, and Strategies - Canada Research Chair in Clean Hydrogen; Executive Board Member and International Senior Advisor - International Hydrogen Fuel Cell Alliance
  • The webinar will be moderated by YANG Li, Executive Director of ICES.
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    The speakers’ presentations emphasized the geopolitical and energy nature of the petro- state vs electro-state paradigm. In the context of ever-accelerating climate change, undeniable in the face of the latest scientific data and reports from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), energy transition is an imperative to avoid catastrophic climate change-linked events. While the USA has bet on oil in the past to become a petro- state leader, China is fast becoming the first electrostate with mass electrification allowing for economy of scale, combined with large-scale deployment of renewable energy.

    Hydrogen in that regard can be used for the transition from fossil fuels to renewable energy and electrification and China has made technical improvements on hydrogen production and storage a priority.

    According to the two speakers’ presentation, the EU is currently more than lagging behind both on hydrogen and renewable innovation and production, as wide deployment of those technologies often requires some form of centralised planning to integrate supply chains and infrastructure. Thinking in terms of systems with energy mixes rather than in binary terms of fossil fuels vs electrical energy would be more beneficial to the EU in the long run.

    We extend our sincere thanks to the speakers for their informative and insightful contributions and to our engaged audience for their participation.

    If you were unable to follow the discussion live, we invite you to watch the full recording via: https://youtu.be/7bctLzA9l8Q