Our CEO and members of the Executive Board participated once again in CERAWeek 2025, engaging in key discussions on the energy transition. The transition is at a crossroads - ambition alone will not get us there. At the event, our leadership spoke with industry and government representatives about shifting from vision to execution. The key? Systems thinking - aligning policy, infrastructure, and investment to ensure execution keeps pace with ambition.

What this means in practice:

• Europe needs innovation to drive the transition forward, but it requires an enabling policy framework with stable incentives and an outcome-focused approach to scale effectively.
• Competitiveness is key. Reducing costs is essential, and leveraging existing infrastructure—like we are doing at VARO Energy with our large-scale SAF facility—is one way to achieve this.
• Collaboration is critical. Governments, policymakers, and industry must work together—aligning regulation with investment, integrating new technologies, and building cross-sector partnerships.

At the roundtable “Europe at a Crossroads: Innovation, Energy & Competitiveness,” our CEO joined key decision-makers from both public and private sectors, including Lars Aagaard (Danish Ministry of Climate, Energy and Utilities), Marina S. (UK Department of Energy Security & Net Zero), Cristina Lobillo Borrero (European Commission), Philipp Steinberg (Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Climate Action), Holger Lösch (Federation of German Industries), and Maarten Wetselaar (Moeve). This dialogue was a strong example of the collaboration needed to turn ambition into action.

VARO’s EVP New Energies & Innovation, Theo Pannekeet, contributed to these discussions, sharing insights on the role of biofuels in the energy transition. He explored how advancements in biofuels technologies, feedstock optimisation, and policy frameworks can contribute to scaling a bio-based energy future, and how varying regulatory landscapes impact biofuel adoption globally.

One thing is certain: the energy transition will not be linear. It requires action - through policies that enable, partnerships that scale solutions, and infrastructure that maintains competitiveness.

VARO Communications
Angela Nemeth
Phone: +41795129421
Email: [email protected]

Brunswick
Will Medvei and Nabhan Malik
Phone: +44 (0)20 7404 5959
Email: [email protected]