EP05 — How European Climate Tech and AI Are Intertwined — Saskia Bruysten

And Saskia, you've proposed quite an interesting idea for the climate tech companies that there could be a fast lane through permitting process.

Can you explain us this idea a bit more in detail and why it maybe matters also more than most people would realize?

Yeah, I think, I mean, we've seen that a lot and we also have an infrastructure portfolio, right? We also invest in energy infrastructure build out in Europe.

And I think people know by now relatively well that the permitting process in Europe just takes way too long.

And that is not just for green infrastructures, for any type of infrastructure.

I would argue that green infrastructure, i.e. energy infrastructure particularly, is extremely important.

It's critically important.

I mean, we're seeing how we're completely taken aback by the Iran war and the energy being struck in the Strait of Hormuz.

So building out energy that is sovereign energy, so energy that we're making within Europe, as fast as we only can would be extremely critical and strategic in my eyes.

So why do we not fast track our approval processes for build out of green energy? I think Habeck has showed it during the, without wanting to get political, Habeck, during the Ukraine war, he was able to fast track the setup of LNG terminals, right? That was fast tracked like crazy.

And LNG is not what we want, right? That is gas.

But if we have been able to fast track our procurement processes for LNG, we know how to actually do that in a crisis situation.

The Iran war is yet again another crisis situation.

The energy shock that we're in is a major crisis situation.

We should now, basically, to ensure that solar, wind, batteries, nets are built out, we should fast track the permitting processes for these types of energies in Germany and in Europe, because that's the only thing that's going to get us energy independent.

as soon as possible.

It's

funny that the LNG terminal example is named from time to time because back then this coalition had such a bad reputation, but in the end, at least in the first part of their time in government, they actually created something that now you hear about again and again as a perfect benchmark for Fastlane.

Let me be clear.

This was not Habeck, a green politician, went for gas, right? But he used it in an apolitical way.

He just said, we need that energy right now.

And so that same we could now just do for green energy build out in Europe.

And I think we could get there much more quickly.

That's true.

But I mean, one part of the truth is also that back then it needed a war to happen and to create this fast lane.