"WE ARE COMMITTED TO A CARBON-NEUTRAL ENERGY FUTURE"

As the MD and CEO of Hitachi Energy for India and South Asia, N Venu oversees over 11,000 passionate professionals from India to New Zealand to deliver cutting-edge technologies that enable smart cities and sustainable power grid infrastructure. In an exclusive interaction with Rahul Kamat, he talks about how he oversaw the establishment of Hitachi Energy, which unites the histories of Hitachi and ABB Power Grids and embarked on a new chapter, combining the adaptability of a newly formed company with the century-long expertise of both organisations.

To begin with, what drew you to the energy sector, and what inspired you to take on leadership roles within Hitachi Energy?

There is no singular factor but a few key ones. The first was aptitude and aspiration. When I started, electrical and electronics as a sector was a budding field that engineers in my generation aspired to. It equipped you to work on nation-building projects, something that was gaining significant pace in the late 80s and early 90s. Bringing power and, with it, opportunities to millions of people, gave you a sense of pride and fulfilment.

What kept me in the energy space was the rapid evolution that began soon after I joined the sector. In my time at ABB, the grid was embracing more and more, and electromechanical relays were being replaced by those with microprocessors, and later India, became one of the first countries to adopt the IE61850 standards.

Subsequently, the energy sector aligned with my beliefs about the environment and our impact on the earth. My role has expanded over the years, this is in part due to the drive to do more but mainly should be attributed to my leaders and mentors, who taught me the ropes and how to harness my potential.

At Hitachi Energy, we are not just working to make infrastructure improvements and encourage the transition to clean energy sources and technologies. We are committed to accelerating progress towards a carbon-neutral energy future.

In less than two years since announcing our goal of reaching Net Zero by 2030, Hitachi Energy has accomplished several significant milestones and one of them is the 100 per cent deployment fossil-free electricity throughout its offices and plants. We have lowered our carbon emissions by more than 88 per cent already through innovative processes and other creative improvements.