**To access the event in Pierce Hall, please enter through the ground-floor elevator entrance located on the far right side of Pierce Hall, at the vestibule door facing the Maxwell Dworkin building.**

A Global Energy Transition Talk Series Discussion

Scaling energy-transition technologies is fundamentally an environmental systems challenge: life-cycle emissions reductions depend not only on technical performance, but on effective integration between policy, finance, and existing infrastructure.

This session examines selected hydrogen and carbon capture and storage (CCS) projects in the United States, alongside Japan’s industrial and policy strategy—including its hydrogen price-gap support mechanism and recent commercial-scale hydrogen and ammonia deployments—to illustrate how durable, measurable decarbonization is achieved in real-world contexts.

Speaker:

Ricky Sakai, Senior Vice President of Investment and Business Development, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America

Ryosuke “Ricky” Saki is vice president of new business development at Mitsubishi Heavy Industries America (MHIA), where he focuses on decarbonization of the energy sector, leads climate tech investment initiative and develops business with startups. ​ Since joining MHI in 2006, Ricky has held a number of roles across the company and one of its group companies, Mitsubishi Power, including as a project engineer and as a leader on the oil and gas business development team. He graduated from Kyoto University with a degree in environmental engineering technology and from Rice Business with an MBA.

Moderator:  

Nicola De Blasio, Research Associate, Harvard Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences

Dr. Nicola De Blasio is a globally recognized energy scholar and innovator whose work has shaped the intersection of energy technology, policy, and sustainability for over 25 years. His career spans leadership roles in industry, academia, and strategic consultancy, with a focus on advancing the global energy transition through innovation, strategic alliances, and actionable evidence-based solutions. Renowned for integrating interdisciplinary expertise with practical applications, Nicola has made significant contributions to developing and deploying pathways toward a low-carbon economy and sustainable energy systems.

View a list of past Global Energy Transition Talks here

Sponsored by Environmental Science and Engineering (ESE) at the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Science (SEAS)

Questions? Contact Kellie Nault