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GENERAL MEETING ON TRANSITION
The General Meeting on Transition is a large annual event orchestrated by AGRION, a professional community of companies concerned with energy, raw materials, and sustainable development.

This event has two objectives
-    To focus on the challenges linked to the growing shortage of oil, the development of alternative energy sources, the increase in prices of raw materials, and to sustainable development
-    To allow professionals to meet and exchange ideas.

As for the committees, subjects will be dealt with in a tangible fashion, speakers won’t hesitate in going into the details of the experiments they have conducted or investments they intend to realize. Participants will therefore leave with a panoramic view of the currently applicable solutions and projects that will be carried out in the short and medium-term.

THE AUDIENCE
The audience for the 2008 meeting is comprised of around 500 people, representing private and public professionals concerned with the subjects linked to energy, raw materials, and sustainable development. The attenteese come from departments as general management, production management, engineering, transport, suppliers, analysts, purchasing agents, financial directors, local communities…

This event is international from the start: Of the 500 participants, 300 come from France, 100 from Germany, 50 from PR China and 50 from other European countries.  The German participants are taken care of by the Frankfurt, the Chinese participants by the Peking, and the American participants by the San Francisco office. All of them are identified through their personal title, their department, the size of their company and by their responsibilities. 

The event has two parts:

• A dinner at Chantilly on Wednesday, November 19th
• A day of conferences at Les Fontaines Conference Center on Thursday, November 20th

The discussions are translated simultaneously in French/English/German/Chinese.

AGRION is not an event organizer, but is a professional community and a lobbyist: A neutral board coming from sectors as business, media, and also politicians. AGRION offers prospects, organizes debates, and works on behalf of its members.


PROGRAM
The General Meeting on Transition is at once a remarkable as well as prestigious event. The program is comprised of participants whose responsibility is to implement solutions in their respective companies and by prestigious speakers. They will offer a market outlook as well as a long-term strategy that their organization is commited to. 

Wednesday, November 19th: DINNER RECEPTION
Conference Centre Les Fontaines, Chantilly, France (http://www.les-fontaines.com/)

7:00PM  - 8:15PM: IS THE SILICON VALLEY TURNING GREEN?
Numerous indicators show an essential shift within one of the world’s most dynamic regions: Silicon Valley will change from IT over to Greentech and from the Internet over to renewable energies. Does this shift match reality? Which are the most significant projects? Which ones are initiated and managed from California? The capital risk and capital investment funds are high profile within the SF Bay Area. Do they neglect IT in order to finance start-ups or spin-offs of industrial companies? Which are the entrepreneurs of the American Greentech?
                                                                                                                          
Is this zone of leadership currently imposing itself? If so, will it position itself in Germany, Asia, or in California?  

 > Videoconference directly from San Jose
Exclusive Interview with Chuck Reed, Mayor of San Jose, Capital of the Silicon Valley 

Speakers: 

9:15AM – 10:00AM: SOME SCENARIOS OF URBAN TRANSPORTATION
How will individuals adapt to the rising gas prices? How will this influence their choice of workplace, and how will this influence running their personal errands? How will this influence their vacation choices? What will be the synergy between public transportation (especially railroad) and individual transportation, for short and long distances? Will the car be reduced in weight and size and for which type of uses (distances) will it be employed?

Speakers:

• INRETS (National Research Institute of Transportation and its Security), Guy Bourgeois, CEO
• Liquid City (project dedicated to mobility), Benoit Reynaud Lacroze, VP Sales and Development
• KEOLIS, Marie-Xaviere Wauquiez, Director of Sustainable Development
  

Moderator: CAPGEMINI CONSULTING, Anne Jourdain, Director of the Department of Energy, Utilities, & Chemicals

10:00AM - 10:30AM: BREAK

10:30AM – 12:00PM: MOTORIZATION, THE ENERGETIC ALTERNATIVES
What is the future of the two types of motorization which are currently playing major roles in transportation: The internal combustion engine, which is used in cars, trucks, merchant ships, and the jet engine which is used in most commercial aircrafts?

1/The Automobile Industry
•    What is the outlook for bio fuels?
•    What is the future of the electric car?
•    Which are the prospects of development for the hydrogen industry?

2/Air Transportation
• Projection of the ticket price according to the price increase of oil
• Alternatives to the kerosene burning engine

3/Maritime Transportation

Speakers:

• VOLVO POWERTRAIN, Marc Lejeune, Responsible for advanced technologies
• NISSAN EUROPE, Malo Le Masson, Product Strategy Manager
• AIR LIQUIDE, Erwin Penfornis, H2 Energy Business Development
• ALCA TORDA (maritime fuel cells,) Olivier Ticos, Associate Managing Director
• MERCHANT MARINE NATIONAL SCHOOL, Yves Guignot, Professor of maritime education and head of the department, author of a disquisition on « greenship »  
• SKY FAITH CARGO, Denis Song, President
• AIRBUS, Philippe Jarry, Senior Vice-President of Airplane Strategy

Moderator: CAPGEMINI CONSULTING, Pierre Lachaize, Director

12:00PM – 12:20PM: CHINESE INDUSTRY
- Dynamic presentation of the industrial situation in China: What are the privileged sectors, the regions and their know-how?  What is the workforce like in terms of job-types and competence?
- Importing energy and raw materials: What is China’s impact on the evolution of the demand for oil, metals and agricultural goods? Will this pressure stabilize?
- Economy and revenue: What is the reality of the wage scale, revenue levels and standards of consumption?  How open are the markets to foreign investment and exports?  What is the legal requirement of the private property?
- China and sustainable development: Are Chinese enterprises taking into account the constraints linked to sustainable development?  How are they taking care of the needs and well-being of their workforce?

Speakers:
Opening speech by Mr. Jianyi Zhu, First Secretary of the Economic and Commercial Consulting Bureau of the Chinese Embassy in France

• ERAMET, Alfred Rosales, Purchasing Director
• Assistance Association for Investments made by French Entrepreneurs in China, Yuegiu Zhu, President
• French-Chinese Association of General Managers, Xavier Qiu, Co-President

Moderator: 
ERNST & YOUNG, Qinghua Xu-Pionchon, Partner, Head of China Business Services in Europe, Middle East, India and Africa

12:20PM - 2:30PM: VIP LUNCH 

2:30PM – 3:00PM: WHAT ARE THE OIL PRODUCING COUNTRIES DOING WITH THEIR FINANCIAL SURPLUSES?
In the Gulf as in Russia the high price of oil is the source of large financial surpluses. What amount represents these surpluses? In what currencies are they drawn up and what institutional or private groups are owners? What is their use: Placements, direct investments (infrastructures, productive investments, industrial or agricultural…)? Have they invested in the countries of origin or made foreign investments? Who are the players in the oil economy and what is their real power?

Speaker:

• BANK ROTHSCHILD & CO., Alexandre Carré of Malberg, Director for the Gulf Countries

3:00PM – 4:00PM: RENEWABLE ENERGY SOURCES

The usage of different alternative sources of energy in the world: What are the countries in which alternative energy sources account for a significant part of the energy mix,  what are the major short-term projects (such as off-shore wind farms, solar power centers…)? What is the financial evaluation of a windmill (purchase price, installation, depreciation…)?  Who are the major players in the market?  Solar power: The production of solar cells, uses (professional, local and domestic…), economic and environmental considerations.

What is the future of bio fuels: Inventory of the different types of bio-fuels in the world plus production capacity (scalability) and final cost "at the pump".

• GERMAN FEDERAL ENVIRONMENT AGENCY, Dr. Harry Lehmann, Manager for environmental planning and sustainable strategies
• MEEDDAT, Jacques Lengyel, Director of the Renewable Energies and New Energy Technologies Department
• E.ON, Climate&Renewables, Raphael GERSON, Strategy&Business Development
• ENEL France, Benoit Doin, Manager for Public Matters
• GEHRLICHER SOLAR AG, Thomas Sanders, Market Development Director

Moderator: CAPGEMINI CONSULTING, Alain Chardon, Expert Sustainable Energy

Speakers:
Directors of Energy (and/or Purchasing) of major industrial groups, as:

• AIR LIQUIDE, Jan Keller, Purchasing director
• VALLOUREC, Christian Galichon, Purchasing director
• ALSTOM POWER, Carlo Aversa, Senior Vice President global sourcing

• BIC GROUP, Christine Desbois, Director of Sustainable Development
• IBM, Dr. Reinhard Höhn, Manager environmental affairs for Germany, Austria, and Switzerland
• ERNST & YOUNG, Eric Mugnier, Executive Director Sustainability Assurance and Advisory Services
• SITA FRANCE, Anne De Pazzis, Director of Sustainable Development
• SNCF, Jean-Louis Jourdan, Director of Sustainable Development

David Corchia, General Manager of EDF New Energies


ORGANIZATION
Participants arriving from foreign countries will be picked up with our shuttle bus from the train station Gare de l’Est or from the airport CDG Roissy-Charles de Gaulle in Paris, on November 19th.  After the General Meeting on November 20th they will be taken to either the airport or train station.

Please, inform the respective office about your travelling schedule so we can take necessary arrangements.  Do not hesitate to contact us if you have further questions.

       
The international participants will be invited by AGRION. Their hotel stay at Chantilly (www.les-fontaines.com) from November 19th to 20th, the dinner reception, as well as the fees for the conference will be carried by AGRION. Solely the journey must be paid by participants arriving from foreign countries.

Please note:
The event is comprised of two parts:
•    A dinner at Chantilly on Wednesday, November 19th
•    A day of conferences at Les Fontaines Conference Center on Thursday, November 20th

The discussions are translated simultaneously: French/English/German/Chinese.

At the reception:

•    Headsets for the simultaneous translation will be given to you
•    Your name and the company name is taken
•    Badges will be given to you in order to improve the networking
•    A map for the seating at the gala dinner will be handed to you on November 19th