PRESS RELEASE
Repower catalyses research and partnerships toward
clean repowering of coal power plants
LONDON – March 5th, 2026
Repower Initiative, a global non-profit accelerating the clean repowering of coal-fired power plants through research and international collaboration, today announced the appointment of its first Chief Executive Officer, Bogi Højgaard.
Højgaard brings 20 years of experience from the Carbon Trust, Low Carbon Contracts Company, EDF Energy, and E.ON UK, where he led strategy and development for coal retirement, nuclear deployment, and carbon capture. He joins the organisation as it secures new funding — a follow-up grant from Founders Pledge and a continuation of philanthropic financing from HSBC — to raise awareness on the most promising repowering pathways, fund research tackling the barriers to coal repowering, and to elevate the coal-to-clean ecosystem as a critical component of the energy transition.
Nearly one-third of the world’s 2+ terawatts of operating coal capacity are carrying some level of closure commitment (Global Energy Monitor). Rather than abandoning existing infrastructure, workforce, and economic investments, the Repower Initiative conducts critical research and builds coalitions between asset owners, policymakers, academia, finance, and just transition communities to explore their potential as clean energy hubs. This “Coal-to-X” transformation – where “X” represents a retrofit to a qualified low-carbon technology, such as advanced geothermal, concentrated solar, thermal energy storage, and nuclear – is Repower’s vision for the future of existing coal assets in a low-carbon energy system.
The DEsire project in Poland – a national R&D programme founded by early authors of influential and pioneering studies on Coal-to-X repowering from the Repower Initiative – offers a compelling proof of concept. A consortium of government, academia, industry, and NGOs collaborated to incorporate the coal-to-nuclear pathway into Polish national nuclear strategy. Bełchatów, Europe’s largest single source of CO₂ emissions, is among the shortlisted repowering sites, where nuclear conversion could eliminate approximately 30 million tons of CO₂ per year. Progress was showcased at the Repower World Summit 2025 in Katowice — the largest repowering-focused summit to date.
The repowering opportunity will take centre stage at the 5th Repower World Summit in Beijing on April 15, 2026. Co-organised with Tsinghua University, the Summit will bring together 100+ senior policymakers, asset owners, research institutions, engineering companies, and industry associations from across the coal, nuclear, and energy transition ecosystem. This year’s agenda includes:
- The benefits of coal-fired power plant repowering, including capital efficiency and investment retention, expedited permitting through the preservation of existing grid connections, just transitions for trained local workforces, reduced land use and lower greenhouse gas emissions, and maintaining the economic base of coal-dependent communities.
- Policy and system-level implications and opportunities of repowering coal plants, including the scale of the global coal transition challenge and the opportunity it presents for repowering in China, which operates 2,621 active coal-burning units and over 1,000 GW of coal capacity.
- Key repowering technologies and the status of their system-level incorporation and implications for the net-zero plans of China, Poland, and others.
The new funding from Founders Pledge and HSBC allows Repower to continue its development of informational tools, grid and site modelling, workshops, and events that empower stakeholders in China, Indonesia, South Korea, and India to explore the potential of repurposing decommissioned coal plant infrastructure. The Repower Initiative catalyses this work with its open-source RepowerScore tool, which expresses the suitability of a coal power plant to be repowered with clean technology.
To enquire about attending the Beijing Summit, contact hello@repower.world or visit repower.world/events/repower-china-summit-2026. Follow the Repower Initiative on LinkedIn for ongoing updates on research, events, and project developments.
About the Repower Initiative
The Repower Initiative is a global non-profit accelerating the transition from coal to clean energy by unlocking the potential of existing coal power plant infrastructure. Through research, partnerships, and international convening, it works with policymakers, asset owners, utilities, developers, and financial institutions to advance repowering pathways using advanced nuclear, next-generation geothermal, concentrated solar power, and other low-carbon technologies. Repower hosts the annual Repower World Summit to drive global collaboration across the coal-to-clean ecosystem, and has launched its RepowerScore tool to help stakeholders assess the technical viability of specific sites. For more information, visit www.repower.world.
Media Contact
news@repower.world