On July 11th, 2022 the Young Pipeliners’ Association of Canada (YPAC) announced a name change to the Young Energy Infrastructure Professionals (YEIP).
The change came after an organizational strategy review led to some major findings about the shift from pipelines and commodity-based thinking to energy infrastructure as a broad-based solution.
“We’ve seen an acceleration of discussion around energy transition and sustainability within the industry,” said Ian Sug, YEIP president. “In the past we’ve seen major pipelines being built to transport oil and gas, but the focus is now shifting toward new, integrated energy ecosystem solutions – including, but not limited to, hydrogen hubs, CCUS networks, renewable natural gas value chains – the backbone of which is energy infrastructure.”
With this shift toward an integrated energy ecosystem, the organization identified a need to broaden their own focus from pipelines to energy infrastructure, which could include any of the framework elements for the generation, transmission and transportation of energy.
“Our new mission is to empower young professionals to shape a sustainable future with energy infrastructure,” said Sug. “We believe that young professionals, with their fresh perspectives and new ideas, have an important role to play in helping drive innovation; in helping create the solutions required to combat climate change and accelerate a sustainable energy future.”
As the energy industry moves toward this more integrated future, innovation is happening at an unprecedented rate. New technologies, systems and solutions are driving the creation of energy ecosystems, and while pipelines will always have a crucial role to play, they are just one element.
“As young professionals, our future is directly impacted by climate change and the direction and pace of energy transition,” said Sug. “The energy solutions that our society requires today can no longer be exclusively provided by pipelines. While we acknowledge the importance of pipelines to the vitality of the industry, we wanted to ensure our organization remained inclusive of all the new forms of energy infrastructure that have been developed since our founding ten years ago, and will continue to develop as our organization grows.”
As it has always done, YEIP will continue to advocate for the increasing influence of young professionals in energy policy and industry leadership, providing a platform for exchange and development of ideas. They will also continue to advocate for effective energy infrastructure to accelerate a sustainable energy future.
