This year, CLP celebrates our 125th anniversary, while Free Electrons marks its first decade. Pausing to reflect on both milestones made me ask a question: how does a 10-year-old startup programme help keep a 125-year-old utility young?
Looking back 125 years and marvelling at the faded photographs from the company archive, it is almost impossible to imagine what it took to establish and operate an electricity system at a time when Hong Kong itself was still in its formative years and electrical power was a novel concept. Looking forward another 125 years, the challenge of imagining what the power system will look like – and how it will operate – feels even more absurd. One thing, however, is certain: the energy system of the future will bear little resemblance to the one we know today.
It is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that meaningful change is far away, and that we can just sit back and relax. But at the current pace of transformation, we do not need to look decades ahead. Even the next five to ten years will bring extraordinary developments in technology, business models and customer expectations. The energy transition is a generational challenge – but if approached with foresight and purpose, it can also be a once-in-a-generation opportunity.
As energy systems become more decentralised, digital and interconnected, innovation plays an increasingly critical role. It strengthens operational performance, improves safety and cost efficiencies, delivers better customer and stakeholder outcomes, and enables long-term strategic value creation.
We often assume that wisdom flows only from those with more experience. Increasingly, as I get older, I have found the opposite to be equally true. Some of the most valuable learning comes from those much younger than us. Not because those who came before lack wisdom – they have plenty – but because younger generations see the world without the constraints of “how things have always been done.” They question assumptions, challenge the status quo, and bring fresh perspectives shaped by rapid technological change and evolving social expectations.
At CLP, this belief shapes how we innovate. Alongside universities, industry partners and venture capitalists, we actively collaborate with startups developing some of the world’s most advanced and imaginative solutions. Free Electrons plays a pivotal role in our open innovation ecosystem, helping us identify emerging technologies, test new ideas, and learn from entrepreneurs who are unencumbered by legacy thinking.
Established organisations bring scale, reliability, deep operational expertise and rich networks built over decades. Startups bring speed, creativity, experimentation and the courage to rethink fundamentals. It is the combination of these characteristics – experience and youth, discipline and disruption – that creates real progress. This synergy is essential if we are to navigate complexity, avoid complacency, and keep a 125-year-old utility thinking and acting with curiosity and ambition.
Ultimately, if you want to achieve the impossible, listen to the young – because they do not yet know it cannot be done.
Brendon Joe
Head of Group Innovation, CLP Holdings Limited
Brendon Joe is Head of Group Innovation at CLP, one of the largest investor-owned power businesses in the Asia-Pacific region. With operations spanning Hong Kong, the Chinese Mainland, Australia, India, Taiwan Region, and Southeast Asia, CLP covers the full electricity value chain – from generation and transmission to distribution and retail services for commercial, industrial, and residential customers.
Brendon leads CLP’s innovation agenda, positioning the company as a future-ready utility. He is responsible for strengthening organisational innovation culture and capabilities, sourcing and scaling novel solutions from global open innovation ecosystems to enhance operational performance and unlock new growth opportunities, and translating emerging technology and industry trends into actionable insights that inform strategic decision-making.
With over 20 years of multidisciplinary international experience, Brendon has worked across Hong Kong, the UK, Canada, and New Zealand. His background spans investment and finance, project development, operations, strategy, innovation, and ventures.
